The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-08-06
The Necessities OF New York-The Me-
tropOlis OF the Future.

Inc all-engrOsSlng interest," OF the eiection
for the Presidency must not close our eyes
to the importance of local questions. We
are to elect President of the United States
in the autumn, and Governor of the State.
These are high offices, the highest in the
gift of the people. But we have an office OF
great Importance in the Mayoralty. 1t
makes little difference comparatively to the
people Of New York who is President of the
United States. We should like to see Uncle
Sammy in the White House for reasons of
home pride, and the fact that an eminent
citizen is q candidate for this high Office
will give him many New York votes. But
apart from home sentiment we should have
more interest in the coming Mayor than in
the coming President. The Mayoralty will
be used simply to aid the Presidential fight.
Our politicians, in spite of what Hayes and
Tilden say about one term and civil service
reform, look at the whole business as a rush
for spoils, and whoever will add ten votes
to the canvass of one candidate or the
other will be selected. The democrats
will give us another Wickham and the
republicans another Havemeyer unless both
are controlled by rigid public opinion. For
this reason public opinion should consider
earnestly this whole question OF municipal
government, and especially the wants OF
New York.
1t is idle to dwell upon the folly and mis-
government Of the past, If New York had
been governed for the past twenty-five years
by dynasty of Spanish brigands it could
not be worse off than it is now. We have
had good Mayors during that time-not
many of them, however-but the whole
tendency Of our government has
been bad. One reason is that there
has never grown up in New York that
proper feeling of municipal pride which is
the glory and the safeguard of great cities.
We hear our friends in the South talk about
carpet baggers, and the Irish journals never
cease to complain of the evils of absenteeism.
But the evils of carpet-baggism and absen-
teeism are felt here to q much greater degree
than in South Carolina or Tipperary. The
business classes, the professional classes.
the merchants, those who sway mighty en-
terprises, to whom the city is indebted for
its wealth and power, are outside Of its gov
eminent They look upon New York as
hotel or a mining camp. They remain
here as long as they can earn
money. Their work done, their money
earned and invested, they have no fur
Their wish for New York. One has his home
in Maine, another in Pennsylvania and
third in some sunny land beyond the sea,
and the animating thought through busy
career is the dream that they will spend
their days in the loved homestead. The
pride which the Englishman has in London,
or the Frenchman in Paris, or even the
in New York The citizens are indif-
ferent to the city. They have the same
feeling about it that the traveller has about
his hotel. So long as it does not burn
down and the walters are tolerably civil he
can stand its discomforts until he reaches
home. As consequence, therefore, the large
intelligent interest of the people in public
affairs, which underlies oil true democracy,
is never seen here New York falls into the
hands of lot of bog-trotters from Ireland, or
cheese-munchers from the Rhine, men of
the lowest order of integrity and intelligence,
who make politics business and elect
themselves into the direction of the great
city, with what results twenty-five years of
its past history too well show.
And vet if the same large, ambitious,
world-embracing intelligence which has
marked SO many business achievements in
New York could be applied to the govern
ment of the city what metropolis it might
become New York has been rich in men
of genius in all the walks of life. There is
scarcely department of human effort which
does not show what can be done by human
will. There is no city in the country where
a better government could be found if only
the right men could be given power. Imagine
a board of aldermen composed Of men like
Vanderbilt, Astor, Stewart, Cooper, Evarts,
| OConor, Belmont, or a hundred others,
men of large brains and wide experience,
who know what to do with money and who
are equal to the wants of a metropolis. We
could have the most economical as well as
the most efficient government. Let us sup
| pose that the business principles and the
consummate genius, the courage to spend
and the wisdom to save, which governed
tho founder of the Astor estate, or Stewart
| in building up his colossal fortune, or Van
derbilt in managing his vast railway sys-
tenn, had been felt in the government
of New York, what city we might
have 1t is to the discredit of our
city that it is otherwise. But if we were to
seriously propose to gentlemen like those
we have mentioned that they should be-
come Aldermen or Mayor it would be treated
almost as an insult. And yet the true citi-
zen should have no higher pride than to
rule his city. 1t should be the most exalted
| office Il should renresent the considers