The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-08-07
THE MAYORALTY QUESTION.

New YORK. August Q, 1878.
To THE EDiroR OF TEE AxRALD;-
For your suggestion that the Mayors once should
be filled By tho editor OF OF the great city news
papers hope you will accept ny nearly thanks. IL
10 suggestion, as II seems TO me- simply that most
important municipal ONCE should be given 70 men
who have given TO the study OF municipal interests
and Transactions the greater part of thor ves As
citizen and taxpayer and resident all my lie In this
CITY am thoroughly wearied out with watching the
procession nso the Mayors once and out Of It year
amer year OF men who arc nonenttes in regard
TO its duties, who neither comprehend what they
should try to do nor have the will TO do h whom II Is
pointed Quilt It happens to DO disagrseabie TO yhe
political cliques that able TO head OF honest
yet feeble man ut every turn. 1t Is sickening
tho struggle Of incapable men Of good Intentions
with the sharp. fierce, rssouto rogues determined
to plumber tho public treasury with official in
defiance Of official care.
But the difficulty Is serious one. In our country.
whore everybody Is supposed to DO born with thor
ough knowledge OF politics because he Ia born free,
nobody studies this peculiar pursuit. the queer
fellows VINO make it business 10 hold Office, who
far from being the most honest, capable reputa-
BILE part OF the public They get much acquaintance
with It az results from the manipulation Of conven-
tions, but the public At large leaves II alone.
That 10. with one exception. Newspaper editors APP
parently study everything Is In TACT part Of their
business 10 know evsrythiug-of some things much
loss, Of course than OF others-but OF polsics most
In politics. STATE municipal and national, newspaper
is apparently inexhaustibs reservoir or and
properly applied prncipleG Newspaper establish
mems seem TO DO the school In country In which,
and In which Alone ssatscraft IL studied. asd in
our country only. In oil FREQ countries men
rise TO emtnence In tho administration Of government
from newspaper oloes. Theirs was an editer; Gam
BETA editor Those two mon In French history
to me 70 represent distinct conception OF
how to handle State than al the soldiers 10 that
country, or all the merchants either Dlsrash was a
"gentsman Of the press, " and his associate the Mar
quis Of Salisbury. game reputs In earlier LIE .
.hath eavsn raised up country lawyers 70 free
dom, but II he would count moses he would perhaps
ana that the real talents In government gsncr.
ally shown by officials who came not frsm lawyers
ofnccs, but from newspaper cflcsa Lswycrs have
been in great part put In tho Mayors ONCE hero with
merchants between. but Journalist never believe
Perhaps the most ignorant in the world and the
one least d. for any important ONCE 10 merchant,
but next to him Is lawyer fer COED lawyer IL
row minded and mole eyed-hs can only see his case
side OF any dorenes-while poor lawyer is tho
most wrssched piece of mortality that cumbers the
earth.
Give us journalist then, for q change, for as said
above, they really study those important topics Of
municipal government Of which everybody else re-
mains Ia ignorance, with all the noise made Thcro
Is Mr.. Dana, who was on the Tribune, ~ nearly
can reuaember, twenty-five years ago. Perhaps am
net accurate about the time. for write only ths
vague memory that anybody has about faste.
He was one Of the men there q great while ago
anyhow and has all these years OF knowledge Of city
conosraa As occasionally take glance at the Sxn
was disposed TO believe, from the vigor with which is
sssais all kinds Of vilany that great deal Of that
earnest cendemnatisn Of scsundrslism In once for
which the Tribune was famous was In fass. INSPIRED
by Dana, and not by Greeley. Greeley got all the
crsatt Of H. OF course, and I've notion that he had
vanity enough 10 swallow ali mat In the way OF
applause. But II 10 always the oase that . man
famous In evory way 10 apt 10 gst the credt for all
shat Is done In that liae and 10 for all the vigorous
dsnuncation OF villany In ONCE Greeley credited;
but any who sakss W the SSn. nov that Greeley
- gone, viii see the spsvis OF IL all thers
a, Then - V NJ. Jones Of the Tsmss he msss b q,
honest. shsrp, nsres fellow, who would discover shs
games Of the scoundreIs and como down them.
The man who discovered the Tweed frauds ana ex-
posed shsm wmhout fear, and fought them month
after month ~ no did would DO Of some account In
the Mayors once.
About Mr. Reid don't know Q great deal, % no
here stnos the tume whom watched events very
closely bot the conductor Of tho Tfbxse no must
Do q man Of executive capacity. and although he
seems to make great many speeches. Judge from
the company In which no makes them that they arc
perhaps good ones
Executive capacity, hr. Editor, 10 what We want In
the Mayors once, and n nnd that 10 tho
conductors Of great newspapers don't knew whore
we can Not among the politicians Certainly for they
merely fellows who have taken 70 onioe because
they have net got enough Brains to make living BY
any othor msaua
We want that kind Of capacity united With ntelli-
gencs and kuowtedgs. These are the elements that
MAKO nrst GLASS man; but political system
ganized in way that amounts to conspiracy againrt
nrst class mea, snd hsvo got 20 outside
cbiaery to get such msa In ONCE The people must
move directly All eur history shows tho conspiracy
OF the small party cliquss against OF capacity
Washington, Jackson and Grant were elected In dsn-
OF the parties Nearly all the others were
elected because they the sort OF polti.
Clans could handle. Il 10 the same With governors
and mayors. But ssoms 10 it's time tho peops
acted Tor themselves this subject, and l don's
know bestsr place they 20 for the right sort Of
man than tho places you propsse-ihs newspaper