New-York tribune., 1870-02-07
THE PROPOSED CITY CHARTER.

Though bir. TTearS embryo Chalter mas nOu
even been reported its doom is already sealed.
1t cannot pass the Legislature without material
amendments, because the Democratic party can
not afford to have it passed as it stands, and
its leaders know it. That is the short way of
setting forth the exact state OF the case. III
party capital could he made by adopting It,
the measure would be rushed through in
week; but the party would suffer by it for the
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF very few; and it is not
now in condition to incur needless odium.
But why can't the Democratic managers
afford to give our City good Charter?
For several reasons, which may be summed
up in the theological expression, Original Sin.
A good charter would give us cheaper and
honester rule but the heavy Democratic ma
iority given here is largely swelled by corrup-
ton and vice. One thousand grog-shops in the
CITY, each paying g. 900 license, would put
S1,00O000 per annum into the Treasury, give
every one liquor within two blocks OF his
dwelling or workshop, iberate six or eight
thousand families from dependence on rum
selling for q livelihood and restore them
to productive labor, while crime vice
and wTetchedness would be immensely
diminished by the change. But one thou
sand grogshops would MT turn out nearly so
many Democratic voters as ten thousand do;
so the party can't afford to effect any such re-
form.
So with our thousands Of gambling dens and
houses of ill-famc: they curse and impoyerish
the City but they fill the Tammany treasury
and swell the Democratic vote so the mana
gers will do nothing to diminish their number,
their power, or their guilty gains.
Again with regard to Elections: If we do not
misread very plain Indications the Tammany
sachems are at length aroused to sense of
their own danger. So long as repeating and
false counting were efiectnal only in swelling
their maiOrities, they secuted all suggestions of
reform and brazenly denied the prevalence Of
fraud. But our last Charter Election, wherein
few republicans took part, showed them that
fraud could be practiced against as well as for
thom--that some OF their instruments in former
contests had set up for Themselves and had
rather improved on the instructions which
they had Hitherto received and Obcyed. We
do not say that Thomas A. Ledwitl
Florence Scanned & Co., failed to receive
a minority OF the votes legally east; we do say
that the returns on which they were declared
elected over the regular Tammany candidates
affofd no conclusive evidence Of the fact
And il was fully established, in that Charter
Election, that regular Democratic candidates
can be counted out as well counted in. If there
be (as We rather think there iS) a majority of
the Democratic legal voters of our City at
tuled 10 the Tammany organization, then it
zig the interest Of Tammany Hall to inteipose
soIoe bauier 20 the avalanche Of fraud which
has transformed our recent elections into sWind-
ling faices.
But heIe Original Sin once more rears its
ugly head For the last twenty years, the Re-
publican party has been honestly and earnestly
trying 20 preclude Illegal Voting in this City
and throughout onr State. Act after act has
bcop passed to tlis end-passed only to he
circrnvcnicd and defeated by the eyer-swcl-
ins. tide OF Democratic fraud and rascaty-
and all rhe time the Democratic organs have,
with willful, conscious fasehood charged us
with seeking to dsfrancse the poor by rem
deTipg it difficult if not impossible, for a la
boTer 10 vote.
Nov, II ls simply impossible to devise means
Whereby Illegal voting may be prevented with
o.ft Dpttiug icgai voters 10 sOrae trouble Just