Life — October 26, 1905 — page 6: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“\ While there is Life theres Hope.” VOL. XLVI. OCT. 26, 1903, No. 1200, 17 West Trarty-First Street, Naw Yorn. HE most important election that we know of this fall is that for Mayor of New York. It would be more interesting if there were any prospect of uncertainty as to its out- come. At present there is none. Tammany's candidate has been so good a Mayor that he would be hard to beat under any circumstances, and the conveniences for beating him this fall are exceedingly meagre. There are three considerable organi- zations in town just now besides Tammany—the Citizens’ Union, the Republicans, and the Municipal Ownership folks. If they could have agreed on a candidate they might have given Mayor McClellan a fight, but they could not agree. So the Citizens’ Union has concentrated its energies on work for Jerome; the Republicans, after an extraordinary show of despera- tion, have nominated William M. Ivins, and the Municipal Ownership band have put up William R. Hearst. They tell us that Mr. Ivins, who has been out of politics so long that only the students of political history re- member him, is really a pretty good candidate, who knows the city, and has a handsome record as a reformer. He will get some votes, of course ; those of the professional Republicans, and those of some Democrats or Independ- ents whose abhorrence of ‘Tammany outweighs any liking they may have for Mayor McClellan. Editor Hearst will also get some votes ; those of his hench- men, and those of persons who believe -LIFE- in his policy of municipal ownership and in the accusations of the Hearst papers that McClellan has too much tenderness for the gas companies and other local cormorants. He may also get some votes from persons who fear Charles Murphy and Tammany more than they do William Hearst and Socialism, but we do not think those persons are very numerous. M*Y0R McCLELLAN is a re- spected man, The election of the ticket which he leads will give us a good Mayor, but will carry into office a number of very unfit officials, and will continue Charles Murphy's control of the city government. The city might do worse, for it might elect a bad Tammany Mayor instea one, of agood But Tammany success under any circumstances is a dolorous occurrence, and voters whose hearts are in the per- ennial fight for good government in New York will hardly bring themselves to vote the Tammany ticket. The only ticket such men will vote this year with any spirit is Jerome's. His chances of winning as an inde- pendent candidate for District Attor- ney seem pretty dubious. None of the organizations (except the Citizens’ Union) has put him on itsticket. If he wins, it will be a remarkable personal ictory. If he loses, it will be the city’s loss far more than his. many cares. There is the canal to build, the railroad rates bill to nurse, and the tariff to be ameliorated ; the Philippines are not doing as well as was expected Porto Rico is in a downright bad way, and the condition of the game of football is far from satisfactory. Judge Taft and Mr, Shonts seem to have the canal pretty well in hand and will probably get on with it if Congress provides them with money ; the railroad rates bill is in course of active public discussion ; tariff revision is moribund; the Philippines and Porto Rico can hardly be helped much until Congress but the President has found no obstacle to immediate intervention in football, and has intervened. We have all read of how he summoned the Oracles of football to Washington and threatened to cite them before The Hague Peace Court if they did not contrive to make football gentler and less mercenary. They bound themselves by execrations to reform the game, and gave testimony in the newspapers to that effect. We understand their project is to abolish or suspend the present rules and have the game played under the Elkins bill. The report is that the President easily convinced Oracle Camp that when the Yale team went to Cambridge and brought back forty- thousand dollars, it was clearly a case of interstate commerce and proper to be regulated by the Department of Commerce and Labor. HIS very reasonable conclusion brings up the question whether Government regulation of football will not necessarily involve such an injec- tion of politics into the game as will make pure and seemly football more difficult of attainment than ever, Objectors say—If the Oracles, whose life's work and study is the football rules, cannot make them to suit, how can Government amateurs and political hacks reasonably hope to do it? It is averred that the football business of the country will be knocked prostrate and thousands of college athletic associa- tions thrown in bankruptcy unless the Government keeps its hands off the game. The prospect of a receivership for the Harvard stadium, and of loss of employment by many coaches and likely young athletes who are struggling to get an education, is grievous, of course, but we really do not think it will come to that. If the Oracles do their best, and a higher degree of effi- ciency and severity is exacted of um- pires and referees, the game may pull through as it is, comicbooks.com