The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-04-10

| The HERALD Complaint Book" furnishes
daily long list of protests against abuses
that affiict this city, and which are duo
solely to the neglect of their duties by the
| public officials. We print these complaints
for the information of the Mayor and the
heads of departments, so that they cannot
have any excuse whatever for not acting
upon them. They plead ignorance, but we
take from them every ground for such plea
| by furnishing all the information needed.
But they seem to blind themselves to their
official obligations, and continue to be inac-
tive, inefficient and utterly worthless as pnb-
lie servants. Take the case OF a recent COM
plant which we published regarding the
calcium light nuisance. An appeal for its
abatement was made to the Mayor, but he
declared that he had no power to act MS all
such difficulties were dealt with by the Po-
| lice Department He referred the appellant
to the Police Board, but that autocratic
group of we'll paid officials has given the
matter no attention, and dangerous rs well
as annoying nuisance remains undated.
This single instance illustrates tho COM
plete humbug of our system Of city govern
ment In the first place. and owing to its
constitution, there is no cooperation be-
tween the several members of tho govern
ing body. Instead of being parts Of great
whole they are independent of and often an
tagonistic to each other, without any bond
that can unite them for single purpose or
direct them toward the attainment of COM
mon object. They play shuttlecock with
every abuse. Tho Mayor losses it to the Po-
lice Board, who, in turn, pitches it over to
the Health Department, and 80 on, until
it comes back again to the original COM
plainant, who discovers that nobody is re-
sponsible for anything. Like in game OF
baseball we have the chief pitcher, then any
number of strikers and folders, all trying to
get "home run" on the treasury or to put
their adversaries out. What one endeavors to
build up the others strain every
effort to tear down, SO that when
we come to sum up the grand
total Of their usefulness at the end of
n year we find that it amounts to nothing.
A second reason for this extraordinary con-
dition of our city government lies in the
fact that it's members sink the welfare Of the
community below the level Of their indi-
vidual interests or those Of the political
faction to which they belong 1t never
seems to strike them that an Office is created
for public object, for the regulation and
control of some branch of the public service
which affects equally every member Of the
community. They proceed as if their obi
cations to be honest and industrious men,
bers of society ceased to have force when
they assume public Duties and that what
would bring disgrace upon private citizen
in his relations with his fellow men is per-
missible, ay, even commendable, in an
official.
Perhaps, after all, it would be safe to
assume that insensibility to the promptings
of high morality has great deal to do with
this brutal disregard of duty common to
nearly all our officials. They too frequently
attain their places by graduating through
all the debasing stages Of political life, and
emerge from obscurity reeking with the
slime of corruption. So foul is the atmos-
phere in which they receive their initiatory
education for public life that the deodoriz-
ing effects of later associations cannot destroy
the fumes that cling to their garments and
faint the air of the court of justice, the
departmental Office and the hall of legisla-
ton. This is peculiarly unfortunate when
it comes in combination with the other con-
ditions that render our city government
abortive in its efforts to fulfil its functions.
On the bare question of efficiency in dealing
with the simplest problems of the day in
New York we cannot find o single instance
in which tho controlling department or
bureau has made even decent attempt to
discharge its duty properly. Look at the
street pavements Of this city, at the
cutters and curbs of the sidewalks,
at the fagways and street crossings
What an exhibition of utter neglect
on the part of the Department Of Pub
lie Works they present Strangers gaze
with astonishment and admiration ut the
public and private buildings of New York,
but with disgust ut the horrible condition
of our street pavements. Why is oil this
SO? Because there is no honesty, no vigil
lance no ability in the administration of
the department that controls that work.
Individuals connected Herewith may be
honest, vigilant and able, but the system
under which they operate is saturated with
corruption and buried deeply in the quag-
mire of bribery. Commissioners, deputies,
surveyors, inspectors and contractors have
organized fraternities of fraud, by which
this city has been robbed of millions through
special contracts, defective work, IN
just measurements and fraudulent assess
ments.
Turning to another branch of this city
government, SO called, we see n vast organi-
zation for tho plumber of the treasury under
Tho nrafenca of nerfnrminr q uSefnl and