The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-06-14

The Failures or the Last Legisiature-S
what We Can still DO for the City
Through tho Dock Com missicners.
The last session of our State Legislature was
certainly not q profitable one for the city of
New York. If our taxpayers escaped being
victimized by any extensive schemes of plum |
der our people we're denied all such wise and
liberal measures of improvement and develop
ment as were needed to give an impetus to the |
growth Of the metropolis and TO increase the |
comfort and prosperity of its inhabitants. |
From an early day the subject of rapid transit |
was urged upon the attention of the members [
by the press as we'll as by the lobby. II was
well known to every representative OF Albany
that New York was suffering materially int
health, morals, means and progress for want
of some quick means of transportation for her
business population, through the instrument /
tality Of which the upper portion of the
island and the southern part Of Westchester
county might be brought within reach as resi-
dences for the industrial classes The revision
Of our municipal charter was acknowledged toI
be desirable in view Of the confusion intoI
which the government had been thrown
prior to the last November elections,
and, indeed the reform Legislature
was regarded as having been elected with
special reference to q thorough change Of our
local laws, Whether the s;siacr raised ageins.
the present charter was called for or altogether
: honest is not now worth considering; but it is
certain that its provisions might have been
improved, notably in the direction Of enlarg-
ing the powers Of some Of the municipal de-
partments in such manner as to enable them
to undertake and carry out the broadcast and
most liberal plans for the improvement and
development of the city There were minor
matters that claimed the attention Of the
Legislature, such as ferry and horse railroad
reform, in which some protection Of the pub
lie interests against the selfshness and greed
y of corporations and monopolies was unques-
tionably needed All these important sub
jects were neglected by our representatives at
Albany and, according to the States evidence
y Of some Of their number, the time of the mem
bers was SO entirely taken up by corrupt
+ scheming, political intrigue and the buying
and selling of votes that no leisure was left to
attend to the wants and interests of the
people.
So far as the charter failure is concerned, il
is not, under the circumstances, to be greatly
regretted. The unhappy intermeddling of an
association Of highly respectable but wholly i'm
practicable and somewhat oficious citizens, who
insisted upon subjecting the city to an expert
ment in government based upon their own
theories and crotchets, threw insurmountable |
obstacles in the way of legislation, and would
have rendered the success of good municipal |
charter questionable, even if there had been
sufficient wisdom and honesty at Albany to
frame such law. 1t was far preferable to :
allow the city government to remain in it's d
present condition for another year than to sub :
NIT the metropolis to the experiments Of the =
Committee of Seventy, or to risk such charter =
as Legislature owned by an INSCRIPTIONS =
lobby might choose to enact. The city finances
were known to be in safe keeping, and ~
Snu the departments were in honest and
n competent hands under the new nominations
IS of Mayor Hall. Hence it was felt that we
could very we'll afford to live under our exist
ing laws and rulers until at least new House
& of Assembly should supplant that of last win
: a different character. crowd Of lobby
schemes, in oil of which the members Of the
" Legislature were more or less interested,
jostled each other and blocked the way Of leg
islation, and not one Of them contemplated
j such system Of rapid transit as the people
&required and demanded. There were under
ground plans, with their paid supporters, in
hal
other the Assembly; there were three tier
projects two tier projects, open cuts, tunnels,
l. lamppost roads, arcade roads and what
y not, all fighting on their own accounts,
aand all mere money making jobs In
4 the hands of selfish spectators. Each
I had its advocates inside the Capitol, paid with
+ money or secured by interests in the under
taking, and it's lobby outside; but not one
: was asked for by the citizens, and among the (
whole gang of projectors there was scarcely
r. one who would be entrusted by the people of
81 New York with the building or management
! of road. What our citizens wished and
: needed was law authorizing the city to con-
= struct two viaduct roads from the Battery to
Spuyten Duyvil Greek along the east and west
: sides of the city. Had such law been passed
. the money would have been at once forthcom-
; ing, the roads would have been built without
u delay and would have been operated in the
q interests of the people The increasing profits
of the traffic. instead of going into the
Npockets of private stockholders, would have
Z been used to decrease the rate of
fare until it had reached it's minimum,
thus placing the benefits of the roads within
the reach of the 7aboring classes, who areI
most in need Of them There could have