The Portland daily press., 1873-04-01

NEW YORK, March 80, 1873.
twenty-one Commissioners of the Board of
Education under the new school law are in
every way excellent, and give promise of i'm
proving our public school system. In the
days of Tammany ascendency the cormorants
VIII held undispnted sway throughout the
city were not satisfied with the plumber they
derived from extortionate levies upon the
Treasury for all sorts of jobs from a
Ring printing Office to Ring Court
House, but they sought to make the
schools subservient to their greed of power
and pelf. There grew up in this department
a system of favoritism, the inevitable effect
of which was to demoralize the whole force
and to distribute among the employees many
who were the mere tools and creatures of the
Ring quartette. Sweeney got up a violent
quarrel with the Clerk of the Board of Edu
cation because he did not prove quite SUBJ
servient enough to his wishes, and set about
supersedng him. The clerk being plucky,
and in the right, resisted his potent adversary
vaiiantly and for long time baffied him, but
ultimately tie power of the Ring grew too
strong for him and he was obliged to give
place to a man who had proved his ira ,tabil-
ty by serving as speaker of Tweed's Legisla-
ture. The elected clerk, however, bided his
time and it has finally come, and every
henchman of his old enemy has been either
brought to the block or compelled to sue for
mercy. If the cause of ed lcation gains sub
stantial advantage from the quarrel which
has thus been brought to an issue, it will not
be worth while to inquire too curiously in
what motives it had its origin.
The Goodrich tragedy across the East
river is likely to add another chapter to the
already ponderous volume of unraveled mys-
teries Of crime, in the cibv and vicinity of
New York, whereof he murder of Nathan
was conspicuous and discreditable exam
pie. 1t seems incomprehensible that such
horrors can happen in populous city with
out awaking its citizens to y realizing sense
of the utter inadequacy of our police system
to detect crime. There is no department of
our local government in which there is so
great need of thorough purgation as in this.
Stealing of money by public officials is bad
enough to be sure, but the tax payers are the
best judges as to whether they will patiently
be robbed, or combine to protect themselves.
But when it comes to the question of security
to the person, there is no remedy save through
recognized authority. People sometimes
talk in moments of evaporation of organized
vigilance committees. That might serve the
purposes of justice in desperate emergencies,
in towns of small population, but where there
are million and half Of people within an
area offive miles, such project would even
tuate in CO nbinatiohs of ruffians who would
be sure to sack and pillage with unlicensed
villainy.
What we need is a police force organized
on military principles, every member of
which from the superintendent to the door
keeper, shall be entirely independent in his
position, subject to no political influences,
control or interference, amenable to promo
ton for merit only, and stimulated to energy
and efficiency by plan ofreward so comp1e-
hensive as to provide for substantial recogni-
ton of every really great service to society
policeman may render.
Instead of this we have Police Depart
ment presided over by Tammany Republi-
can named Henry Smith, commonly designa-
ted by his cronies as Hank Smith-a man
who, for the ten years of Tweed's career, as
supervisor was his confidential ally and con-
federate-shared in the distribution of spoils
made by that worthy-formed one of the
banditti who took millions upon millions of
the money that was voted in their body for
printing and expenditures on the building o.
the county court house, originated the Bowl
ins Green Savings Bank, the failure of which
ship which existed between Tweed and
Smith and sadly damaged the reputation of
State senator, who was found to be a depos-
itor there OF money traced from Tweed's pock-
et Smith has pretended to be a Republican
always, but that was because he derived the
capital he invested in the firm of Tweed,
Smith & Co., from his supposed relations to
that party. Smith is the man who supported
and kept in existence the boiling General
Committee OF the Republican party of which
Horace Greeley was the figure head. Greeley
didn't know that he was literally serving
Twee1 at that time, but every body else
knew it and that was why that committee |
never had any followers. Why, when it ca
pitulated to the Democracy last year it was a
surrender of officers solely, not private |
among them, and no voter worth mention
ing.
When Tweed was overthrOwn and under |
the guardianship of the sherf-when his dy- |
ma ty had persisted and every avenue to fur |
Their speculation was closed against him,
Smith as is the custom of his kind deserted |
him. When poor Greeley, blinded by an in
sane ambition, plunged into the coalition
which proved his sepulchre, Smith ignobly
deserted the man whom he and Tweed had |
pushed to the front. He had sagacity enough |
t, see which way the Presidential election
would 60, and he rejoined the Republican
party, and made a suspiciousIy ostentatious
dis play of bis fealty to it. 1t must have terribly
embittered the last days of Greeley's life to |
have discovered how he had been duped and |
betrayed by scheming politicians who lured
him to his ruin.
This episode about Smith was necessary as
an Illustration of the kind of men to whom
The people of New York conide the duty Of
seeing that their lives and property are care
fully watched over. You can imagine what
a Department must be that has such head.
Efficiency al primaries, capacity for skilltul
e.ectioneering goes for more with Commits
LII OF the Smith standard, than sleepless
oa,'aa "ee on post or the patient study of
detao o ana effect which helps to make good
No. s ofhcer. The appointments are
maze from political conside, at;ons po,;oo-
men under such regime are Nova. .a,0n."a
because of superior physical Qualities on So
cause they possess special endowments 81.
that particular branch of public service 'D
man who can carry county or district con
ventiOn is held in higher favor ar baoa -.