Nazi Politics

Taking the pitiful showing of John F. Hylan in the gubernatorial contest as an indication, it seems that the bigots who backed New York’s former mayor solely on the race issue have piled up on the sharp rocks of the city’s and State’s liberalism.

The meagre vote obtained by Hylan may be properly interpreted as signifying the complete collapse of the pro-Nazi political movement in this city. For, by accepting the endorsement, heavily tainted with anti-Jewish sentiment, of the several vociferous Nazi groups here, Hylan irrevocably identified himself with the proponents of Hitlerism in this country. This despite his repeated assertions of being personally unblemished by the wens of racial intolerance.

In all Greater New York, the frenzied Hylan campaign netted the grand total of 10,132 votes.

What was perhaps the most astonishing fact of all was that, in Yorkville, thought to be the very stronghold of pro-Nazi sentiment, Hylan came away with the wretched total of 220 votes of some 17,000 that were cast.

And Yorkville is considered by the Louis Zahnes, the Dr. Schnuchs and the Ignatz Griebls as their personal property. The German-American vote was in their pocket. All they had to do was snap the whip and German-Americandom would tumble all over itself rushing to the support of their candidate.

The election result has probably rung the death-knell of hyphenated political committees.

It has completely shattered the rosy illusions harbored by Zahne’s German-American Independent Voters League.

It has revealed the political committee of the German-American Conference as a thing of sheer fustian. The steel that group noisily promised to unsheath has turned to papier-mache.

It has made hash of the small body of would-be kings who were trying to convert the powerful Steuben Society into out-and-out pro-Hitlerism. Herr Wieboldt who promised Hylan the entire Steuben vote in return for a place as attorney general on his slate has been thrown for an embaras-######