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Show THE OPPOSITION'S EA1EIGH. Tho opposition in tho Council has taken up Street Supervisor Raleigh Ra-leigh and made bim its own. Of tho American members of the. Couucil but four voted to exonerate Mr. lxalcigh on the charges that have been made and partly investigated with respect to his official action and procedure. Tho action of tho American party Couucilmen in this matter was uot he-cause he-cause they were unwilling to clear Mr. .Raleigh in case a full clearance was duo him. but because of the fact that his affairs are not yot investigated completely, and because the disappearance disappear-ance of certain books of records from his oflieo needs to be cleared up. It was said by some of tho Councilnieu that the disappearance of iheso books would cut no figure in tho caso. We aro not able to sec how they can say this with certainty, if there is anything any-thing wrong or Hupposed lo be wrong in an- public office, surely the disappearance disap-pearance of books of record from that office cannot bo viewed with indifference. indiffer-ence. It is quite possible, as suggested, suggest-ed, that these books would cut no figuro in Mr. Kaloigh's affairs. At the same time, in spite of the opinion of tho gentlemen who thought thoy rould out no liurc, it might bo that ihoy would cut a very important figure. TliJ very best evidenco upon this point is tho books themselves, and these books boing missing, nothing can bo assumed with certainty about thoir effect ef-fect upon tho invcHtigation. The Tribune's ndvico to the Council was that it should wait until the disappearance disap-pearance of theso books was accounted account-ed for, or tho books thomsolvcs recovered, re-covered, before taking this vote. We believe that this was the opinion also of tho majorif- oC the American members mem-bers of the Council. And clearly it was due to Mr. Ealeigh that this matter mat-ter should bo cleared up before tho final voto in his case. Those American Couucilmen who voted against the clearance as well as those who refused lo voto at all upon the question, wcro both clears justified, it seems to us, under the circumstances, by their vote and by their refusal to vote. And, on the other hand, it socms to us that those four American Councilmen who voted for the clearance of Mr. Raleigh, pending the uncertainty with respect to these books, wore uot justified in their vote. . The oppositiou, however, almost en masse, voted to clear Mr. Raleigh. This makes Mr. Raleigh the opposition's man. They arc responsible for him and for anything that may develop to his disadvantage . from, henceforth. IIo ii not cleared by the votes of the -supporters of the American administration, administra-tion, but by the votes of the opponents of the American administration. Of the six opposition votes in the Council, five went to the support of Mr. Raleigh, Ra-leigh, in exonerating him entirely from blame. This may bo satisfactory to him as a public official aud as a party man. but we can hardly understand how he could be content with that kind of a vindication; for just so would the opposition vote if thej' understood him ! to be blameworthy, and wished to fasten fas-ten him upon the city as an official at the expense of the American party. But as this party refused to stand for him through its representatives in the Council, whatever may develop against Mr. Raleigh will be to the confusion of the opposition. The church organ and the "Mouth" have been the two especially vindictivo assailants of Supervisor Raleigh, The Herald has chimed in occasional' against him. But it appears that the three combined could rtot muster even one vote among their part' adherents in the Couucil against Mr. Kalcigh, in spite of iho frantic efforts they have made to convince tho people that he is an unfaithful, if not a grafting, official, of-ficial, ft must be a source of deep humiliation hu-miliation to those twins, with the occa-. sional triplet aunex, to find themselves so completely ignored by thoir own party representatives in tho Council. It shows iu a. remarkable degree the lack of consideration given by the of-jicials of-jicials of. their respective parties to the organs uamed, wheu ""uot ono of those officials will pay the least regard to the charges, insinuations, arguments, and pleas made by those disreputablo concerns con-cerns against thin official. If there were any validity whatever in the charges made by the News, as leader of the three-spots, there should have been at least one member out of the i six who represent the parties of which these concerus are tho organs, to vote their way.' But there was not one. It was a complete .slump, and those papers are left to mouro the absence of even one suppofter against a hated official that they have done so much. to assail and, so far as thoy might, lo discredit in tho public estimation. It seema, however, Dial their united efforts ef-forts amount absolutely to nothing, receiving re-ceiving not even one vote from tho Couucil. And probablj' if the matter 'were submitted to a vole of tho peoplo of this city there would be seen tho same water-haul. Great orgaus those, that, in spito of the frantic and furious fu-rious assaults, lasting for months at a time and covering first-page "spreads," could not got even one vote among their own party members of the Council to sustain their frantic efforts. No wonder these organs arc covered with confusion, aud uo -wonder they are today the laughing stock of the public. |