Puck — October 29, 1879 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

PUCK PUCK. Nos. 21 & 28 WARREN STREET. VOR SALE BY ALL NEWS DEALERS. Terus To Suascriners dn the United States and Canada, JOS. KEPPLER. ‘HWARZMANN, C. BUNNER: SFECIAL NOTICES. gay Remittances by Money Order, ctc., are to be addressed to KEPPLER & SCHWAKZMANN. ‘Wer cannot undertake to retura rejected communications, and to this rule we can make no excepbiot Pucm is on Sale in London, at the News Agency of Messrs. HENRY F. GILLIG & CO., Strand, Chariog Cross, and at THE INTERNATIONAL 'S COMP, FleetStreet: in iespor at G. F. ALI Paris, at TERQUER' aris, Street, Street ‘at the ** Herald” Office, 49 Avenue de I'Opera.. FA. BROCKHAUS'S, Leipzig, Berlin and Vienna. CONTENTS. ‘The “Independent Voter" as a | Pucn's Typographical Talmage Factor in Polit cs. ‘Talmage—illus Pockaxincs. In the Streets—No. II.— Hila The True (awardness”’ of Pro-| _ ris. fessional Boat Racing—illus. | Rutherford the Good, Mr. H. Bug as a Humanitarian. | The Kelly Canvass, Childsiana—ites, So He Does—illus. ‘The Expense of Murder. Fremwooous mm Aenica.— Chinese’ Grip (poem).— Lem.| _ No. CXI. E. To My Umbrella (poem)—Ar- thur Lot. The Savannah Malevolent As- sociatinn Again. Axswars vor Tx Axxious. ‘The Theatres. Axcorre Gascovwe—John Fraser Pocx’s Excnancas. and on German} Avtumnal Meditations (poem). —Cid. THE “INDEPENDENT VOTER” AS A FACTOR IN POLITICS. T is one of the unpleasant features of pop- ular sovereignty that the People have al- lowed themselves, in a great degree, to submit to a sort of leadership, and to vote as their party leaders instruct them. Recently, in one of those murder cases for which our lit- tle sister State of Connecticut is becoming fa- mous, a juror described his business as that of a “‘ politician.” And that is what is the mat- ter. Politics have become a business with us; and the millions of vote-casters among us, from the great merchant and lawyer down to the poor clerk or laborer, are willing to pay their direct (or indirect) taxes in order to sup- rt in office a class of idle men who never think of earning an honest dollar in any of the ordinary walks of industry. The “ insolence of office” was never more brazenly shown than it’ is by the flunkeys who lazily loll in the easy positions our voters lift them to, and for which our tax-payers pour out their ready money. Without being personal and mentioning names, any man acquainted with affairs in this city can name dozens of officials who are sher- iffs, or aldermen, or assemblymen, or senators, or coroners, or county clerks, or something, year in and year out, change now and change again, but always in office. However the dice may be thrown, if not double sixes, at least there are no blanks, And these men live in elegant houses, with all the luxuries of wealth about them, and yet they have never contri- buted to the material’ wealth of the country as much as the poorest laborer who casts his vote to maintain them in luxury; and although they manage the affairsand the finances of the great- est city in the western world, not one of them could secure a responsible position in such solid business houses as Claflin’s, Lord & Taylor's, Thurber’s, or any of our great banking institu- tions. And yet, where these great merchants pay salaries of $4,000 or $5,000 for expert and faithful servants, the lazy loungers in our muni- cipal offices would hardly think such pay worth their acceptance. This is all the fault of the indolence of the Independent Voter. The mass of the people are content to be bobs to the tails of some pol- itician’s kite, This naturally disgusts the Inde- pendent Voter, who keeps away from the polls altogether. It is very funny to see an old gan- der wriggle himself under the rail of a fence, when there is an open gap beside him; and funnier still to see all the geese and goslings of his lock mechanically and miserably follow his lead, But when it comes to politics, and the prosperity of the community, it isn’t funny at all to see the people follow the party leader, without sense or reason, Now and again the Independent Voter shows himself; and when he does, Beware! Machines are apt to be wrecked, and the best-laid plans of politicians to go ‘‘a-gley." This has been in- stanced in this city during the late years in which Mr, John Kelly's Greco-Roman wrest- ling brought him many uncomfortable falls— and great defeat. Just now, in the approaching election in this