New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-11-25
ORR CdNALS-THEIR HISTORY AND MAN.
1GEWTNT


decided frngality, and thus were they man
aged for more than quarter of a century
under Clintonian, and then under Jacksonian
uulc. At least ninety cents of every dollar
raised in their behalf was made to pay for
honest work faithfully done. The famous AL
"bahy Regency which ruled our State from the
death of Clinton in 1878 to the Wing tornado
| Of 1873, bad it's faults but its members were
I not thieves. They ruled economically anu
taxed lightly. When their spokesman, Edwin
| Croswcll, sold his dwelling to the State Tor
| Governors mansion ut what was represented
! az a round price, he did his party more harm
than any year of his able editorials could 90
| it good. Yet, what tlea-bit that transaction
would seem nOwa'laysf
The Wigs did not get possession OF the
Canals till the beginning Of 1889 and they ran
| them for four years very fairly. They chose
| able aud honest men for Commissioners,
backed by snch State Officers rs John I.
Sp ncer and Willis Hall lie must be very
dcxtcrous thief who could steal O dollar with
JOHN c. Sprnccrs eye upon him. Willis Hall
was not quite no sharp, but fully as honest
| ThenccfOrward, the Canals passed from the
control of one party to that of the other about
once in four years. and were pretty fairly
managed by each till the advent of the
Know-Nothiny' Canal Board in January,
1876 That was bad crowd, the Controller
excepted and inauGuratcd such corruption and
profligacy as our Canals had never before
known. Some Of them were weak more were
rascally all were rapacous. The Canals have
not yet recovered from the evil inilcnccs OF
| their graspng vlllalny.
| The Republicans next came in, and ran the
Canals all but continuously till 1859. They
did a great deal better than their "American'
predecessors, yet not nearly so well as they
should have done. They inauguratrd the sys-
TEN of Repairs by Contract which ought to
| lave been a great success, keeping the Canals
! in good order and saving the State at least
Half a Million Dollars per annum: it failed
because it was not honestly and vigilanty adj
| ministCrcd. Every contract should have re-
0njred the contractor to clean out his section
every Winter, making it as good as new in
stead Of that, the Canals were allowed grad
ua!iy to ill, and the contractors to regard
| their stipulated compensation as 80 much clear
steal: if they did anything, they wanted pay
for that extra. Some of the lettings of these
contracts to rings" who nuctiOncd off among
| themselves the exclusive privilege of bidding
for this and then that:sectiOn, would have dis
glaccd the rottencst era of bourbon despOt-
ism in dccayns Spain. We apprchend that
these .inquics have ruined the Contract
system; bu, it was the right one, and, faith
fully administered, would give us more days
of uninterrupted navigation each year at less
cost than are possible without it. Its con-
trolling idea was this-Pay men to watch each
| IL ~ ~, Is, hrna Ia at
o hundredih part the cost of mcnding them.
That was the right system, and we regret its
miscarriage.
| In $780, the Democrats rcgaincd control of the
Canals, under the fair promises which parties
seeking power are apt to make: Have they
fuGllcd those promises 7 We judge that they
have not. They have (boat-men testify made
the Canals more uniformly navigablc than their
predecessors did, but at cost wholly unprc-
ccdcntcd. They may have meant well but
they never for Il moment emerged from the
fatal rut which had engulfed their prcdeccs-
sors. They have treated the Canals as part
of " the spells of victory" and tried to make
| them furnish uddcrs for as many gaping, hungry
mouths as possible. They doubtless fanciedt that
this strengthened their party; but that was a
sad, old blundcr. When the hour of trial for
that party came its Canal patronage proved u
! broken reed. From one end Of the Erie Canal to
the other, and along all the Champlain, Che
mango, Chcmung, Black River, and Geueseo
Valley laterals they have carried just tro
| Senator's, and one of these was given away by
the Republican canal leeches Of other days
who cluster around Penn-Yan, Geneva, and the
Montezllma marshes. They have done scarcely
better on Asscmblymen or anything else. In
brief, pat Onagc is worth nothing to great
party, exc ut when it is too strong to need it.
The new Canal Board, which will come into
possession on TIE III Of jaauar, next, is COM
posed as follows:
ALLESC :r.,H, l;,,' - or,rn r t.'tub
| WILLIAM ". NKi;I,. TdnH comm t,rt'.,"r (Dem.)
| JoHS ID. Fay, Ccnol ComD,i ,sioncr 'D.m)
G. HILTON 9CRIBSER St'rc'o"y"' state Qtrp)
NELSON X. HOPKINS. Conrci!a tlscp)
THOMAo RAINHs. Treasurer tecpD
| FRANCIS c. BARLOW, Attorney General (FcpJ
WILLIAM b. TAYLOR, state Engineer Q.ep)
| ALEXANDER BARKLEY, Crnai Commissioner GiepJ
| Six Republicans to three Democrats.
The new Board will of course displacc all
the present Democratic superintendent, lock
, tenders, &C.. and appoint Republicans instead
Such is the established rule; and, though q
very bad one, it will doubtless be observed.
And is that all
We Cntr"at the new members Of the Canal
Beard t. Iced the counsel of their senior in
politics ,n barely this extent:
|. Fight shy Of the men who have fed and
f,'icEed on the Canals under Republican rule
in the past:
2. Manage the vast property intrlstcd to
your care precisely "a though it were your
own, appointing no one to take care of it
whom you would not so trust if you were
selecting agents to guard your personal ill.,
terrStS