The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1873-04-13
Official Honesty.


Appleton's Journal of the 5tb, contains
we'll written article on systems OF MUM
cipal government, their failure in the way
of integrity and efficiency, and the remedy
according to it's views.
The article recognizes the fact that it
is hard to get men OF standing to be inter
ested in such elections and the further fact
that it is rather injurious to mans repu.
tation for business qualities that he should
have any defined connection with politics,
especially local politics. 1t says: "The
tradesman who NEEDLES in politics loses re-
putation; the young man entering on his
career, is warned to keep aloof from poll
tics, the destinations of which too often de.
stroy moral character, and bring ruin to
business prospects,"
Now, We know that this was not Away
80 to the same extent as at present. Former
ly there was but little stealing in Office !;
now there is o great deal Oft, and suspicion
naturally attaches itself so much the more
readily and strongly to an Office holder.
The writer goes on at considerable
length to elaborate his view of the causes
leading to this state of things. He finds
them partly in the absence of that local
pride and patriotism which influences an
old and permanent community. Such city
hasa homogeneous population it has it's cher
ished traditions, it's people have o common
past, present and future, whereas in a new
country, like this, great city is merely a
grand camping ground, where three 70 urths
of the population are strangers to one an
other and Indifferent to local sy mpathies.
He finds also causes of bad elections in
the peculiar regulations under which they
are held, the manner in which q city is dis
law itself. He enumerates the score of
experiments that have been made in
New York of late to regulate all these
things in such way as to work we'll, all
however, without any result of good, and
then winds up by proposing his plan, which
is simply another modification of the same
original idea that he has been berating all
along.
The whole subject with it's thousand
schemes of Improvement, not only in New
York, but elsewhere, reminds one of a
persistent effort to make q man feel we'll
with the fever en- him, by simply changing
him from one bed to another. One may be
softer than another, it is true, but still he
has the fever, and ho is not going to feel
we'll until you remove the cause of his feel
ing i'll.
The fever that consumes our body polite
is the avidity of politicians for public
plumber, and like other fevers it must be
starved out. When there is no logger any
chance of stealing, the public will be re-
leved of its present grievous malady.
The only remedy which looks to- US rea-
sonable, ia simply to take away from legis-
lators, whether National, State, OF local
all power to contract debt for the commu-
nifty which they represent, all power to
make donations of public property under
any pretense, all power to grant franchiz es
and monopolies for which they can be paid,
and all power to levy taxes beyond GER
tain small percentage fixed by the organic
law.
If that had been the system in this State,
we should noe now have dollar of debt
instead of the fifty millions on which we
must pay interest; we should not have Gov
errors and Legislators growing rich over
monopolies sold to slaughter-h houses and
railroads; we should not have six per cent
taxes to pay, that hordes of office holders
may grow fat.
Let it be known that there will be no
stealings to divide among piratcal crew
Of ward politicians, and the whole system
of intrigue and corruption, which now sells
Office to the highest bidder, will drop life
less. It's sap is the stolen money of the
people. Let the crew of street-corner wire
pullers know that the candidates to be
elected will not be able to pay them for
their enthusiasm, and the whole machinery
of party corruption will fall to pieces.
The organized villainy which now gives
US it's own candidates and fills our Offices at
it's own dictation, will seek ether fields for it's
industry when you cut off it's pap, but not
before.