New-York tribune., 1895-02-14
THE MAYORS APPOINTNENIS.


"
THE l4YORS APPOINTMENTS
The appointments thus far made by Mayor
Strong are well received bv the public III
would not be true TO say that all of them are
received with equal favor or that the voice Oh
commcn,lation is absolutely unanimous. II -
not likely that the Mayor himself expected or
hoped for any such unanimiiy Of praise II i
not the least of his good qualities that he adds
to hard common-srnse a knowledge Of average
human nature which forbids the Indulgence Of
Illusions of that sort. and phosophic temper
which is not easily disturbed by criticism or uli-
| favorable comment He has. in fact disarmcd
criticism i'm some measure by the frank CON
| fesson which he volunteered at the outset. tlat
he expected TO make mistakes. Ihat admission
put him in relations of confidence and trust win
| all men who know their own weakness ana con-
fess their fallibility. The popular nstnct trusts
men who are great enough to acknowledge 'hat
| they can make mistakes. 1t dstrusts the hl,le
| fellows who cling 10 their errors in the mis-
| taken notion that to Dc otherwise is sign OF
weakness.
| In so far as the appointments already an
| nounced are concerned il may be said that they
receive general approval. for the reason that.
taken together. they indicate disposition on
the mart of the MGvor 10 meet the demands and
| fnldl The rcouiremcnts of that wholesome public
| opinion which found such uncquvocal express
| sion i'm his own selection for the office ana the
MAGNIFICENT vote by which the choice was rall-
| fed at the polls Readers of The Tribune do
| not need TO bc told that the appointment of Mr..
| Francis NJ Scott To be Corporation Counsel does
not excite our enthusiasm nor command our I'M
qualified approval Our reasons for opposing
his appointment have been fully set forth here
toforp and do not need restatcmcnt. II may be
said however. in the first place that any change
which takes that important Office out OF thc
hands Of the Tammany leader who has used 1t
for the advantage Of that unscrnpnlous
organization must be an Improvement. And
II may be said further. that the respon-
sibility for the appointment belongs not so
much to the Mayor himself 10 the
leaders of the State Democracy, who. hav-
ing contributed so considerably TO the success
| of the Reform movement are entitled to CON
| sideration in the formation of the municipal
| administration Mr.. Scott was their choice Tor
| this position, and that was no doubt the in
| fuence which controlled the Mayors action.
| The Tribune has no desire 10 edit the mlnic-
ipal administration. and Is content 10 hope that
the appointment may turn out TO be better than
it has feared.
But these appointments have Il much larger
significance than the desire Of the Mayor TO
meet public expectation in the selection Of
men of character and fitness. The appointment
| of Mr. Brookicld is especially significant. in
that it denotes recognition by the Mayor ~
the overwhelming sentiment Of the voters Of this
tn ba rlln uf
the system of ''Bossism" The events Of the last
few months have tended to put Mr.. Brookicld
in the position of recognized representative and
exponent of the universal feeling of hostility 10
the leadership Of Mr.. Platt in the Republican
parry. BY the methods with which he is
familiar. and against which the Republicans Of
this town last year rose up in revolt. Mr. Platt
succeeded first in deposing Mr.. Brookfeld from
| the chairmanship of the State, and then Of the
County Committee. for no other reason than
| that he stood in the way Of that gentleman :
ambition to be the party's Boss" With the
| arrogance Of an acknowledged dictator he forced
the lighting: made the issue distinct and plain.
! That issue was not 80 much against Mr.. Brook
field personally as against the principle he repre-
sents. 1t has been made more emphatic during
| the last fortnight in which the Mayors purpose
| 10 appoint Mr.. BrO0knelu 10 IN HupOTtdht poSi-
ton has been matter OF current rlimor. For
| many days the Mayor has been subjected TO
| argument. exposuaion. protest. cntrealy and
| threats from Mr. Plat and his adhcrcnis against
| such action. Anybody but Brookiicld" has
| been their cry. They were willing TO make any
| compromise long as the man whom Mr..
| Platt had set himself TO put down was defeated.
| For any other appointment would have meant
| concession to Mr. Plat. and Herewith a con
| tinuance Of The dcusion upon which he keeps
| himself afoat.
And Mr.. BrOokleld's appointment means ac-
| cordingly. much more Than the selection Of "a
| man Of high character and undoubted capacity
| for an important official place-though that is
by no means unimportant. 1t means that the
self-cOnstituted Boss. who only holds the sem
blance Of power by his supposed control OF Off
| cial patronage, has no patronage al his disposal
| in this city, where II counts for much. And
It means that neither by Establishments. pcrsua
sion nor threats will Mayor Strong be- serluccd
from his loyalty 10 the healthy public sentiment
TO which he owes his election. Public opinion
is triumphant over the machinery Of BOssism
and the methods Of Bosses