State is the grand chance for the Independ- ent Voter. The Democrats don’t like Robin- son or they don’t like Kelly; yet thousands of them are going to vote for one or the other, because their party gander leads the way. The Republicans like or detest Mr. Cornell; but, as a rule, they will vote for him, because their gander thinks it the Correct Ki-bosh. Now was there ever a better chance for the Independent voter to come to the “scratch”? Here is where we stand. Kelly is but the mule’s skin covering Cornell. Nobody for a moment supposes that John Kelly would ever be suffered to be Governor of this Empire State, or could fulfill the duties if ever a party tumbled him into the gubernatorial chair, In our long list of ex-Governors, thank God, there is no such sort of man as John Kelly. The question is not between Robinson and Cornell and Kelly. It is between Robinson and Cornell; Kelly is out of the race. Now, ‘gentlemen, scratch! If you are a Democrat and don’t like Robinson, scratch him! But don’t throw away your votes, and above all think before you vote. Why should you care for parties or politicians, you thrifty merchant or you tired laborer?” What you need is a secure government, administered by honest hands, If you can’t decide which of the candidates you had better vote for.— Scratch! At all events, be an Independent Voter. There is nothing makes an American citizen superior to the rest of mankind except the right to vote for whom he dee-pleases, Do it. And if you don’t know how to do it, Scratch! Tuere is no use in undervaluing the work that -Mr. Kelly has done in the country. He has won many votes for himself. How many of them will come out of Mr. Cornell’s expected majority? Or all the New York daily papers, the Sun alone has not told a single campaign lie; nor once dropped into bad and vituperative Eng- lish, It has done noble work in cutting under Mr. Kelly with the diminutive hatchet of ver- acity originally wielded by the late George Washington. Wore, brethers, vote with care— A single vote for the Governaire, A single vote for the Comptrollaire, A single vote; but sound and square. [Unless you are voting for John Kelly and then you will vote just as many times as the Tammany inspectors think it safe to let you work the racket.) Puckenings. Ir is time for J. Kelly to saw his boats. Wuenever the Parisians open a new street they Rue it. Tue Canonchet candidate ought to have at least a complimentary vote in Brooklyn. I use of sounding words men are quite rash, They talk of mystery, and mean but hash, ‘Tue independent voter is likely to raise the old scratch with the combination majority. A TIGHT squeeze—The one Adolphus gives to Araminta when they part on the door-step. Tue only thing in favor of the Hon. John Kelly is that Captain Williams is nota ‘Tam- many man, Mr. Grorce WILLIAM Curtis strokes his edu- cated whisker and remarks: ‘* Do not absquat- ulate—erase.” REVEILLE, Wake, Sammy, wake from out your frightful nap! Another barrel quickly put on tap! Our Jury System #s a triumphant success, Ten men and a judge can worry two jurors out of their convictions inside of 96 hours, Jupce Depue, of Newark, has contributed one fact to the scientific record, of 1879. It takes just four days to starve a jury into a ver- dict of acquittal. Tue Republican party is the party of sound money. Thisis probably the only consideration that spurs Mr. Kelly on in his efforts to get Mr. Cornell elected. Tr those ten Blair jurors had only been able to use the Bergh system of argument, they might have won the minority to their way of thinking in less than four days. Tue gentleman who refuses to vote for Ro- binson because he is said to represent Tilden must view with pleasure the attitude of Mr. Cor- nell towards the Republican administration. Ir is said that since 1790 our Government has spent $1,500,000,000 on its navy. A tele- scope of sufficient power to enable the Gov- ernment to see its navy would cost a trifle more, perhaps. Tue man who can vote, and who does not vote, at this election, is the kind of man who would not resent an insult to his wife. [N. B.—It is not likely that such a man would ever have the luck to get a wife.] Governors of Russian provinces have now authority to summarily dismiss any citizen holding office whom they may consider ned/a- gonadeiny—that is, politically untrustworthy. John Kelly and Ben Butler in Russia would be neblagonadejny of the neblagonadejnyest kind. comicbooks.com