New-York tribune., 1894-07-01

In a recent address, President David Starr J"r.
dan. 81 The Leland Stanford. ir.. University. PM
into words . thought that is inst now especially
ucriinrni when So many people lr" coming 10
Iool. upon The vicious government Of The avrrig"
modern city as y menace 10 civilization. "Ihr
real city ~ the Dreadful Night he says. "iS
not noisy eager. struggling London: II Is some
city ~ the tropics. where life AMI virtue count
FOR nothing bccIlisr there Is NJ incentive 10 live
He worth living and no adequate penalty for
idlcu,,s and mcfiiccucy." These words ar"
we'll calculated 10 ~tartlr Il larg" class of we'll
meaning soco:ogisis who look upon all great
cities rs sink hrls ~ iniduiiy. In their op'n-
ion. the ercgarlous tendency of modern civillza-
ron. which leads So many people 10 crowd into
cities l. responsible for nearly all The evils from
which We are suffering II that tendency could
h.. arrested and II men could be- induced 10 1--WE
I'm the country In bucoc and idyllic simplicity.
they believe that the coming Of m" social mil
lcuninm woud be- much advanced. Unlike Pres.
ldcnf Jordan thcy regard the idcll life as That
I'm which there would be- no struggle. uo tcnpia-
tlon. and no glaring inequality between man
and man. such ns must exist In every great city
And If they were entirely consistent. tl'v would
abandon a civilization which finds It's supreme
expression In the great city and follow the cN-
omplr Of the German Socialist who is now
about 10 start m ideal colony IN Central Africa.
where injustice, inequality and dcstiulion will
be- unknown
Nevertheless. i'm spite Of the grave Indictment
that may be- drawn against the modern city. an
Indictment whose crushing force the citizens of
this city will bc foremost 10 acknowledge 1t still
remains true that the cities are the hope Of
civilization From them proceed all the greater
and noblcr impulses that make for the welfare
and happiucss Of the world. II they attract
large numbers Of the ignorant and the vicious
who form congcstcd mass. threatening the
whole body polite with gangrcne, they also at
tract the best and nOblcst men and women OF
all lands who add enormously 10 their moral
and material worth. II the LcXow Committee
has amazed and shocked The world by rrvcla-
tions of municipal corruption more dnmnng
than even the most hardened cynic had suspect
ed II should not be forgotten that today New
York IL prc-cnllnrni In all the world for It's re-
ligious and philanthrOpic work. and that among
It's citizens may be numbered men and women
who are an honor 10 the human race
No intelligent man will deny that The mimic
Ipality is the weak spot In our modern clviliza-
ton But this is so for spcclal"ras0ns that will
not always exist On the one hand The rich In
dusiral and commercial prizes that the city
offers 10 the cnprgctc man Of business have for
the time being made him sellishly negligent OF
his civic duties: and on the other. the movement
OF population has thrown into nearly every large
city Of the New World mass Of ignorance and
latent vice that II may take several generations
10 purge and assimIlatc no intelligent New
Yorker at the present moment has any dispos
ton 10 make light Of the munlcipal c0rrmptlOn