The New York herald., 1872-11-27
The System OF Commissions for Our
City Government-How We Arc to
BE Ruled I'm the Future.

|
BE Ruled I'm the Future.
1t is very we'll known that the republican
leaders in this city contemplate an application
of the system of metropolitan district COM
missions to the government Of New York and
its suburbs through the action of the repub-
lican State Legislature and the cooperation of
Governor Dix. Their plan is bold and COM
prehensive. 1t covers all the present municipal
departments, and extends the area Of their
authority beyond the limits Of the corporation
over a territory embracing Westchester Kings,
| Queens and Richmond, or portion OF those
counties, as the case may be. The new de-
parture is not to be simply revival of the old
Metropolitan Police district policy, but a COM
plete revolution in the government. It is
argued that the city boundaries are now too
restricted for the population that the citizens
cannot be efficiently protected in life or prop
erty by laws, however good, the operation of
which is confined to the city limits. We
must prepare ourselves for the speedy con-
solidation Of the suburbs in one great munich
pality, and to that end must extend our
local laws over the adjacent territory. The
OuoiAcoS ~Itcu VI NOW IOIk hE0 I6SluCAVo VI
Brooklyn, Westchester and Staten Island
Every day the inhabitants of these suburbs
pour into the city, and the best health regula-
tions that can be devised for New York are
vaueless unless they can be made to cover the
area that gives us daily nearly half our floating
population. The ferryboats connect us so
closely with Brooklyn and Staten Island that
IL 10 ahoy1rJ kn maintain Y,olioa fornn hat
does not hold in its grasp Kings, Queens and
Richmond as well as Westchester county
which is fast becoming only the upper part of
the city, The dock improvements, the Harlem
River improvement and the necessity of CON-
pleting the splendid boulevards contemplated
through Westchester, together with the build
| ing Of the Brooklyn Bridge, render it neces-
sary to give power over the public works in
New York, Westchester and Kings to single
commission. These are the main arguments
in favor Of the new policy, and no one will
deny their claim to fair consideration. Should
they be endorsed by the State Legislature the
real power in the city government will be
transferred from the Mayor to the Governor
of the State. This will also necessitate the
CTchblOu VI COululSSlOn VI uIluICc, uuuAC duu
apportionment, whose authority will extend
over the whole district and will do away with
the Comptroller department as it now exists.
The HERALD has long advocated the consol-
idation Of Brooklyn and Westchester with
New York under one municipal government.
We heartily approved years ago khe creation
of the original Metropolitan Police district,
which gave us the best force we have ever had
in the city, and we do not see why the same
principle should not now be extended to all
the departments of the city government. We
have Governor of the State who is resident
of New York city. closely identified with its
interests and conversant with its requirements.
A great deal of rhetoric is expended on the
rights Of municipalities and on the danger Of
interfering with self-government; but it is
certain that we have heretofore failed to gov
ern our own city properly, and that the people
of the whole State are almost as much con-
cerned as we ourselves are in the health and
prosperity of the metropolis and in the strict
enforcement Of the laws for the protection of
life and property within its limits. The
old "Ring" officials were SO bent on
making enormous fortunes by dis
honest practices that they suffered
the worst characters in the community to
WELD the greatest political power. Since
their overthrow there has been but little real
improvement in our local affairs except in the
better protection Of the public treasury from
direct plumber Selfish schemes have been
prosecuted as vigorously as ever, if less boldly,
Lou - Loa,, :,,;,, ~
berry we have been damaged by ineficiency,
lack of harmony and jealousies by which
desirable improvements have been brought to
standstill and the progress of the city has been
seriously impeded If we can be more hon.
estly, more advantageously and more efficiently
governed at Albany than we can govern our
selves, no good citizen will object to the crea-
ton of metropolitan commissions or to the
transfer of the appointing power to the hands
of Governor Dix.
The republican leaders contemplated no
halfway measures. It is their intention to
make the commissions of one political CON-
plexion, and while Governor Dix will assuredly
appoint none but honest and competent officers
to any position, his party will insist that they
shall all be republicans Otherwise they would
take the matter into their own hands and
name the commissioners through the Legs-
lature. Their justification for this policy is
based upon the plea that former city commits
sions failed for the very reason that they were
politically mixed, and that their hybrid char
acter seriously impaired their efficiency. The
republicans claim that, as they have been en-
dorsed by the people of the city and by the
people of the State as WE'LL the electors in
tended that the republican party should take
the undivided responsibility of the govern
ment upon itself. This responsibility the
leaders do not desire to evade, but they insist