New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-04-24
GOOD EXAMPLE.

COOP EXAMPLE.
Mayor Strong said with great frankncSs upon
his entrance into office that he expected 10 make
mistakes He had no idea. though nor had any
one else that almost his first appointment world
be 50 early and So universally recognized as the
realization Of that expectation. II il, no doubt
source of considerable modification 10 him. But
he NAV console himself with the reflection that
a greater man than he, in a higher place. ana III
an emergency of vastly more Importance. made
mistakes almost precisely similar in character.
4 little mov' than thirty years ago. when IN"
Federal Government had on hand very hr@"
and important job in The fighting line. that wise
and good man. President Lincoln. selected. very
nrnpcrly. an educated soldier. West Point grad
uaie to take charge Of the business Everybody
auplLuded the choice. The country had great
confidence then rs il has always had. in IN"
ability and skin Of the soldiers educated IN II"
own school and at the public expense. II had
also a reasonable degree of confidence in th"lr
discretion and common-sanSc though those are
qualities which come by nature and are not the
product OF the curriculum. Neither The PrcSi-
dent nor the people complained that the com
mardiuc general occupied several months in
completing his equipment. getting ms forces
Disciplined and his horses and harness ana arms
and MI that sort Of thing in good order for
tremendous onslaught upon the enemy. fu'
after 4 while when The Army did not move. am
there was, in fact, nothing i'll motion except me
generals mouth. which grew more and more
active every day; and when he reinforced BIS
mouth with bitter ana SuporciliouN pen. when
exalted the commanding general and condemned
everybody and everything, Including Di'in" Froy-
idcnce and the general order of Nature, rs III
conspiracy against him-why. then, one morning
President Lincoln said, Il have made mis-
take: and he wrote IN orcr removing his COM
manding general AMI putting another in his place
The Mayors Commissioner If Street Cleaning
has been four months in office. During That tIInr
he has said and done a number OF queer ihihGS'
which our citizens did not take kindly TO- Ih"y
needed explanation. As cciclcancr he can
not be pronounced failure; hut he Is certainly
not 80 distinguished n success that our CITIZENS
are disposed TO look with lcnicncy upon personal
peculiarties that have a striking resemblance 10
bad manners on account Of the great ana uii'
usual public service he has rendered. As mat
ter Of fact, he has done rather more explaining
than sweeping. And most Of his sweeping has
been In the nature Of sweeping charges or IL
norance rapacity and greed against large classes
OF citizens in the community who DO not IKE IL.
The disprOp0rtiOn OF the explaining 10 the sweep
ing would not excite SO much adverse comment,
perhaps except for the fact That in most cases
the explanations only serve 10 make matters
worse Colonel Waring seems 10 have rapid
firing mouth set with hairriggcr. 1t goes OIL
al a touch and docs damage In all directions.
Then he takes up his pen for the purpose Of cx-
planation and rakcs down the whole community.
1t may be true that
Beneath the rule Of entirely great
The pen IS mightier than the sword.
but it is also true that In keeping streets entirely
clean the broom is mghicr than either Of Them;
and Colonel Waring would hav" been wiser II.
instead Of touching off his mouth or drawing his
pen when he laid aside his sword, he had mod
cStly but firmly taken up the broom which Is
the emblem Of his Office. Tn" consequence OF
this mistake on his part is that, while he has not
as yet commanded public favor by unusual ell
cheney in the discharge Of his official functions,
he has given offence quite unnecessarily 10 large
classes Of citizens. Indeed. he seems not only
10 have gone out Of his way 10 do 1t, hut when 1t
was resented as II was very properly, and as any
man Of ordinary intelligence might have known
il would be- to have repeated il ana emphasized
! it with degree Of sclf-asscrlion which, instead
OF being dignincd and manly, was absurd and
| ridiculous.
| 1t may be that the great majority OF The sur
vivors Of the War; the private soldiers who have
| found IN the Grand Army Of the Republic the
only organization in which they can meet ana
keep alive memories and associations which are
everything 20 them, whatever they may be 10
other men, are only campfolOwcrS ana bum
mcrs," but that is not the general belief. Even
were it true IL must be said that there fingers yet
in this people so much Of that deep ana tender
sense of gratitude and pride with which men OF
this generation saw "Our Boys'-not all good
boys, by any means, In the general acceptance
follow our flag into danger for Us; That the glory
| Of the few covers the sins and shortcomings, II
| there be such, Of the many; and the sncer OF
! superiority or the sniff Of superciOuslcSs at
any, even the worst Of them, awaicns and prop
crly awakcns. public Indignation j, may he
womanish and weak It may be childish senii-
mcntalsns that takes no account Of the cost IN
dollars and cents 10 the present generation; OF
| blind idoatry OF common men who only did their
duty; but, all the same, ii is weakness that per
vades the great body OF the people and has to be
reckoncd with The man In an official position
who thinks he can afford TO irfe with IL makes
a serious mistake Colonel Warning has made 1t,
and somewhat vanglOrousy persists in aud
boasts OF 1t. Therein he makes II plain that as
public officer he Is himself mistake.
No doubt he Is a superior person. He appears
| to have commended himself 10 that small and
select class Of superior persons who conceive II TO
be the duty of public officers to offend the many
| for the qualification Of the few; and who cannot
| understand how any man can be honest and
| faithful and at the same time amiable and po-
lite. We shall certainly regret the failure Of one