New-York tribune., 1886-05-19
them to bury the bill by so large majority that
the Queen will send for Lord harrington ana
decline to dissolve Parliament.
A GILL 10 DUTY.


| II Is to the voters of this city that Jaehne' )
conviction should bring its severest lesson. In
| the largest measure they are responsible fDr the
scandal and disgrace of the Broadway brberles'
II il of no avail to blame the kind of creature
Jaehne is for simply following his manifest
| destiny. He is a moral leper, thing devoid OF
all those pure and patriotic instincts when
make possible an honest and effective govern
ment by the people, and he only committed the
deeds appropriate u his nature. Ills one oDIccC
in becoming an Alderman of New York was
plundcI The easy impudence with which he
told Inspector Byrnes that if business" was
as good in the Board this year rs 1t had been
last he should retire is not nearly SO droll rs 1t
is alarming. lie asked the people OF his dis
trict to confide trust TO him in order that he
might rob them. And with rlaudits and en-
thusiasm they handed him the tools with which
to carry out his crime.
The worst of this is that hosts of people knew
all along what Jaehne was. The desplcable
character Of the men who have composed the
Board of Aldermen has been for years notOrI
Gus. 1t may be true that no one could lay his
finger on Il particular crime and say lie did
it," but everybody knew that these men were of
81
that their stronghods were tie ein-mills where
respectable people would not be seen, and their
methods the most abominabe known to
political controversy. Aud yet despite repeated
scandal they went on getting elected year after
year, as if their own bad character were shared
by majority of the voters in their districts.
This assumption would, of course be entirely
unjust. The people are honest enough. Bat
they are Indifferent to their duties as responsible
members of government, aud they permit the
raS-tag and bob-tail to run things They pay
no attention to primary meetings or to party
organization and allow the machine to be
packed by smart rasclIs of the JIchnc sort or
by dull ones who do the others bidding. And
then, when nominations are made, and the
packed machines have done their ba work and
left the people to take their choice between
couple nf knaves they rise III honest indgna-
ton and dcnounce the party" with abundant
iervOr.
They should turn their guns upon them
selves. These miserable rings of huckstering
politicians are not only not the party, but can
only exist by the peoples consent. Knaves like
Jaehne thrive on public Indifference, weakness
and crcduity. We do not require nAmcri-
can laws to pat them down. In fact. laws OF
any kind would be of no avail against them.
Law is of service only a. it is backed by the
force of the community which enacts it. That
force in our land is the ballot, and it is a sull
cicnt remedy for all public disease. If the people
did their duty to themselves and their fellows
these political lccches would drop III and dis
appear Immediately. If honest citizens came
out to the primaries filled M the district or
ganizatiOns, and took the high view of their
public duties and responsibilities which is the
theory Of free citizenship and the only safety OF
a Republic such hun iatioDs and dangers
we are now suffering would be rare indeed.