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In the first place, Fusion is a popular revolt, not a political movement, and therein differs from past alliances against Tammany. For sixty years prior to 1895 Tammany had tasted defeat only once; but in that year inspiration came to the leaders of the other parties, and, with a foresight that was as admirable as it was delayed, they agreed to bury their differences in a united attempt to "twist the tiger's tail." In the first of the so-called Fusion campaigns the united forces elected, as Mayor, William L. Strong, and proof was given the world that the forces in the metropolis opposed to Tammany could rule as long as they were united. Apparently the party leaders missed the lesson that was so plain to outside observers, however, for in 1897 Tammany elected Robert A. Van Wyck Mayor, through the failure of the Republicans to line up with the other elements opposed to the Fourteenth Street organization. In 1901 complete fusion elected Seth Low, but in 1905 the Republicans again put Murphy in power by entering a third ticket. Four years ago the election of Mayor Gaynor by Tammany and independent voters was made possible by the obstinacy of Mr. Hearst, who insisted upon himself running for the place, although he supported the rest of the Fusion ticket, which was successful. Thus during the past eighteen years has the lesson been driven home that Tammany Hall, as the most complete embodiment of the unholy alliance in the city between dishonest politicians and the forces of privilege, can be beaten only by the united action of its enemies.

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While past Fusion campaigns have been launched and guided by machine-trained political engineers, however, the 1913 attack was begun and is being sustained by men who get whatever recognition they enjoy through their prestige as individuals and the tacit backing of the mass of public-spirited citizens. It has been well said that the Strong campaign of 1896 was multi-partisan rather than non-partisan, and the same statement would apply to other anti-Tammany alliances prior to this one. In the words of Mr. Norman Hapgood, Chairman of the Citizens' Municipal Committee, "All other Fusion movements were attempts to get the anti-Tammany machines pulling together. This year the citizens tailed onto the traces of the band-wagon without waiting for the machines. The machines got in line because they had to."

Here, then, we have an attempt by the people to govern themselves directly. Readers of The Outlook may have wondered how it was that Mr. Hapgood and those with him could cram their candidates down the throats of Republican, Progressive, and Democratic party leaders, not to mention the Independent gentlemen who have formed a league professedly opposed to dictatorial political methods. The answer is that no forceful feeding was done by Mr. Hapgood and his associates; the process was rather one of eager deglutition by the politicians, who swallowed Fusion as a starving Eskimo absorbs a juicy piece of blubber.

In the gubernatorial election of 1908 the Republican vote in the four counties of Greater New York was 261,186; in 1910 it was 197,727; and last fall it dropped to 111,630—a decrease of more than fiftyseven per cent through three elections. The organizations of the Cleveland and the Empire State Democracy, the former the shell of a once powerful party and the latter an amalgamation of the "highbrow" elements in the party, formed not long ago to fight for direct primaries, were both, as usual, itching for a dig at Tammany. The Hearst forces, coalesced under the emblem of the Independence League, were in a similar mood. Furthermore (but speak it not above a whisper!), it may be suspected from the rapacious manner in which the party bosses have fought for the lesser places on the ticket, as well as from the disappointment that some of them showed when the chief nominations were made, that each boss hoped to get the butter of the Fusion churning. In short, not only did the antiTammany machines face the alternative of accepting Fusion or a loss of prestige, but the signs are that each of them planned to use Fusion as a stalking-horse for its own ambitions.

It is only fair to remember that past successes of the allies have taught that all the corruption and misgovernment in New York has by no means emanated from the Wigwam on Fourteenth Street ;. and the success with which that unique body, the Committee of 107, has thus far held at bay the hungry party wolves is a testimonial to the tact and acumen of the Committee, as well as to its sincerity of purpose.

Another respect in which this year's brand of Fusion differs from those of the past is that the defeat of Tammany is only, an inci

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dental part of the programme. "Tammany is combated," as Dr. Henry Moskowitz said in addressing the first meeting of the Citizens' Committee, "because Tammany has symbolized 'the shame of Our cities.' "What we hope to do," said Chairman Hapgood recently, "is to take the city out of politics entirely. When we've elected our men, the fight to get laws insuring real home rule, a short ballot, absence of party emblems, and a permanent business administration will continue." Hence the insistence on the principle of non-partisanship. The Fusionists want to put the affairs of this huge corporation, with an annual budget of more than two hundred million dollars, on a business basis and keep them there. That the Citizens' Municipal Committee is the nucleus of a permanent municipal party was evidenced by the recent action of six of its members in taking out papers of incorporation by which the Committee is empowered to set up a ticket of its own at any time, irrespective of the actions of the old parties.

