New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-01-14
ESELFSS COHONERS.

'rh. office Of Coroner has lOug been In dlsre-
uu,. When propcrly administered 1t IL need
less expense for ends which can be better ne
,.o,rnlished IN other ways When 1t exhibits
the unintcIIlgcn,e. nefiicicncy and corruption
which have characterized that branch or me
government Of this city for years. II becomes
. ,,roi.suuc excrrsccncc which should be quickly
,,, o0 Hitherto the fact that the Coroner was
protected by the Constitution has stood III me
way II the general sentiment on the SUD
irct having any practical result. The 'oh-
sfltuilon which went into effect on New
Years Day. however. undertakes no guar
dlnnship over him. The delegates 10 the
constitutional Convention did not think IL the
function ~ the fundamental law To frame sys-
TEN 10 take the place If that now eXistlnG. when
fl must have done had It ailirmativcly abolished
the office ~ Coroner. But they recognized that
the present method ~ inquiry into ih" cause OF
deaths is antIqulicd and cumbersome az us
best. and by leaving all mention Of the subject
ont ~ the Constitution they rclccaicd II TO Inc
legislature 10 deal with from time TO time ms
the needs 81 the people might dictate.
An inquiry into The history Of the coronership
os II has existed in New-York for many years
reveals n shocking condition of affairs. In an
other column something 81 the corruption and
moladininlsirafion Is rccounle1. That Is only
mart of the disgraccfu record which might be
rroduccd. but II Is more than enough 10 carry
the conviction that the best way to reform the
svs,cu, il 10 abolish H. The Coroncrs have habit
uallv taken as pcrquiSics ~ their office parts
~ tho salaries of their suborlinatcs. leaving
These men 10 rccoup themselves rs best 'h'y
A.
came in contact The underlings turned to
backmall and have built up business smaller
I'm, no less prosperous than that carried on by
the police Jury notices are facNe INSTRUMENTS
Of cxtortion and in the hands OF an unS'ripi
lous subpoena server may be made To yield large
results. A considerable profit Is also to De ma
from friends Of suicides who wish To AVOID 'he
nubllcIty OF an inquest. But better chance Tor
corruntIon exists I'm the possibility OF delaying
,h. ronorts Of inoucsts To the District Attorney.
NEGLIGENT CORPORATIONS and individual homc,dcs
and Il 70 their advantage TO keep their cases
from tho District Attorneys hands till wit
,csscs have disappeared and circumstances
hove bcen forgotten The number ~ incidents
cited when they have had their wish suggests
the method Of its accomplishment. II Is not
mere chance that makes the Coroner dear 10
rebukcs from the Grand Jury and appeals from
his fellow official, the DistrctAttornry.
The city pays Sol a year for the services
Of four Coroncrs and their STATS. How much
individual citizens pay 1t IS Impossible to csti
mate The service rendered Is entirely made
ouatc TO the cost. The work intrsted 10 the
Coroncrs is not performed with any sort OF
faiihfulncss A Coroncrs neglect to answer a
call for DAYS IL by no means an uncommon Oc
currcncc and more than the ends OF jus
tIcc have been defeated because officials were
too lazy or too careless tn answer urgent re-
quests that ante norton statements be taken
Coroner Schultzc's failure to do his duty In tho
Goodwin murder ease Is conspicuous instance
Of incompetency. In many other respects the
shortcomings Of the Coroncrs are patent In
deed. II would be hard to find any function
which they are called upon 20 perform which Is
attended to efficiently
The office should be abolished by the LegIs
lature. and the examination into suspicious
deaths placed in the hands of district physicians
with the legal side of the cases in charge OF IN,
police Justices. This system has been tried with
satisfactory results I'm Massachusetts The Cor
oners and Coroners' ply sicians now pretend tC
do work which the one set OF officers can dc
equally well. The physicians reports would
be Of much greater value than the present noto
roIs jury vcrdcts. and the chance to blackmaI
Jurors would be done away with VT may b,
thought I'M just that the two new reform Coro
ners who were elected on the ticket with Mayo,
Strong should be thrown ont Of Office. but 1t 4,
TO he remembered that they are only two OF tn,
four officials and no matter how faithful the,
may be- their efforts will bc defeated by the tw,
hodover Tammany men with whom they mus
share their work. Moreover. the system itself
no matter how honest be the officials IL no
suited To present conditions. The Coroner ant
his jury are as much out Of place In crowded
cosmopolitan New-York as would he an Eng
lish landlord holding court In his library for tn,