The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-10-28
The Government of This Town.

The governing classes OF this town."
according to the Tribune. "are not to be
found In the city districts occupied by citi-
Eens who have the largest interest in main
tanning good government" but you may
find them In every dive and drinking saloon.
In every gambling house and poolroom,
wherever thieves resort and the vicious
congregate.'
1.-The governing classes Of this town !"
being. OF course. the majority Of the vot-
ers OF the town. the charge OF the Tribune
Is. therefore. that that majority Is sunk In
moral and social degradation. 1t implies
that. in the view of our able Republican
neighbor. popular suffrage is a disastrous
failure. and our political institutions are
founded on a false and dangerous theory.
The Tribune. 1t Is true. confines its charge
TO the governing classes" OF New York
specifically. and assumes that they are in
control because the citizens who have most
Interest in good government and honest
administration" "sulk and grumbe and
stay away from the POLLS" but the politi-
cal conditions are similar in all our large
towns. and as the urban populations are
increasing much more rapidly than the
rural throughout the Union. they are
becoming everywhere the "gov erning
classes" dominant in Federal and State
politics and not merely in municipal poll
tics. The time is approaching when the
urban populations will be masters OF the
whole political situation.
Hence. II the implication Of the Tribune
be justified, the republic will be ruled by its
worst social clements. and our political
Ia af ha nd Wi
and In the cities 1.-The thieves and the
vicious" are in control because the honest
and the virtuous are ncglectfuI OF the
duties Of their citizenship. The end. then.
will como because the bad are good citizens
and because the good are bad citizens. II
that turns out TO he the case. the failure Of
the experiment Of popular government will
be the more complete because 1t will be due
to the demonstrated unftness Of the best
part OF the people for seif-government.
The returns of the registration OF vot-
ers and OF the elections do not, however.
Justify the Tribune in its gloomy assump-
lions. The vote registered and polled in
the cities Is at least as large proportion
etely to the population qualified to vote as
1t Is In the country. The duties Of citizen
ship are not neglected more practically by
urban than by rural populations. Neither
ls 1t demonstrable that In the towns the
neglect Is confined to those who have the
largest interest In maintaining good gov
ernment." or Is greater proportionately
among them than among the others.
II the vote pollcd in New York falls
of. the decrease is general rather than
confined to particular districts or to q
m ~
and socially. Every citizen Of New York.
bad or good, rich or poor. has an interest in
its good government. but the sort of peo-
pie to whom the Tribune refers specifically
are not SO careless about voting as it makes
out. whenever they are really Interested in
an election and believe that their affairs
are seriously concerned in it's result. Atsuch
an election the vote polled in the so-called
brown-stone district is as large. proper
uonately, as anywhere else. II at par
ticular election 1t falls off. the obvious
reason Is that those who do not vote arc
satisfied with things az they are. and do not
wish to vote for a change. They let the
election go by default. so far as they are
concerned, having no complaint TO mako of
the government OF the existing majority.
Hence the Government of the city actually
and always represents the will OF the ma
5ority. They are the only governing
class" THE thieves and the vicious" are
very small minority % the people, and it Is
always easy for the rest of the community
to ou:yote them. II ever by any neglect
OF the others they should chance to get
political control. they would be driven
out ut the next election by an up
rising Of tho vast honest majority.