The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-09-20


Political Keform-What Ii to BE Hoped
from hS
The question of political reform, as COM
munication in another column suggests, is a
hobby that has been ridden by political ''outs'
for two centuries in every country where
there was liberty and enlightenment enough
to permit politicians to do plastering and fur
nishing jobs, without risking their heads. 1t
is only in despotic countries, like Russia, Ger
many, or France under the old Napoleon, that
politicians cannot enrich themselves at the
expense Of the people. The plastering job, if
performed in St. Petersburg, would doubtless
have subjected the contractor to the knout, and
the carpet furnishing arrangement, if it had
fallen under the jurisdiction of the old Napo-
leon, would have been punished by thu sum-
mary execution of Ingersoll along with the
delinquent quartermasters of the army.
Frederick the Great of Prussia would have
tied Connolly and Keyser together and swung
them off the lofty battlements of Konigsberg
if they had carried on their plumbing game
in his time and country, but here, under
cry for reform, the guilty are
to be simply replaced by those who will have
fully as good chance to steal and are blessed
with much hungrier edge of appetite.
Those who have done the stealing, and all
others 80 unfortunate as to be suspected, are
to be politically decapitated by law -obssrving
and perfectly respectable mob, goaded to cool
and calculating indignation by the cry of po-
litical reform; and Immediately another crew
are put in Office, who, under the very lead of
the so-called reformers, 60 to work stealing as
hard as ever their predecessors did. While
we are to have a change let us see that the
change is an Improvement. Let us have true,
honest men, of undoubted integrity, returned
to our Legislature this fall and appointed to
fill the places of those to be decapitated; and
when we have done that let us trust to mer-
ciful Providence that they will not fall before
the temptations Of the Treasury and be worse
than the old gorged birds of the Ring.
| ACCORDING TO ST. FOLEY, sinner Connolly
made new departure yesterday. st. Foley
declares that the penitent Comptroller con-
J fessed his seventy deadly sins to the seventy
venerable absolvers aud inquisitors of the
citizens reform junta, and expressed his will
| ingness to 60 to Sing Sing if the other NUM-
cipal Ringers would bear him company.
Misery loves company, although we can't say
that Connolly loves the "Ringers."
| GREELEY VS.. MURPHY.-Mr. Greeley has at
last relieved his laboring mind in reference to
Collector Murphy, and the budget of specifica-
tons brought forward against him as Tam
many confederate, supporter of Andy John
son and an opposer of negro suffrage is awful
to contemplate. But how stands Mr.. Greeley
himself on his war record, beginning with his
justification of secession and coming down to
his present efforts to get up a one-horse Pres-
dental ticket of republican boilers against
General Grant This question may be
answered by the simple remark that the main
point with party man is not so much what he
has been as what he Is. We presume, how
ever, that the Republican State Convention OF
the 9th inst, at Saratoga Springs, will settle
the question between Murphy and Greeley
but we think II probable that the decision will
involve 'new departure" by Mr.. Greeley.
IT Is WELL KNOWN that Mr.. Green, the
Deputy Comptroller, recently gave batch o.
documents from his Office to the Committee o.
Seventy. It is now intimated by Mr.. Greens
friends that those documents strongly impli
cate high officials of the city government
Why, then, are they not publishedr Why die
not Mr.. Green give them directly to the public
through the newspapers, instead Of consigninl
them to the Committee of Seventy, which
while comprising In the main many homes
men, is not 80 jealous in the performance {
its duties as 1t should be, and is, moreover
J already giving evidence Of being moved by