The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-01-02
rho revolution in New York.

ANeSe' -
Vhe Revolution in New YORK.
1t is TO be hoped thai New York state
and city viii not regret the political re-
yolutio9 which took effect yesterday
The party which went out of power
leaves behind it a remarkable cohoNloh
of material prosperity. Taxes are merely
nominal throughout the State and they
are far from heavy IN the city, and in ev-
cry convenience of civilization the people
are provided far beyond the level of any
other community in the world. To this
terial prosperity is i'll compensated by the
moral degradation revealed in the Lex
CIV Investigation; but, now that mat
remarkable mud-delving opersFloh II
complete. it must be plain that no speciaa
Responsibility has be9p fastened upon the
Democratic organization. None of its
DESPITE all prediction threats
ZEN involved in the slightest de-
a dollar has been traced to
.even to Sheehan, for thai
If as the corruption in the
Etment is concerned, Repub-i
democrat are about equally
he sort CT fair play the Democratic
eongons of the State may hope FOR
from the Republican Legislature can be
easily inferred from the history OF last
wear at Albany. Their political rights and
financial interests will be trodden under
foot to make Republican votes in the
and prejudice will run riot, and the grip
given by the new Constitution-supreme
effort of Republicanism-will make any
redemption of the State impossible for
years to come.
In the city of New York, the results
may not be Immediately so bad. Mr..
strong shows some independence of his
paStv and the misgovernrnent of the
.sitv IS ms-tn. be reduced just in pro-
norton as he casts off the trammel OF
Plattism. He will find it hard to do this
to any eXIeDC,-JuA do uoiU a. NY
Hewitt did to resist the pressure of
It is obviously impossible for
him 10 effect any of the reforms that
the people expect. No matter what pow
ers the Legislature may confer on him'
he cannot reform the Police Department
any more than he could clean the streets
of snow by his sole effort. Two things
are needed to effect reform in this re-
spect. One is rational legislation, the
other, a healthy sentiment in the com
munity.
So long as artificially constructed laws
founded on no true human sentiment re-
main On the statute book, just so long
will they be violated, wholesale.
AND just SO long as wholesale violation
of the law goes on, just so long Will the
police take brides to ignore the violations.
The statute books of New York are to-
day burdened with enactments which
have proved failures in every other coun-
try in the world, just as they are proving
there. They have been inspired, no
doubt, by the highest motives, but they
posed to all judgment. They are kept in
nominal force-and we fear are likely still
to be kept in force by the fear which
legislators have in this country of Of
Tending an element who look at life. not
as it is, but as they would like to have
1t.
complicated by the reckless manner in
which respectable men seem to have
been willing to pay brides, some for per-
mission to break obviously good laws.
others simply to escape the necessity of
fighting for their rights. Perhaps the
Lexow Committee has had a good effect
In this respect. Perhaps business men
Mlll step buying the sidewalks from the
policeman who does not own it, and then
blaming Tammany Han for corruption.
Mayor Strong has had one fine oppor-
turiity already. He has selected and ep-
pointed a new Street Cleaning Commits
sioner. He goes into Office on the 18th.
We will watch with interest to see
whether he will please the New York
newspapers any better than his prede-
cessors from Captain Alec Williams &c
Coleman and Coleman to Brennan and
Brennan to Andrews.
vnJT MTST oIEAN Y0UR WALK.