New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-11-10
WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO ABOUT 1T
NOW

WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO ABOUT 1T
NOV.
The great danger to the reform movement
now is the over-confdence of its friends. we
do well to rejoice over the splendid victory OF
Tuesday, but we must not repeat the mistake
which our generals made 30 often during the
Rebellion, and rest upon the field OF Dattle
while the beaten enemy retires to reorganlze'
J A victory is of no use unless it Is pushed.
We hone that the Committee of Seventy Will
continue their work with as much zeal as they
have shown during the last two months They
have had o gallant share in the overthrow OF
the Ring and the disclosure of Mr.. Tweeds
peculations; and they have been 80 successful
principally because prominent citizens VINO
have hitherto taken no part in public affairs
have given what business man values most
his time-to the examination of the clty's
affairs and the prosecution of the public rob-
beers. We want the prosecutions already
instituted to be pushed with the utmost
vigor; we want new ones begun. Not
quarter of the Ring thieves have yet
been reached. Even the action against
Tweed is only q civil suit; and while the
starving wretch who steals loaf of bread is
sent to the Penitentary, the thief who has
taken millions goes about blazing with diamonds,
and gets elected to the Senate. There are
scores of smaller rascals who have shared his
plumber and helped his nefariOus operations.
Nothing has been done to them but it Is i'm
portant that they should be punished as well
as their leaders, for the small rascals are the
men who do most harm in corrupting individual
voters and manipulating ward caucuses.
Finally, there are three chief members OF the
Ring Directory who have thus far escaped,
but of whose guilt the majority of the public
seems to be we'll satisfied. Whether Sweeny,
Connolly, and Hall are as bad as Tweed and
Fields is u question which ought to be authOri-
tatively settled. They have been in very bad
company they are under grave suspicion;
they are certainly responsible for permitting
outrageous wrongs which it was their official
duty TO prevent. Let the Committee take
them in hand and, if they can be proved guilty,
let us make an example of them Mr.. Sweeny
has already resigned. We should not gain
anything by forcing Mayor Hall to resign at
present, because the President of the Board OF
Aldermen would then become Mayor, and the
President of the Board of Aldermen, until the
1st of January, is Thomas Conan. We should
gain nothing by forcing Connolly to resign,
because when he went out Mr.. Green would
have to go out too. But the impression should
not gain currency that we are negectlng these
three gentlemen, and the Committee will do
we'll to give their accounts a thorough over
hauling.
There have doubtless been some outrageous
frauds at this election. The District Attorney
should receive a hint that he will be expected
promptly to take up the cases of men under
arrest for illegal voting and other Offenses
against the Election laws and to prosecute
them with all his might. If he needs any help,
the Committee might lend him one or two
smart lawyers, and perhaps detectives might
be employed to hunt up evidence. The mem
beers of the Young Mems Council of Political
Reform, who did such splendid work during
the canvass and a. the polls, can probably
help in this labor. The Democratic Reform
Committee has appointed five of its members
to prosecute illegal voters and dishonest in
spectOrs, and invites communications from all
persons who have evidence to give. This is
well but we should not leave the work and
the honor entirely to them.
There is reason to believe that HOratiO Sey-
mour was elected to the Assembly in the
XIXth District and Frederick Kilian in the
XVIII, the notorious Tom Fields and Alex.
Frear being fraudulently counted in. Mr..
Tilden would be a suitable person to investi
gate this business 1t ought to be looked after
at once, while testimony is most easily pro-
durable, and the contest in the Legislature
will thus be greatly simplifed.
Finally, the Judiciary Ring calls for immed
ate attention. Tammany and Erie have both
been sustained by the corruptions of the bench.
Without the help of the courts they could not
have plundered the public 30 long; with the
help of the courts they may still defy justice
q while longer. 1t will not do to trust too
much to the sudden zeal for reform witnessed
of late in tribunals where Tweed was supposed
to be omnipotent All the creatures and friends
of the Ring are just now in panic, which
they will soon get over if they are let alone.
No part of the City Hall wants purging more
than the courts. Whether we can get what
we need by legislation, or must resort to i'm
parchment, is an inquiry which we earnestly
recommend to the Bar Association. The man
ner in which that learned body treated-or
rather has continued to smOther-tbe case Of
Mr.. David Dudley Field, did not give the public
a high idea of their zeal for judicial and pro-
fessional purity; but in the general uprising
against dishonesty we are sure the bar must be
as earnest as any other class in the community,
and here is an opportunity for them to do
their part in the great reformation.
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