The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-10-21
Municipal, state, and Federal Politics.

A writer IN the National Rcvic,c Of Lon.
don discusses our American system Of mu.
nicipsl government, comparing It with that
o. England, and reaches the conclusion,
which he offers for our instruction, that
there Ia no good reason why Democracy or
Rcpublicanism should intrude into State
politics or into municipal affairs"
Undoubtedly, II those partisan divisions
should not be intruded into municipal poll
tics, they ought not tc appear in State poll
ties. 1.-THE voters Of city should elect their
Mayor on the same principle as the share
holders Of y railroad company elect their
President" or solely with reference TO his
qualifications for administering the munich
pal business, the people Of q State ought to
elect their Governor on the same principle.
There Is no moro reason why Democrats
and Republican,, as such, should contest
and compete for tho control of the State,
than there Is for their keeping up their par
tisan division In municipal politics II the
government Of a city Is a business matter,
wholly apart from Federal politics, so also
and TO the Same extent Is the government
Of State.
In this republic, however, no such distinc-
II
ing the essential principles Of our system Of
government. The Union Is made up Of
States, the States are made up Of counties,
the counties are made up Of townships, all
embraced IN the same political system. The
cities must get their charters from the
Legislature Of the State, with the signature
of the Governor, and thus the municipal Gov
eminent and the Government of the State
are intertwined inseparably. In the State
there are political divisions fixed for the ap-
portionment Of members Of the State Legis-
lature, which, In its turn, elects the repre-
sentatives of the State in the Federal Sem
ate. There In another apportionment in the
tate for the election Of representatives to
the rfeaeral House Of Representatives.
Hence Federal, State, and municipal poll
tics cannot be made distinct In this repub-
licsil the politics is OF the same kind and
sssh kind IL inseparable from the other
This year, for example, the Committee Of
esrenty In this city made pretence Of nom
craftsmanship; but IL constructed its ticket
% strict partisan principles, and it was I'M
Die to do otherwise. 1t Is Republican
ecket essentially, and necessarily so. 1t was
made up with reference to the State Gov
erninent even more than the municipal Gov
eminent. It was nominated for the pur-
posc Of getting the control Of the
municipal Government from the De-
mocracy a. represented by Tammany Hall,
the only regular or even considerable Demo
orstic organization in this city. A Republi-
car was selected as the candidate for Mayor,
fof to such Mayor only would Republi-
can State Government give the power he
would require to turn out Tammany from
the municipal offices and departments.
From the first, the success Of the Committee
q Seventy's so-called non-partisan "move-
L )ent " has depended on the defeat of the De-
ocracy In the State; and that would prob
Gbly imply the loss of Democratic ma
brity in the House of Representatives.
The impossibility ofdistinguishing munic-
ipal from State politics, and both from
Federal politics, was never before demon
strated more strikingly and more sig
nally than in this pretentiously mon
partisan" movement. Go ahead, gentle
men, and accomplish your purpose II you
cam but don't try to humbug the people by
calling your purely partisan movement I'M
partisan, and. therefore. distinguishable
from politics Of the usual, regular, and old
Jshioned kind