The New York herald., 1871-09-19

arms, seized the national cannon, drove the
chosen rulers out of Paris, proclaimed their
| own government erected barrlcades, took the
nations money and their fellow citizens
| property, fought pitched battles in the streets
aud suburbs, pulled down national monu-
men~ and destroyed palaces, the fame OF
whose beauty and historical associations filed
! the world. And the end only came after
,, n,assacres, battles, sieges, universal desola-
tion and horror. - '-.'~
This was the Commndel The world ShGa-
ders at what was done and the men who
controlled it. Yet they were good men In
various ways. Many of them had honor,
courage, virtue. They thought they had
cause. So have the men who now in town
meeting and secret caucus propose to over
throw the city authorities and take possession
of the city. They have honor, courage, vir-
tue. They think they have a good cause
Mr.. Havemeyer is good man; but he is no
better than Delcscluze. Mr.. Tilden is
worthy citizen; but no worthier than Pascal
Grousset. Mr.. Green is honored for many
merits; but Mr.. Green is no more honorable
than Vermorel and Dombrowsk The editor
of our English contemporary Is no better than
Mr.. Rochefort; and 1t would be well for his
shrivelling and dreary newspaper if he had a
sparkle of Rochefort's audacious and mimi
table genius. 1t may be said that there
were adventurers in the Commune, like
Cluseret and Felix Pyat; but so there
are adventurers in the New York
party, like Morrissey and O'Brieu. What
we contend is that the principles Of the Com
mune and the principles Of this Cooper Institute
town meeting and the irresponsible Committee
| Of Seventy are the same. They are revClu-
tionary. They do violence to our free institu
| tions to good government. If they are per-
mitted now to obtrude their caucus nomina-
tions into high office by an alliance with men
denounced by the Supreme Court as high
way robbers, and the chief Of whom is, as
such, asked to resign by the Mayor, there Is
no reason why in year or two we might not
have in New York the same terrible scenes
we saw last summer in Paris.
The principle is the same. Evil is evil, let
US call it what we will. We cannot violate
law in the matter of Mr.. Green without doing
1t in graver emergency. Mr. Hall is bound
to put his foot upon it or retire from his Office
as incapable and unworthy. If he consents
to Mr.. Havemeyer and Mr.. Connolly debating
his financial appointments he might as well
resign. He is no longer Mayor. The town
meeting having appointed Mr.. Green to-day
may do what it pleases tomorrow. Once
begin Communism and no one can say where
it will end. Fortunately the Mayor has half
solved the problem. He has named his choice
for Comptroller, choice that will do him honor
throughout the world. 1t now remains for
the Courts to confirm it. And we underrate
Judge Barnard very much if he does not act
as firmly now as he did when called upon for
justice by Mr.. Foley and his frie nds.
Real and Bogus Reformers-rhe Schemes
of the Politicians.
The people of New York are to-day reaping
| through their careessness in the discharge of
the duties of citizenship and the indifference
with which they have for years suffered their
,cur;.;--i -n:~~- - L~~~-- 49, I.~y VI any
political adventures who may have had the
boldness and the shrewdness to seize upon
them. The city government is paralyzed, its
wheels are blocked, the business of its most
important departments is at a standstil and
this disgraceful situation, dangerous to our
peace at home, damaging to our credit
abroad, has been brought about mainly
through the squabbling and scrambling of the
fat politicians who hold Office and of the lean
politicians who want Office. 1t has been the
habit Of our citizens who live and prosper out
side the political placer, to indulge periodically
in bewailings over official corruption and in
loud demands for municipal reform but they
have, nevertheless, suffered primary elections
to be held without taking any part or interest
therein, and they have absented them
selves from nominating conventions. The
consequence has been that the whole
machinery of party has been left in the hands
Of the politicians. The wire- -pullers and adven-
turers, who regularly make lvings and for
tunes out Of politics, have put themselves or
their friends in nomination for places of trust,
and when election day has come the protesting
citizens have ''vOted the ticket" as matter of
course without regard to the character or
qualifications Of the candidates. After eec-
tion and the subsequent distribution of the
spoils malcontents have always been found
who failing to secure from tho successful
party such share in the pickings and steal
ings of Office as they believed to be their due,
ha 20 lad ranewed assault ooa;not tbo,o IN,
power and then, melted by their appeals,
the independent citizens have again and again
gone through with the same programme as
that we have described above, and generally
with the same proltless result. Occasionally,
indeed, the outsiders have formed combna-
tions powerful enough to overthrow the Office
holders and to put new men in power, pledged,