The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-10-01
Tho Hnmbug OF Political Reform and
Political Roformers.

The Hambug OF Political Reform and
Political Reformers.
Those who take an interest in tho doings Of
that section Of the community whose public
acts are mainly chronicled under the head of
police reports and Courts Of General and
Special Sessions will no doubt have noticed
that credulous people are constantly falling
victims to swindlss 80 repeatedly exposed in
the newspapers that we might we'll suppose all
the world to be familiar with their features and
sufficiently guarded against them. II is diff
cult to conceive how any person Of ordinary
intelligence can be taken in by the drop
pocketbook game the patent-safe game, the
confidence game, the ''little JOKER" three-card
monte or any other of the many threadbare re-
sorts of ordinary thieves and sharpers. Yet we
find new dupes constantly added to the already
long list Of the innocents who have for the
last quarter Of century been victimized by
such frauds, and it is well-hnown adage of
the fishermen who angle for fats in the surg
ing waters Of the metropolis that there are
''as good fish in the sea as ever came out Of
it." In like manner the adventurous who
make living out of politics, and whose bust
ness it is to impose upon the unsuspecting and
the careless voters year after year. appear
never to be at q loss for followers who can be
made to believe in the honesty Of their profess
sions and the purity of their patriotism.
There are some men in the world who seem
anxious to be imposed upon, and there are
others who are too thoughtless or too much
absorbed in business to heed the lessons of
experience. All of these form available capt.
tai for the political impostor, who assumes his
mask of honesty and disinterestcdness on the
aside as soon as the polls are closed. Thus we
find thousands to-day listening complacently
to the professions Of politicians who are alike
conspicuous for the clamor with which they
advocated reform o year ago and for their
unfaithfulness to their pledges after the
storm which carried them into power had
passed away; we hear to-day from handful
Of political intriguers the same impudent
Boosting with which year ago they sought to
claim as their own all the credit of the victory
over official corruption won by the honest and
independent electors of the city
The people at large are as well aware that there
is a great deal of humbug in political reform
and political reformers as they are that there is
fraud in the dropped pocket book, the patent
safe, and the cup of the thimble- rigger The
adherents Of the party out of power will
always discover dishonesty in their more for
tunate opponents, and the adherents of the
party in power will never fail to warn the
country against the evil designs Of those who
are anxious to supplant them. The former
are always liberal in their promises of reforms
if only they may be allowed the opportunity
to carry them into practice. while the latter
are just as profuse in their pledges
Of amendment provided they may be suffered
to retain power. Whichever side may succeed
in imposing upon the people the result is the
same. There may at first be some apparent
effort at cleansing of the Augean stables,
but the reigning king of our political Ellis,
whoever he may be, is never 50 fortunate as
to discover Hercules powerful enough to let
loose the purifying waters upon the cribs at
which the official oxen are fattened, and in
the end the country finds the foulness and i'm
purity undsturbed The shilAboleth of TIE
campaign is forgotten by either party as soon
as the election is over, and if there has been
a change it is soon seen that it is only from
one set Of political leeches to another. Last
year the reckless and lavish corruption of
some of our city officials occasioned political
revolution in which the people were the
ayenging power, and the reform they won at
the polls promised on that account to be ex-
ceptionaly effective. But professional politi-
clans were shrewd enough to avail them
selves Of the swelling tide of popular
indignation to ride into power, and it is
notorious that legislature elected under the
banner Of reform and strengthened by party
majority greater than ever before known at the
State capital, proved to be as criminally cor
rupt as any of its infamous predecessors
Even the Committee of Seventy, with all the
excellent service it rendered in the crusade
against the powerful municipal ring, was used
in great measure by designing men for the
advancement of their own personal fortunes,
and the unseemly spectacle WAS presented Of
violent scramble among these clamorous re-
formers for the offices they had labored so
arduously to vacate Every citizen will re-
member the noisy declarations of the polit-
clans pending last years campaign in relation
i to the punishment that was to be melted out
to the guilty officials and their outside ac-
completes, yet to-day we find the corruption
lists UNPUBLISHED except by the loss of power,
while rumors of secret alliances with their
former enemies fill the air, and the worst of
them impudently announce their intention of
giving their support to the party that will
''treat them best" Indeed, the criminal in
dictments found against the offenders were
obtained without the assistance of the self
constituted leaders Of the reform movement