The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1865-02-13
Our Metropolitsn system-Ths City

been brought before the State Senate by reso-
luton, and it is imperatively necessary that
some final and satisfactory action should be
taken before the question is permitted to pass
out Of sight MI. Craven, the engineer of the
Croton Aqueduct Board, reports to the Legis-
lature that our condition in respect to sewers
is "not creditable." The phrase II far too
mild, and Is not descriptive Of the case at all
The simple fact is that the condition of our
city, in respect to sewerage, is disgrace and
ON atrocity. 1t is one of the standing and vii
famous evils heaped upon the people by our
bad system Of municipal government
Our city is built on narrow strip Of land,
and its surface slopes from a central ridge to
tidewater on either side. It is washed by
four rivers. The Hudson, Harlem or East rivers
touch nearly every foot Of its boundary, and
the Groom river, broken into thousand
streams, runs through every street. Can any
one imagine better conditions than these
for the cleanliness of q city? Certainly city
possessed at once Of oil these perfect requisites
and spending at the same time fabulous sums
for the construction Of sewers, ought to be
clean if ever there was clean city. But yet
our city, with these requisites and with this
expenditure, is o pr0verb of uncleanliness.
Sewers are built all the time, but they are
built not to carry away the city filth, but only
to hide it Our sewers are SO many sinks
under our streets and houses, in which vast
accumulations Of filth lie for months to tester
and rot and they send up from the open mouths
at every street corner a vile cfiluyium fruitful
of every disease. Owing to the proximity of
the sewers to cellars the ooze Of this filth in
many cases comes through, and whole houses
are filed with exhalations of noxious gases
that render them almost uninhabitable. Some
rooms in the HERALD building are hardly
tenantable from this reason. Moreover, owing
to other defects in plan, the sewers lodge what
filth they do carry down at the head of the
slips, filing up the slip and poisoning the air
along the whole river 'front.' This, indeed, is
stated by Mr.. Craven as their most serious evil.
Good and effective sewers-sewers well
built, upon scientific principles, and that will
drain the city perfectly-can be built for one
fifth The amount that the sewers, as they are now
being constructed, cost the city. Why, then,
can we not have good sewerss Because one OF
the evils inseparable from our bad municipal
system stands in the way. There is o conflict
Of authority on the question. The authority to
build sewers is given to tho Croton Aqueduct
Board, subject to the control and direction of
the Common Council. There is the Whole
trouble. One body cannot move unsi the
other body chooses; and when the second body
chooses the first body is on its dignity, and pre-
fcrs TO stand still. Just this very trouble is the
vital one Of our whole municipal system
Nothing can be done in any department Of our
city government until the little arrangements,
preferences and jobs Of oil the interested
powers are attended 10, and in the meantime
the city suffers. AS these disputes are frequent,
and as officials will insist upon their points OF
disagreement with due stubbornness, the city
suffers great deal. Ample power is given to
do all that need be done, but it is distributed
with such want of discretion that 1t defeats
its own purpose by this endless and ever re-
curing conflict Of authority between the vari-
Gus administrative powers. This is the vicious
point in our system, and this is the point
that tho Senatorial committee should have
turned its attention to when here. Had
that committee, instead Of indulging in
the useless and nonsensical inquiries it made
on minor points, fully ventilated this very i'm
por.ant point, its visit might have been real
benefit to our city.
For an all prevalent evil, an evil that per-
meates every part of the system, there is but
4 ID IN ha xyhn1a
system and set up better. So long as we are
under that piece Of very poor patchwork-our
present system-al our legislative remedies will
be ut best but patches II is mere game of
expcdcnts to give this or that power into new
hands SO long as we leave in existence the
system that inevitably puts the various powers
in opposition and conflict in whatever hands
they may be. The Health bill now before the
Legislature will doubtless be present remedy
for this sewer business, and certainly present
remedy is better than none. Under the pro-
visions of that bill the power Of the Common
Council over the sewers would, we suppose,
in any event. pass to the Health Board; but the
specific clause for the purpose to avoid sill
another confct-that will put the remedy yet
further out of reach.
1t is thus that bad system Of municipal
government continually compels us to choose,
not that which is best, but that which does
least harm. Our commissions are expedients
to get over difficulties. But we ought TO have
the boldness to sweep away these difficulties,
rather than be compelled every year to remedy
the harm they have done and provide against
the harm they may do. We want in this city q
single executive of larger power than the
present Mayor, and who shall not owe his posi-
ton to the corrupt influences Of city politics.
He must be appointed by State authority, and,
being above local influences, he will not be
subscrvient to the powers that are the source Of
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