Connecticut western news., 1893-06-15
IN MODERN BABYLON.
SUPREMACY OF THE rSLUMS. IN NEW
 YORK POLITICS.

SOFHEMAIf UT | 6CM OlOMoS IN NEW
 YORK POLITICS.
 Nsv. Thomas Dixon, Jr., Speaks of Omcial Corruption From the Text, Except the Lord Keep the City, the watohman walksth but In vain.,
 NEW YORK, June 11.-Rev. Thomas Dixon, Jr., delivered today the eighth sermon in the series on "The Gates of He'll In Modern Babylon" The subject was one which he may be said to have made special studies of, extending over several years, Official Corruption; or, The Supremacy of the Sums" The text was chosen from Psalms cxxvii, 1, "Ex- cept the Lord keep the city, the watch man walketh but in vain"
 We have seen thus far in our studies of the cty that the evil elements of our civilization naturally gravitate toward the civic center. We have seen that the cty is, in fact, the cesspool of the rural district surrounding, and it is fact that the lower and viler the clements that conRregate in this center the more buoy ant they seem to be. There is something about the pressure of life in the city which brings the slums to the surface in government. Municipal misrule is one of the most painful facts of modern life. Professor Bryce, who has recently issued his great work on America, makes this true observation:
 "There is no denying that the govern ment of cities Is the one conspicuous fail ure of the United States. The defcien- cies of the national government tell but little for evil on the welfare of the peo- pie. The faults of the state governments are insignificant compared with the ex- travagance, corruption and mismanage- ment which mark the administrations of most of the great cities" He enumer- ates the chief sources of this evil:
 'TiRst Incompetent and unfaithful governing boards and officers.
 s'6econd-The introduction of state end national politics into municipal af-
 sThird- The assumption by the legis- lature of the direct control of local af- fairs."
 These undoubtedly are causes of the present condition of debauchery in city government. But the chief causes lie dssper. They are found in the indiffer- enoe and se1fshness of the governing body, for the people who vote are, after all, the governors of the city. Boards and councils are their creations. It is the vote on election day that decides the government for given period of time. Boards of aldermen, excise boards, are not self creating. The voting constitu- ency get as good government as they deserve. As matter of fact, the peo- pie are to blame in the last analysis. We have so many loafers who have at tadned the age of 21 and are entitled to vote, and yet who do not know how to vote, that 1t is as yet an impossibility to obtain decent government in our cities.
 The evil minded are in minority, but selashness and indifference leave the government in the hands of the rabble. Now and then these pious, well dressed, elegant people are aroused by some wig orous denunciation or some ringing call to action. Some glaring outrage has been committed, and they are indignant for a brief season and desire somebody to do something about it. They would Nike to see the fur fly, but they want somebody else to furnish the fur. When 1t comes to be @ personal matter, it is none.of their business, they say. They are In the condition of the little girl who was heard to finish her evening prayer some time ago with these words, "And l saw poor little girl on the street to- day cold and barefooted, but it is none of our business, Is 1t, God?"
 "COLONIAL DANES"
 Then we have great many people who move in what they imagine to be so- ciety. They do not vote or take interest in politics for various reasons. Some of them have not sense enough, others imagine that they degrade themselves. A we'll known German scholar visiting this country was invited to small re- oeption given in city. Only the most prominent of the townspeople were present. He found them well bred, cul-, tured and intelligent. He noticed that most of the men and women present wore peculiar little badges of pins, some plain enamel, others set with diamonds and emeralds. He asked his hostess, "They are orders of American origin2" "Yes," was the replyy ''the tokens that their wearers belongto the true American aristocracy. They are colonial danes, sons or daughters of the Revolution. The visitor inquired into the requisites for membership and was told that the badges hgnified that the wearer was pos seesed of at least one ancestor who had served the republic in the Revolution or as civil officer in colonial days "And the wearers of the badges" he continued, 'they also doubtless serve the state. They are statesmen and politiciansY' "Oh, no, tndeedr was the amused reply Americans of this class seldom vote at all. Politics is considered by them an mclean trade. It Is, as a rule, left to the bosses or men who follow politics as a livelihood" 'They wear badges, then, because they are proud that their grand fathers did what they are ashamed to dor cannot quite understand" said the puzzled foreigner. What puzzled our foreign visitor puzzles any rational man. Nobody can understand 1t who has any sense. It simply means that people who had ancestors that were pa- triots now are traitors to the cause which gave tHg1r ancestors glory. They deserve the fate of Benedict Arnold rather than to wear heroic badges.
 The duty of the citizen today is as sol emn and heroic as 8 hundred years ago And yet because great many people dc not think SC we observe the condition of affairs in our cities today It is fact, too, that in one sense wealth is responsi- ble for our present degradation of the ctty government. Many of our rich peo- pie who have vested interests in the city do not fight the rulers from the slums for one of two reasons-either because they are afraid to strike them, being vul- nerable through their property, or else they find 1t is more profitable to buy a corrupt city government than to replace 1t with an honest one. There are cer- tainly mi1lionaires in this city who are