The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-06-25

possible. A fScneme OF
such as.Hill's, is half defeated when
it is generally realized. When the
tariff is settled and business revives,
not much attention will be paid to
the screeching of the vulture OF
Elmira.
Tammany and the Republicans in the
Lexow Developments.
Democrats are more than pleased
at the recent developments OF the
Lexow Committees inquiry. The
corrupt police officials appear TO be
republicans, and some of them be-
long to the inner ring. There is In
spector Williams, a republican of the
first water, who seems to be a black
mailer and thief as we'll a bully and
braggart. Proxy French, also, fig
ures in a more than unenviable light.
Various other republicans have bob
bed up La the midst of the puddle
that was intended to besmirch only
TammanS Hall. This is, in IFS way,
consolatory.- 1t cannot but be ad-
mitted thatmuchscorruption has been
brought home to Tammany, but it
can hardly be said that it was moral
ly worse than the other party. 1t
only happened to have the grip, and
so the part it played in the general
villainy of a bad system was a trife
more prominent.
Apropos of the general subject, the
remarks of Mr.. John w. Golf, the
lawyer of the Lexow Committee, re-
ported in yesterdays World, are
notable. ga city government" says
he, sis like a great cesspool. 1t mus
be cleaned out at times before it runs
over and poisons the whole people"
The cesspool will fill up again, he
thinks, and ne has no hope of max
ing the city permanently good. Now.
here is a man with som e sense. He
has some idea of the limits of human
possibility. 1t is a question. how
ever, whether a city ought ever
to grow as bad as Mr.. Golf has
shown New York to be. We will
not pretend that it appears to be the
worst city in the world, but it does
seem as if corruption had become a
system and a rule beyond the parity
of other great modern civilized cities.
In some phases of morals, London,
Paris, Berlin and Vienna are. no
doubt. as bad as New York or worse;
but we do not believe their vices had
ever intertwined with the structure of
their government, like a baleful ivy
growth as it has in New York. Things
have come to a pretty pass if n city
cannot be made permanently good,
at least in this one respect.
But. it must be further said, that
the fault of the prevailing corruption
is not with the police, primarily. Ii
is with the respectable. part of the
community. The Lexow investiga-
ton has conclusively proven this. 1t
might be inferred on general prin.
ciples that the police of a city will be
morally neither better nor worse than
the average standard Of the commun,
ity. But the general principle is hers
supported by sworn testimony as to
concrete facts. We find n set gol
eminently respectable ~citisens-1
wealthy men, church members, social
nagnates, pillars Of trade-willing tc
buy from the police permission to
break the law. We find another sci
Of men-of just the same eminent
stamp-who prefer to bride the police
to do their duty rather than have
any trouble" by insisting upon il as a
right. We have, further, that supine
spirit which allows itself to be sub
iected to abuses of authority
which permits itself in the per
SON OF one citizen or another to DC
insulted, jostIed, or perhaps dubbed
by d uniformed rufian, who forgets