Here, then, is the reason that the action of the members of the Fusion Vigilance Committee as leaders "by divine right" of the forces of good government has remained unchallenged. Tired by the failure of past unions of anti-Tammany machines to give the city a régime much cleaner than what it was wont to receive from Murphy and his predecessors, the mass of voters were only too glad to accept the leadership of men from their own ranks whose sincerity could not be questioned. In the face of this wave of popular feeling the machines didn't dare dispute the mandates of the Citizens' Municipal Committee, and, with varying degrees of grace, accepted the inevitable.

The platform of Fusion is admirable for its directness, brevity, and the quality of its material. Home rule is provided for by. planks calling for the framing by the city of its own charter, the adoption of a thoroughgoing direct primary, the elimination of National party names and emblems from ballots used in city elections, the control of city revenue-including the subjects and rates of taxation, the control of public utilities, and the enlargement of the powers of the Board. of Estimate, to make it in name, what it already is in fact, the responsible governing body of the city-with the abolition of the Board of Aldermen, or, at least, the removal of all power of the Aldermen in fiscal matOther important provisions in the

platform relate to the reorganization of the police, the creation of new sources of city revenue through the taxation of franchises and other privileges, the power of excess condemnation, and some excellent measures of social reform, including the establishment. of a Department of Markets with wholesale terminal food centers in each borough, the creation of a Municipal Department of Recreation, the reorganization of the Department of Charities and its correctional system, and the supplying of food at cost to school children by the Board of Education. The supporting framework of the platform, however, is composed of those planks that call for economy and efficiency in city administration, and, judging from early utterances of the nominees, insistence on these reforms is to be made the principal issue in the campaign by the allies, who in so doing will be able to refer to the notable progress in these respects made by the Fusion members of the present Board of Estimate. Some of the measures advocated to save the city money are the establishment of a central bureau to purchase all city supplies, the standardization of salaries for municipal employees, the issuance of bonds for permanent improvements only-and never for longer periods than the probable life of such improvements the appointment to office for merit alone, and the abolition of all sinecures.

In selecting a leader for their ticket the members of the Fusion nominating committee were not hampered by lack of materialin fact, the worth of no one of the trio that from the first led the field in the race for the Mayoralty nomination was ever questioned. The fight narrowed into a question of availability. The friends of Mr. Whitman pointed to his record as a City Magistrate, Judge of General Sessions, and, more particularly, as District Attorney, in which capacity he had brought to justice the murderers of Herman Rosenthal, the gambler, and successfully conducted the prosecution of police grafters which was an aftermath of the murder case. Such a record, it was urged, would assure the District Attorney, of the support of thousands of voters outside his party. Mr. McAneny's advocates based his case on his admirable record as President of Manhattan Borough, and declared that the many measures he had fostered, with resultant saving of the city's money, made him just the man to place at the head of a vast public corporation. In their turn the adherents of Mr.

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Mitchel called attention to his signal service as an exposer of corruption and departmental carelessness while Commissioner of Accounts, and, later, his farsightedness and independence of party ties shown while President of the Board of Aldermen and while Acting Mayor during Mr. Gaynor's incapacity in 1910. These traits, it was said, put him on a par with the others as far as fitness was concerned, and, when it came to the question of expediency, Mr. Mitchel's followers averred that he was most certainly the "logical candidate." As a Democrat in good standing who had been honored with appointment to the Collectorship of the Port of New York, Mr. Mitchel was easily more "available in a Democratic city than Mr. Whitman, a lifelong Republican, no matter what the personal drawing powers of the latter might be. As opposed to Mr. McAneny, the Collector could command the support of the Hearst forces, which were openly against the candidacy of the Borough President; and it was also claimed that the labor element would be more generous with its votes to Mr. Mitchel than to Mr. McAneny. The force of these considerations may not have been much, but, like Mercutio's wound, it was enough. The Collector won by a hair after the name of McAneny had been withdrawn. The first of the final polls gave Mitchel 32 votes, Whitman 29, McAneny 28; the eighth and last count was Mitchel 45, Whitman 44. Thereupon the Committee unanimously nominated Mr. Whitman for his present position and Mr. McAneny for President of the Board of Aldermen. One of the most refreshing developments of recent New York City politics was the fine spirit in which both these gentlemen determined to stand by the ship of Fusion, thereby insuring the solidification of the anti-Tammany forces, rather than heed the advice of self-styled friends and selfseeking party leaders to " go it alone for the whole cake or nothing."

