Tiger at Bay

"The time has come," the mayor said, "for the leader of the New York County Democratic organization to step aside." That solemn declaration from New York's Mayor Robert Wagner, who had been nervously clearing his throat for some time, launched the big offensive to throw out Tammany Boss Carmine De Sapio (TIME, Jan. 13). It was a major step toward prettying up the party and, more practically, toward uniting the long-feuding New York Democrats so that they could band together under Kennedy auspices to cut Republican Governor Nelson Rockefeller down to size when he runs for re-election in 1962.

Wagner first exercised his new political muscle last week in the scrap over a replacement for Manhattan Borough President Hulan Jack. De Sapio seemed to have that election in his pocket. But when Wagner began to remind reluctant councilmen of the patronage at his command, he had surprisingly little trouble. Wagner's choice, Judge Edward Richard Dudley, onetime Ambassador to Liberia (the U.S.'s first Negro ambassador), won the showdown vote in the council 4 to 2.

De Sapio was no man to give up without a fight. Asked if he would step aside, he replied with a loud "no," and promised that the coming primaries would decide who is in charge. But with his patronage cut off at both the White House and city hall, Carmine De Sapio and his Tammany tiger have little left to fight with.

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