The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-09-12
The Municipal Government Of New York.
Anarchy and Corruption.


The Municipal Government Of New York
Anarchy and Corruption.
During the great July riots in New York,
while Horatio Seymour was Governor of the
State, the thieves and cutthroats who held
control of portions of the city for three or four
days resorted to the expedient of setting fire
to dwelling houses and stores in order the
more easily to rob them and escape with their
plumber. This was in war time, and we were
told by Governor Seymour and other apollo
gists for the rioters that the triumph of rufian-
ism was owing to the fact that the federal
government had taken away all the troops
from the Notifications to defend Washington.
We are now at peace have large police force
in the city and pay an enormous amount of
money for our local government, and yet ruff
fanism is growing so bold and making such
rapid strides in our midst that 1t bids fair, I'M
less speedily checked, to equal those glorious
| days of July when the unterriied held sway at
the capital of the State and made bonfires of
colored orphan asylums in the city. For the
past few weeks there appears to have been an
organized movement among the thieves and
murderers of the metropolis to go back to the
old plan and to set fire to dwelling houses in
the outskirts of the city for the purpose of
robbery. So alarming have grown the indica-
lions of intended raids by these cutthroats
into the suburbs that residents on the Bloom
ingdale road, Carmansville, Washington
Heights and away into Westchester county
have been compelled for their own protection
to keep special watchmen about their pre-
misses, and the patrol force in those localities
has been doubled.
The principal cause of this carnival of
crime and Of the boldness of the robbers Is to be
traced to the politicians, and especially to the
action of the police justices of the city. Our
whole criminal judicial system is corrupt and
vicious, and until it is thoroughly reformed we
can expect no abatement of ruflianism, rob-
berry and arson. AS general thing the men
who officiate in our criminal courts are the
worst description Of ward politicians, and
seek their political capital among the
vicious and degraded. The desperadoes who
carry the incendiary's torch and rob and muir
der for living are the ''repeaters" at the polls,
and their patronage on election day is of great
value. There are rings of burglars and rings
Of thieves of every degree, as well as munich
pal rings and Tammany rings, and the whole
are as curiousy mixed up and strung together
as are the famous rings ofthe Chinese juggler
1t will not do for the politician to offend the
pickpocket or for the pickpocket to ignore the
| a hur a. or &. xntro
before police justice he is released on nomi-
nal bail or straw bail, or no bail at all, and
votes early and often for his friend the Judge
whenever the latter happens to be before the
people for reelection.
At the root Of all this evil lies the system of
an elective judiciary. So long as our Judges
owe to the votes of the people of their districts
their elevation to the bench, just so long will
their judicial conduct be controlled by the
character of their constituents It follows
that in the city Of New York, where brusers
and repeaters are the great power at the polls
bruisers and repeaters will be the favored of
the courts; and this condition of affairs
will continue to grow worse and worse until
the people resolve to submit to it no longer.
When the State Constitutional Convention was
in session the popular voice demanded
thorough reform in the judiciary system; but
the men who composed that body were narrow
minded politicians who feared to meet the issue
boldly, and so patched up sort Of compro-
mise which, with the rest Of their work. has
already gone to the dogs. The bench, to be
pure and fearless, must be made Independent
of party, and the Judges must hold office dur
ing life or good behavior. The fabric OF dema-
gogsm reared by the hard-headed country
democrats who controlled the Convention that
formed the State constitution of 1916 needs to
be wholly demolished, and the responsibility
brought down directly to one power,
responsible itself directly to the peo-
pie, before we can hope to have an
honest and efficient discharge Of duties in the
judicial or any other branch Of the govern
ment. The short terms on the bench are
quite as demoralizing as the elective system
They incite greed of gain inconsistent with
the judicial character and offer an irresistible
temptation to the incumbent to use his power
in such manner as to insure reelection.
1t is notorious that one Judge in New York,
o after obtaining by good fortune position on
$ the bench to which his party would never have
!, elevated him, managed by shrewd lobbying tc
monopolize branch of the business that had
e formerly been divided among other courts
u aud used II as the means of realizing or