The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1886-03-25
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
RASCALITIES IN MUNICIPAL POL
ITICS LAID BARE.
There j. no Parallel Down South TO
Such Rascality About Anonymous
Contributors.

NEW YORK, March 22.-Ihe state prison /
gapes for the Aldermen of New York, and /
one Of the most brilliant achievements of
the sort in recent times is Mr.. Conklings |
conduct Of the investigation into the Al |
dermanic bribery cases. The valuable |
franchise for a street railway along Broad /
way, you will remember, was granted by |
the Board of Aldermen in 1884 to Jacob |
sharp; and after about twenty-nlne years |
trying the great thoroughfare at last was
made less noisy and easier to travel along |
by the construction of a street railway. !
The franchise is valuable almost beyond |
computation 1t would sell for million |
dollars any day. But it was practically |
given away by this Board of Aldermen.
the Aldermen-all perhaps, but two-were |
bribed They got not less than $50, 900
piece for their votes. The State Senate
appointed a. committee some time ago to
come to New York and make an lnvestl-
CATION Of the whole business. The com
mittee employed Mr.. CCnkling as its coun-
sell and he conducts the examination Of
witnesses. Old Jake Sharp does not re
member to whom he paid three quarters
of a million dollars or more. He had "A
fondness for 81 900 bills, but he has no re
collection of what he did with these bills
The memory of good many of the Alder
men Of that year is equally bad. 1t seemed
for a long time that nObOdy'S memory
would be worth anything, and that moth
ing would come Of the investigation. But
one Of the bribed Aldermen in a confidential
mood has made a confession. lie was ar
rested and released on bail and then sur
rendered by his bondsman But he Will
be tried and there is hope of his convic-
ton. He Is the fellow Jalhne who kept a
lewelry shop where stolen silver was bought
I,NTI 10,
or detectives could trace it TO his place.
His confession duplicates some of his asso-
ciates, and it is expected every day that
more arrests will be made ard the town is
IL a state Of constant expectancy of new
developments.
Not since the days of Tweed has the
every day rascality of municipal politics
been laid so bare as by this investigation.
The main facts are not a surprise to any
body; but it is not every day that they can
officially be made plain. The town gov
ernment of New York is the most disre-
putable thing in America The most of
the successful local politicians are rum
sellers The liquor traffic controls politics.
An Alderman who sells grog looks upon
his position in the city government simply
as he looks upon his dram shop-as a
means of making money That's what he
desires political honor for and that's what
he does with it. 1t very frequently hap
pens that the retail saloon keeper who
enters politics is owned lock, stock and
barrel by wholesale dealer. The whole
sale dealer exacts a certain per centage of
the profits of his groggery and a certain
per centage also Of the profits of his Off
cial position. This debauched condition
| of municipal politics is not the fault of
| any one party or part Of a party but OF all.
| Rascality and corruption know no party
| lines. The scoundre caught to-day may
| be a Tammany man, the one caught to-
morrow Republican; the next one a coun
| ty Democrat.
There is no parallel down South to this
| universal rascality in local politics. The
people of North Carolina may think that
they have a bad state Of things when they
have few incompetent men in the Legis
| lature or when they have old fOgies in prom
inent places. The old fogy is generally the
best kind of a public officer, so far as official
duties not taking in the larger question of
public sentimenD go. He is sure to be
onest-incorruptably honest He is al
ways patriotic within his narrow range.
Indeed almost all public Offices are best
filled by old fogles for these very reasons
Most public offices, too, are things that
capable men. They can do more for soci-
ETY. and more for themselves in other ways.
So that in the matter of Office holding, if
YOU are ever disposed to be deSpOndent,
think of the inexpressibly sad plight of
New York, especially New York city, and
give thanks The best men here, not car
ing to hold offices or to seek them, have
gone so far in yielding to this natural feel
ing as not to make proper efforts to see to
it that they are filled by good men. The
first duty Of citizenship is forgotten in the
pursuit of private affairs No carpet bag
government in the South was ever as cor
rupt as New York city politics of all parties
or factions of parties.
No agricultural community, however,
can ever be burdened with such grave
problems as great cities present. How the
government of great cities is to be admin
istered is perhaps the greatest task in pop
ular government. How the government
Of such a State as North Carolina is to be
, administered is no problem at all; for il
| is sure to be honestly done So long as the
r respectable class of conservative people
have the majority.
There's nothing of keener popular inter
! est TO talk about in New York now thar
Barnum's circus, which is coming to town
Y | Everybody that has children goes to set
/ the animals, other folks go to see the cir
e Gus and don't yarn about it.
h That is an interesting letter for it
T errorsl in the last CHRONICLE about popu
lation, which contains several things tha
\ | (and think other people, would like t
i talk about. 1t is to be regretted that tn,
e writer withholds his name and so leave
. his readers in the dark as to whether he i
e really striving for the truth or doing a lit
o tie jugglery
). A man who so bravely enters pI otes
Il against ''mischieyous and unfounded fal
lacies and vagaries why should he con
: ceal his name2 OF course, l have not tn
if slightest objection to columns and vol
h umes of such denunclation; but it has oe
o Cured to me for several weeks that
shows most uncommon maniiness i
your correspondents to write ''replies
Mr. Page and not sign their name.
have no great curiosity to know who the
are, or | should ask you, but think tha
an anonymous attack on anything or any
i body is either childish or coWard'y an
a. passes for nothing
of A man whose purpose is simply to g
/ at the truth cannot afford to pay attentlo
S, to anonymous misrepresentation or CO.
d rections; for if man has anything earne:
,e to say there is no reason why he shOuldn
I'd stand up and say it. W. II. p.