The Fusion Movement is a young man's movement, and the man who leads the forces of good government into battle is the junior of all his lieutenants. John Purroy Mitchel was born in Fordham, Greater New York, thirty-four years ago, the son of James Mitchel, at one time Fire Commissioner, and the grandson of John Mitchel (an Irish patriot and associate of Daniel O'Connell), who was banished from his native land because of his too rabid advocacy of Home Rule. The Fusion candidate for Mayor doubtless got

his absolute fearlessness and his fighting strain from his fiery grandfather. These qualities have more than once stood him in good stead since he began his public career as Assistant Corporation Counsel; but they were particularly prominent during his investigations while Commissioner of Accounts, which resulted in the reorganization of several city departments. That is one salient feature of Mitchel's work: it is always constructive. The worst thing his enemies have said about him is that he is a Hearst man. But although his views and Mr. Hearst's have coincided on several questions, he has refused a nomination on the Hearst ticket unless his colleagues on the Fusion ticket are included. For his bitter opposition to the subway contracts he has been much censured; but even most of his enemies admit that in this matter he followed his lights and acted through disinterested motives. Perhaps his best asset as Mayor would be his tremendous assimilative and analytical powers. As a member of the Board of Estimate he has written more reports than any of his colleagues, and it has been said of him that he can grasp the details of any subject, no matter how technical, if put before him in simple language. This tireless, far-seeing, serious young man has the stuff in him of which the best public servants are made.

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Charles S. Whitman and George McAneny, "the right and left bowers of Fusion they have been called, whose presence on the ticket lends it almost as much strength as does Mr. Mitchel's, are both young men, have both long been students of municipal affairs. Mr. Whitman, who was born in Norwich, Connecticut, forty-five years ago, is a graduate of Amherst College and of the Law School of New York University. Like the nominee for Mayor, he entered public office as an Assistant Corporation Counsel, being appointed in 1902 at the beginning of the. Low administration. He became the personal legal adviser of Mayor Low, and in this capacity was afforded frequent opportunities to acquaint himself with the workings of municipal machinery. From that point until he reached his present position the rungs in the ladder of success were for him successively a City Magistracy, the Presidency of the Board of City Magistrates, and a seat on the bench of the Court of General Sessions. While President of the Board of Magistrates he created the Night Court and broke up the business of professional bonds

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Mr. Whitman is a determined fighter, and, with Mr. Mitchell as Mayor, would make up a team that could bring order out of the chaos in the Police Department, if such a task is possible of human achievement.

The mildness and never-failing courtesy of George McAneny have led some men, to their sorrow, to conclude that he was "easy." Idealist and philosopher as he is, he is by no means a dreamer, and his ideals are those of a practical man who knows the world and human nature. During most of the fortythree years of his life Mr. McAneny has had his nose near the municipal grindstone, and his hobby is city government. As a New York newspaper man during some of the years when city politics were at their worst, and later as President of the City Club when they weren't a great deal better, he had acquired, when he took office as President of Manhattan in 1909, a vast knowledge of what not to do as well as the fund of theories that made him suspected by the "man on the street. A friend of the Borough President's has given me this impartial and illuminating estimate of the man : McAneny is a mild idealist, but no theorist. His social philosophy is that of sunshine and light. He hates blue and purple, and likes pink, red, and yellow. Clean, intelligent, effective up to the limits of his physical strength, he makes a good municipal housekeeper and would make an ideal general equilibrator for any administration." In National politics Mr. McAneny is an independent Democrat.

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For the other important city officesnamely, those that confer membership in the Board of Estimate, the body that virtually holds the city's purse-strings-the Fusion nominators have selected William A. Prendergast for Comptroller; and for the Presidencies of the Boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Richmond they have chosen, respectively, Marcus M. Marks, Lewis H. Pounds, Douglas Mathewson, Robert W. Higbie, and George Cromwell.

Mr. Prendergast, who is the present Comptroller, is a Progressive whose aptitude for finance was first evidenced in public office when he was Register of Kings County. He has written much on commercial subjects, and his work, "Credit and Its Uses," is considered an authority. He nominated Timothy L. Woodruff for Lieutenant-Governor in 1896, seconded the nomination of Charles E. Hughes for Governor in 1906, and has himself run for Congress.

