The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-02-18

| In the entertaining memoirs OF Baron
Stockman there is pleasant story of the
beauties of certain extremities Of organiza-
ton. The Baron went to England in the
suite of Prince Albert and was lodged in
that old -fashioned corner of the royal estab-
lishments, st. James Palace. As q stranger
he was doubtless more likely to take
notice of the peculiarities Of life there
than native to the said peculiarities
born and hardened. He was especially
impressed with the difficulty experienced IN
getting his Aindows washed. 1t is simple
enough process, that of washing windows.
and more or less understood in all coun-
tries In London it has reached more adj
vanced point than in most other places for
there it is studied as fine art, and
men brought up to it go about as
doctors do to physic their patients.
and rub up your windows Mt so
much pane. Consequently it was not
for the want of knowledge how windows
should be washed that they suffered in the
palace, nor for want of water or long
handled brushes, or implements generally.
But the trouble, upon Investigation. APP
peared to be that in the mysteries of the Brit
ish constitution and the civil and military
service every royal palace is contem-
plated as possessing. like humanity
itself, an inside and an outside, and
as falling, therefore, under the super
vision and guardianship of widely dis
similar authorities. Thus the outside of
man falls to the tailor, and the inside to
disciples Of Galcn, Hppocrates and abstrac-
tions of that sort. Inside the palace the
lord high steward dominates outside it is
the quartermaster general or some equally
magnificent functionary. Thus the mild
Baron could only get one side'o his win
dows washed at time, and to clean them
on both sides moved half the British Empire.
Our condition as to the government Of
the city is precisely typifed by this little
picture from British history. 1t is impossi-
BILE for any act of city administration to be
done without the consent and cooperation
OF several high mightinesses; and for want
of that consent and cooperation the acts
commonly remain undone, because there is
always some sort of antagonism existing
for the performance OF any common purpose
There is some point of presidency or dig
nity; some views of convenience. or if the
merely moral obstacles to pulling together"
are removed there is some difficulty in the
fact that the purse Of one department gets
empty Just as the purse Of the other hap
pens to be freshly filled. Thus our munich
pal windows, if washed at all, are washed
only on one side, and before the ponderous
| machinery can be brought to bear at the
other side of the thin division the side
first washed needs to be washed again. In
| the English case cited there was a possibil-
ity of a remedy. Her Majesty, or tho COM
mander of the forces, having ascertained
the precise day upon which the steward was
| to operate upon the inside of the palace
could order out division of the quarter
masters department and scour the out
side But this absolute remedy we are
without 1t is true we have the Mayor.
1t is his function to drive, and if the diff
culties prove insurmountable he cnn initiate
a change in the departments, though he
cannot complete that change. Even this
partial remedy is not Of the right kind 1t
| is extravagant. It breaks q butterfly on q
wheel. 1t is like ordering up locomotive
when you want a wheelbarrow. 1t defeats
it's purpose just as extreme penalties
always do. Juries will not condemn
man for stealing pair of second hand
boots if he is to be hanged for it, though
they know him to be guilty; and if Mayor
should suspend the head of department
for reasons merely related to the failure of
that department to coincide with some
other, the Governor would not sustain the
act by removal. Yet that failure might be
the source of extreme arrangement of the
whole public service
All this difficulty in the city government
is due to the extreme division of authority
which should be concentrated at one point.
1t is proper and effective to have the func-
tons of city administration organized in
several departments and to have each sub
jcct to persons skilled in the line of the duty
of that department but this is only good
when the departments are directly respons-
ible to one authority that can concentrate
their efforts upon any important point
Our city at this moment, through the fail
urc of the law to supply such an effective
authority, has at least seven separate seats
of government, and is subject to seven diff
ferent authorized organizations. There is a
seat of government in Union square, whence
the Department of Parks exercises author
ity within it's assigned sphere; another in
Duane street, whence the Department
of Docks does likewise still another il Null.
berry street, where the police are, and q
semi-detachcd seat Of government in the
same capital il the sphere of the Board OF
Health there is fourth in Mercer street,
whore the Fire Department rules q fifth