The New York herald., 1877-02-28
4 City Governments that Does NOT
Govern-Whas IL the Remedy

| routed and dispersed by the election OF
1871. By the efficient action to which the
impulse was then given the notorious Tam
! many judges were impeached and deposed
all the prominent members of the Ring ex-
! cepting Tweed were driven into exile;
Tweed himself was indicted, tried, sentenced
and immured in prison; and when the thieyes
! and their confederates had thus been
scourged out of the city government the
people expected relief from the heavy bur-
den of taxation and from the annoyance,
disgust and inconvenience Of filthy streets,
noisome stenches, police conniving at
hells of gambling and prostitution, and, in
| short, from the intolerable evil OF city
government which is paid exorbltant sums
for conspicuous failure to satisfy the rea-
sonable demands and expectations Of the
public.
But what, in point of fact-what, in the
sad light of experience-can any sane man
tell us we have gained by that memorable
uprising, that great storm Of popular indig-
nation by which the corrupt Tammany Ring
was swept out OF power, and such OF its
members as were not imprisoned made fugi-
tives and yagabonds in distant lands? Are
our taxes less? No Are our streets better
paved or better cleaned No. Do we suffer
less from stenches which taint and poison
the atmosphere and imperl the public
health? No. Are criminals more promptly
detected and arrested, is order better pre-
served, are the city ordinances more
. t1A cOfo
and quiet at night, and the grog shopsa
less potent force in city politics: The
answer must still be in the negative. What,
then, have we gained beyond the satistac-
ton of our sense of justice in the punish
ment and fight of the Tammany thieves
Very, very little indeed We are still pay
ing enormously for work shabbily done, for
''augers that won't bore, for oramunicipalg gov
enment that annoys and disgusts but does
not govern There has never been period
in the history Of the city when the people
had so oppressive sense Of the burdens OF
taxation, or were so restive and discon-
tented under the load as they are at present
How has it come to pass that the signal
overthrow of the corrupt Tammany Ring
| brings no practical relief? It results from
the fact that in discarding the personnel Of
the infamous Ring we have retained many
of the worst parts Of the rotten and corrupt
ing system, We are still substantially gov
erned by the Tweed charter, passed in the
last year Of the Rings supremacy, cunningly
devised for taking power from the people
and lodging it in the hands of traflicking
politicians. That scandalous contrivance
gives us an Executive who has scarcely
any executive power, municipal Leg
islature stripped of all substantial leg
islative functions. departments that are
practically irresponsible by the fact that
most of their heads are appointed by the
predecessors of the Mayor in Office for terms
extending beyond his own, and practically
independent of him by the origin of their
appointments and their irremovability with
out the concurrence of the Governor. Why
has so absurd system survived the fall and
disgrace of it's authors? For the simple
reason that it promotes the interest of
politicians and gives them advantages
which they would not possess under
q good charter. The Tweed charter
was intended to multiply Offices and
in the hands Of politicians in spite of the
condemnation of the people expressed
through the elections. The people are left
with only nominal control-only the merest
deceptive shadow of control-over their
own atfairs. They are permitted to elect a
| in fvrO hut hot Mov
can appoint only small fraction of his sub
ordinates, and can remove none of them
without the consent of q Governor elected
by different constituency, and more fire.
quently than otherwise by different po-
litcal party. Even the few appointments
which Mayor can make during his term
are subject to rejection by the Common
Council, so that he has no real liberty of
choice. He can only make such selections
as set of trading Aldermen will confirm,
and they will not knowingly consent to have
any man at the head of a department which
has patronage who will not consider their
friends in its distribution.
The consequence is that our rickety city
government is run in the interest Of twenty
or more nests of pestilent ward politicians.
It is a cardinal maxim Of these political
traders to establish a reputation for taking
care of their friends in order that they may
utilize those friends in packing the primary
meetings by which nominations are con.
trolled. We have accordingly city gov.
ernment created for the benefit of traders in
politics and not for the benefit of the peo
pie. The municipal service is vast hos
pital for incapables. Men are not employed
for their skill or efficiency in the kind o
work required, but because they are friends
and tools of working politicians who insis
that they shall be provided for at the public
expense in the expectation of personal ant