New-York tribune., 1869-05-21

government and commend it rs calculated 10
purify the atmosphere of the Capitol.
We demur that it is not truly self govern
mept. There is THE TRIBUNE Office, for Illus
tratton. in which number of us have garnered
the fruits of twenty to forty years hard work,
located in the IVth Ward of this emporium.
That Ward has an Alderman, we learn; but
none of us ever saw him in fact, we never
knew an Alderman Of this Ward during the
quarter of century or over that we have
been hard at work in it and 10 single share
holder in TIE TRIBUNE has voted for an Al
derman of tile INth since this paper was
founded. How does self-government require
MS 10 be taxed and assessed at the discretion
OF this functonmy} We were lately put III
for some 500 as our share oE tie cost OF
opening Churah-succt, when oar properly VIII
he seriously deprecated in value by that open
inc and yo would rather have paid twice the
sum 70 preyent the opening OF that street.
Our Alderman probably voted for that open
inc. and finds his account in 1t; but then we
nover had n chance to vote for or against that
AIdoriuan. And our case is that of the owners
Of ninc-teuths of the property in the ward
We challenge the sticl,lcrs for local indcpend-
cuce to consider this practical illustration, and
fell lis why we might not more reasonably
IooI, TO the Legislature, which we help elect,
TO shield MS from official rapacity and Ias"ahty
than to this Alderman, in whose selection we
had no voice whatever.
An impression seems to be current that tho
measures reprobated rs at war with the prln-
ciple of local sclf-sovernment originated with
the Republican party; yet nothing is further
from the fact. Our City Tax Levy has been
sent TO Albany for revision and approval SO
long that nobody seems TO know when 1t had
its origin. We could not probably guess within
twenty years the date of its beginning. AS to
Commissions, we voted in 1888 for the intro
duction of CrotOn Water into this Clty-a
measure of strictly Municipal concen-when
eyery branch of the State Government was
overwhelmingly Democratic; yet the work was
confdcd-wisely and properly cOnided-to a
State Commission. That Commission Is sun III
existence, and we are confident that our Clty
Debt is many Millions less than 1t would have
been had our Councils constituted and directed
if. So the Central Park is the work OF State
Commission, and has cost far less than If our
Councils had iobbcd it. So we might proceed
to the end, but will not. We do not highly
praise our State Commissions when we say that
they give us all that is most efficient and least
corrupt in our City Government
Our rural friends may hand us over to the
tender mercies Of our Mayor and Aldermen II
they will. Matters are now so bad that many
favor any change, assuming that they cannot
be worse Perhaps we need that coal on the
tortoiso's back to set him in motion. But we
warn you friends in the interior! that the
disease will defy so superficial a remedy. You
must stop clecting to the Legislature such men
as Mattoon, Akin, Bemus, and three-dozen
more such, or corruption can never be van
quished. If you lie down with such dogs, you
will get up all alive with ileas; and cutting
Off the City altogether from the State will
afford 10 remedy whatever.