Of the others, Mr. Marks and Mr. Higbie, both Republicans, have had little political experience. Mr. Marks is a retired manufacturer with a penchant for arbitration-both international and industrial, but especially the latter. He has served as a mediator and abitrator in numerous labor disturbances, and was a member of the Industrial Peace Committee of Nine appointed by President Roosevelt, as well as of Governor Hughes's Immigration Commission; but whether his experience as a peacemaker will avail him anything as a member of the Board of Estimate remains to be seen. Mr. Higbie, a merchant who has served as President of the Queens County Chamber of Commerce, has never held public office, although he was a member of the executive committee of the Inter-State Commerce Commission Law Convention which was active in getting through the Hepburn Bill regulating railway rates. Mr. Mathewson is a Republican lawyer who was noted for his independence as a member of the State Assembly some years ago. has also been Assistant Corporation Counsel, and, as First Deputy Comptroller since 1909, has made a record for efficiency and devotion to duty. Another lawyer on the ticket is Lewis H. Pounds, who showed his willingness to subordinate his own fortunes to the interest of the public when he declined the Republican nomination for Borough President of Brooklyn in 1909 to avoid cutting into the support of the Fusion candidate, Judge Steers. He was put in the place of the man for whom he had stepped aside when President Steers resigned a month ago. Mr. Cromwell is running for a position that has been his for some time, he having been President of Richmond since the Borough was created in 1898.

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The item in the Fusion programme most indicative of the trend of city government in the United States to-day is the provision to clothe the Board of Estimate with powers to be shorn from the Board of Aldermen. This is the last step in a process that has been going on since the Board of Estimate was formed in 1871, and is analogous to the gradual centralization of power in other cities during recent years, culminating in government by commission. Although the average New Yorker is unaware of it, it is a fact that his city is to-day virtually commission governed. Almost the entire power of the city in fiscal matters lies with this Board, which has been called "New York's unique contribution to municipal government." This body

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is composed of the Mayor, Comptroller, and President of the Board of Aldermen, with three votes each; the Presidents of the Boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, each with two votes; and the Presidents of the Bronx, Queens, and Richmond, with one vote apiece. At present the only power of the Aldermen over the city's money is to reduce items in the budget proposed by the Board of Estimate; they may neither increase items nor insert new ones. Any such reductions, too, are subject to the Mayor's veto, and in that event the Aldermen can gain their point only by a three-quarters vote. If this remnant of former puissance is taken from the Aldermen and given to the Board of Estimate, the government of New York City will be carried on by a commission of eight men, of whom three can control a majority of votes.

The prospect of seeing tried out in a city of 5,000,000 inhabitants an experiment hitherto confined to much smaller communities, and the spectacle of a body of citizens striving to throw off permanently the shackles of partisanship, are the two great features that lend National interest to the bloodless revolution called "Fusion."

GREGORY MASON.

[This article will be followed next week by an account of Tammany Hall and its corrupting influence on New York City government. This account has been written, at the request of The Outlook, by Everett P. Wheeler, Esq., a leading member of the New York Bar, and a loyal, active, and influential Democrat in National politics.-THE EDITORS.]

THE CONTROL OF DISEASE

BY EDWARD H. LEWINSKI-CORWIN, PH.D.,
IN COLLABORATION WITH EARL W. MAYO

A preceding article," The Medical Profession and the Conservation of Public Health," will be found in The Outlook of August 30. In connection with this article the reader will be

interested in the special correspondence from the Congress of School Hygiene to be found on another page of this issue.—THE EDITORS.

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HERE are certain diseases which it would easily be possible for medical skill, clothed with sufficient authority, to banish utterly from any community within a brief time. If we were to set up in each city or State a competent medical dictator, with authority to enforce regulations and restrictions that past discoveries have suggested, he could quickly put an end to typhoid fever and malaria, and reduce diph theria and scarlet fever to a point where they would cause as little concern as does smallpox in most of our cities at the present time.

Within the past few years we have seen something of this very sort accomplished at Panama, which has been transformed, under the sanitary rule of Colonel Gorgas, from a spot in which it was deemed impossible for white men to work or to live for any length of time, to a district which compares favorably in its health record with any other portion of the United States.

While it is true that under what may be designated as ideal conditions of medical control it would be possible to reduce and in some directions practically to eliminate mortality and morbidity from the common forms of contagious and communicable disease, it is equally true that these diseases continue to exact their toll of sickness and death in all parts of the country at a rate that is still relatively large. If we turn to the statistics of three familiar contagious diseases, diphtheria, scarlet fever, and measles, we find that in 1910 there were 71,238 cases of these diseases in New York and 25,038 in Chicago. There are many smaller cities that would show far higher rates proportionately to their populations.

NOT WHOLLY A MEDICAL PROBLEM

This is but another way of saying that the control and eradication of disease is not wholy a medical problem. It is almost equally a social problem. So long as the

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