The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-02-14
The Seventy and Their Experimental Char
ter-The Wisdom OF Our Legislators.

The Seventy and Their Experimental Char
ter-The Wisdom OF Our Legislators.
Mr.. Alvord APPLY illustrated the present
condition of the pretended charter reform
movement when, in last nights debate on
the experimental scheme emanatng from the
Committee of Seventy-after several vain
attempts to elicit an explanation of some
of the prominent features of the bill
he drew attention to the fact that out
of the twenty-one representatives from
the city of New York not one knew
anything about its provisions or its
operation. "We look in vain for information
from those for whose city this charter is in
tended" he said in substance, ''and all we
can learn from the whole twenty-one members
is what one or two of them have heard from
other people," This remark exactly hits the
cause of the present middle at Albany. No
sound, practical proposition is before the
Legislature, and the puzzled representa-
tives are laundering about in the midst of
the middle of cumulative voting, minority
representation, notified boards and mixed
commissions spread before them by the seventy
wise men of Gotham. 1t is an instructive
sight to see the legislative chambers filed with
German dreamers and venerable theorists,
whispering in the ears of members explana-
tons of their curious propositions, and to find
body of one hundred and tweuty-eight
apparently sensible men gravely lis
tening to section after section of bill not
one Of them understands, and prepared, prob
ably, to bestow it upon the great metropolis of
the United States as fundamental law
under which q city of over a million
inhabitants is to live and prosper. The As
sembly considered the charter all day yester-
day, at the morning and evening sessions, and
adjourned before it had been read through by
sections, to attend party at the Executive
mansion. AT the close of the session Mr..
Brown, the member from Cayuga, was COM
mehciig written address, in which he declared
that a Church in New York-meanlng, Of
course, the Roman Catholic Church-had
divided the spoils of the city with the Tam
many Ring, whose greatest strength had been
derived from this community of interests. In
such intolerance and bigotry and in the midst
| of profound ignorance of the work they are
| performing, the State Legislature is to manu-
facture charter for the city of New York.
There appears to be some probability that
the bargains and chickering's now going
on between the members and some of the
parties in Office in the city government are
destined to defeat all legislation in regard to
the municipal charter, and that affairs will be
permitted to remain as they now are-at least
until another Legislature convenes. This GER
tainly would be preferable to passage of an
experimental scheme so arranged as to render
corrupt combination not only easy but certain.
General Sickles, who is now in Albany,
and who has had experience in New
York city government, might give
the Legislature some useful advice,
If they were honestly disposed to pass good
law with an eye to the single interests of the
people and the prosperity of the city; but at
present there seems to be no organization to
prepare such O law and no disposition to enact
it. Hence, we repeat, 1t would be better to
leave matters as they are than to force upon
the people wild experiment which they do
time. A splendid opportunity exists for a
practical, sensible man to make himself
reputation as a statesman. Let him draw q
charter based on the HERALD's frequently re-
peated sugges tons, in which New York shall
be joined with Brooklyn and other suburbs in
one grand municipal government, and in
which concentrated power and direct respon-
sibility shall be the simple but effective
features. Such bill would stand out in
striking contrast to the muddled, incompre-
hensible trading and bartering scheme pre-
pared for us by the German theorists, the
effect of which would be to cruelty New York
between the thieves of the two great political
parties.
s'RefOrm within the Lines Of the Repub-
lican Party"