Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-11-23
NEW YORK,s MAYOR.
Two OF His Extraordinary Nomina-
lions,
From tho New York Herald.)

from tho New York Herad)
Mayor Edison and his Board of Aldermen
Thursday in one half hours bad work, did
more to imperil limb, life and property in
this cts than any governor and Legislature
there ever were In Albany or any President
and Congress there ever have beed In WASH
ngton. lie had to appoint and they to con-
firm or reject police justices magistrates
who supplement thepolce and excise boards
and upon whom the community LARGELY de-
ponds for ser security, because II they are ig-
norant, inefficient or corrupt the criminal
classes will care little for the preliminary
process of arrest, knowing that no further
penalty will follow.
How did Mayor Edison perform this duty ?
The county democracy" bosses on the one
side dictated TO him the nomination of q
striker" Daniel O'Reilly Ia man not only
without legal knowledge or training, but
even deficient In rudiments of common school
education; man without a profession or
trade except that of political worker )" a
man without ever any visible means of sup
port except public office, which he had con-
rived to enjoy by hook or by crook, getting
it first in Tweed's time; man whose
last political wire pulling was in coz
nection with an aldcrman's canvass in
which circular letter with forged names
attached to it was the distinguishing feature.
This man Mayor Edison accepted without
any hesitation and sent in his name for one
of the two police justices, and the aldermen
as unhesitatingly confirmed it.
| The Tammany Boss, in behalf Of himself
and the other political faction, named 10
Mayor + ison another "striker' Richard
Croker tor the other police justiceship; man
also without legal education or training ex-
ccpt such as was got from personal criminal
Experience u man also without profession
or trade except that of 'political worker
in which capacity he had frequently been
hired by the Tammany Boss, and others, in
the "pusilistic department" of numer-
our canvasscs a man who was indicted
for murder committed in the course
of such employment, and whom a
large number of intelligent and respectable
citizens still believe TO be guilty of that
crime, Notwithstanding the assurance of one
citizen, also intelligent aud respectable, IN
whose canvass the murder was perpetratcd,
that his investigation of the circumstances
has convinced him to the contrary; n man
in the course of whose own recent canvass
another murder was committed in the head
quarters of his opponent man whose as
city are as intimate as those of anybody not
of their own number.
But at this name Mapor Edson halted.
Croker's was too bad II nomination for the
police bench. The mayor confessed to the
public its absolute Improperly by hating at
| it; and vet this man, whose nomination even
he (who accepted that Of OReilly) deemed
too Rad for the police bench, was deemed
by him good enough 10 be made a fire com.
missioner member of that board of the
local government which has hundreds OF
men and hundreds of thousands of dollars
worth OF material in Its charge, whose an.
| nual disbursements are one and half mil
lion dollars, and on whose intelligence, vlgol
and freedom from partisan decentralization
the safety Of a million lives and of two
thousand million dollars worth of prop
erty depends.
So the fire department, as well as the
police bench, was dcmoralizcd in that hall
hout's work Its chief veteran fire
man, WIS also a Tammany sachcm, ant
accordingly lie was taken out of the boart
and made police justice, without possessing
any qualification for judicial duty; and tn,
balance Of the relations of the two factions Of
the Democratic party to the criminal classes
nomination of Mayor Edison, promptly con
lfrmed by the aldermen, is 10. day in charg,
of the fire department of the city of New
the aldermen, before entering into their re
spcc,ivc Offices last January, took and sub
scribcd an oath in the name and presence o
Almighty God that they would dscharg
their Gutics faithfully"