New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-01-08
SpENUTURIFT GOTERNMENT

Covcrnor Morton does well at the very b'g'i'
ming of his administration To make il Searc'iiiI
inoui,y into the cost of maintaining the puphc
hr;,d;n.,s If thc State and The ways in which
cv,cpditurcs on this account have been s'cldii!
multiplied by Democratic officials Inc Wv
or,or and Legislature are under orders from the
ppopc TO put IN end To numerous '""''' w
a,,hortv and to SET the State forward on the
straight path Of honest and e1lccht hiai"S'
mcnt 1t may be said that there are o'"Vi ''''''
tcrs of more importance when are eh"ueu !"
precedence. and perhaps there are we u" h"'
care 10 dispute that point. but II does seem 10
us that no Illustration OF unpfnciplcd oihc"n
conduct is more indicative of the sort OF RUE
from which the people trust they nave peeh oc-
liycred than thar which is furnished by lheSc
cxpcnse accounts The mere statement that 'he
salary list of the Superintendent or BUILDINGS
has increased nearly 100000 in four years con
victs those responsible for such protiiSacy OF
hetravinr their trust For the purpose OF re-
warding their creatures and Strengthening thclr
own grip on power they have deliberately anu
diligently stuffed the payrolls at the expense OF
the taxpayers. If they offer in excuse the plea
that they have been only playing shr'Wd po'i-
ties. the fact remains that their game mas Dcci
fundamentally dishonest.
II is n game in which disrcputablc poli'ic'anS
of both parties indulge freely when they can
and which men who could not he induced Ia
soil their own fingers too often wink nj. II Is
despicable game everywhere and in all circum-
stances In this State and city II has been large
" monopolized by Democrats for long Time
and they have become infatuated with II, scarce
" seeming 10 care whether or not they were
caught in the act of cheating the people. we
suppose that the plumber has been much larger
in the metropolis than at the capital. Consider
one count in the indictment recently bronsh'
nv the Chamber of Commerce against the muillc
inol government TO sweep and clean the foui
nublic buildings in the City Hall Park los per
sons have nominay been employed on salaries
ogprecating sol. 900 year. Such a payroll us
that is virtually fraudulcnt-obviously and In
disputably So The simple meaning of it is that
the city has been cheated IT has been paying
men TO work for Tammany Hall instead OF Tor
itself Half Of them have scarcely even pre-
tended TO earn their salaries, and most of the
others never knew o. have forgotten how. Prob
ably this particular job is worse than the
average under the Tammany system. thor
ouch overhaulng of municipal accounts is ex
pected to prove that it is just fair sample oil
the sort Of service which the Democratic organ
ization has rendered.
Such constituencies extravaganza is sympto
matte. II could nc. exist if the corruption were
not deep-scated. 1t reveals debased theory OF
the relations between the governing ana III,
governed and vigilant fidelity to deestable
creed We have no desire 10 see the false and
shabby economy which is recognized in National
affairs by the name Of IIolmanisn imported into
New-York. But one Of the most urgent tasks
deyolved upon the authorities here and at Al
banv nv the political revolution Of last Novem
her is the task Of stopping OUTLAWS which not
only bring no return but actively promote iheIh
cheney.