The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-11-14

ton, the capital, Is at this moment the most
dissipated city in the Union. 1t is the same in
Connecticut There, too, there is prohibitory
law But in every public house in every town
and village, the worst kind Of liquor is sold
openly over the counter. So strong is the law
Of public opinion, which thus nulliies the i'm
practicable fanaticism of q statute.
1t is stated that movement is on foot to re-
peal the prohibitory law in Massachusetts,. The
Legislature may as well do SO at once, for
the law is virtually repealed by the people, who
are universal drinkers, from the parsons and
heads of universities down to the hodmen
and free negroes. A prohibitory liquor
law, for such population, is only hypo-
crisy systematized and reduced to sta
tute. The only law worth fig is the proper
regulation of the sale of liquors by license, and
the enforcement of the vending of pure liquors
under the severest penalty-sn enactment very
much needed also in this State, and particularly
in the city Of New York, where liquors are
"doctored" to such fearful extent that it is
next to impossible to obtain them genuine and
unadulterated from any dealer.
Tux ALLEGED MARKET FRAUDs.-The public
markets have always been used as source of
corruption and fraud by the officials connected
with them, and recent Developments have
shown that system of blackmail is pursued
which is discreditable to all parties concerned.
The markets, it is well known, ought to be a
means oflarge revenue to the city that they have
not proved so is equally notorious. Nor is this
fact to be wondered at when we consider the
class of persons to whose care they are entrust-
ed. A batch of afidavits has just been sent
to the City Inspector, showing that sums of
money have been extorted from various parties
for permits for stands in the markets by
an individual not entitled to interfere in
such matters, and from the whole COM
plexion Of the case it would seem to impli-
cate the Superintendent of Markets, more
or less, either by connivance or direct partici-
patton in the transactions This official is the
appointee of our model reform Mayor, and
it is but just to suppose that his subor-
dinates have been selected from the bruiser and
shoulder-hitter fraternity-not exactly the GLASS
OF men to be entrusted with the guardian
ship OF any portion of the city's revenues.
Under such management it is not to be expect
ed that the markets will prove very profitable
to the treasury, and we hope that thorough
investigation into these alleged frauds will
eventuate in the substitution of set of officials
a little better qualified for the duties of the
Market Bureau. We see by an account of the
sale of stalls in one market at Philadelphia, on
Saturday, that they realized premium over
their actual rent of nearly a hundred thousand
dollars. There is no reason why our markets
should not be proportionately profitable to the
city, and they certainly would be under proper
management. We trust that the City Inspector,
the other branches of whose department are so
well conducted, will sift this matter to the bot
tom, and that the Mayor will purge the Market
Bureau of the rowdies and fighting men who
have it under their control.