New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-04-04
.JOHV PdINES on POLITICAL UOR1LS.


Gratis
JOIN RAINES on POLITICAL MOR1LS.
1t is good sign when the opponents Of munc,
ipal reform begin to snrer M the rcfOrmerS rs
scntmcntalists temporarily under the agitatinE
influence of a high moral purpose. Then they
throw off their masks and DISCUSSES ana LEI all
men know them rs they are. They wcr" much
more dangerous when they were pretending I"
he in sympathy with the Reform movement ana
burrowing underground for lis defeat. Mr.. Ilatt
was more dangerous person when h" seated
himself by Navor Strong AZ public dinner and
in 4 somewhat casual. but carefully considered.
way assured him Of his sympathy ana support
than when a little later, he BEGAN dcnounrlnS
the Mayor for having broken faith with him III
appointing William Brookiicd Commissioner ~
Public Works More dangerous when ~ m" 'nd
of a long interview with the Mayor ~ IN" HtlerS
residence. in which he had only discussed local
politics in a general way. l." said Just rs he was
leaving BY the way. Mr.. Mayor nave lew
names which woulG like 10 suggest To- You Tor
zone or two places" and received the Mayors
ingenious answer. "All right Senator; send me
"somc good names and Ill give them fun con
"sidcration." than when later he ami n h'u-
tenants began calling the Mayor ",i:r' ana
ceased having direct communication WIZ MN.
So when Mr. Platts man. Senator Rain"s stood
up in the Senate Yesterday and according 10
The Ncw-York Evening sun" which * by no
means unfricndly To Mr.. Platt -dcnonnced the
Mayor and the Reform party of ms clly III Il
"tiresome and exhaustive review of the political
situation in New-York since January !. in when
che made many sarcastic references To The Goo
| Coos and rcformers" he was actually doing Inc
cause of Reform great service We know now
where they are and what are their purposes.
! They are in the open.
And they are making the mistake commonly
made Ivy those who have been So long IN asSocla-
ton with men of low instincts ana vicious haDhs
| that they have come to believe all professions ~
morality particularly in politics, 10 be mere ny
| pocrisv and prctcncc, and that all mankind are
naturally and totally dcpraved. II Is not nccea-
sarv TO maintain that the ma iOriiy OF The voters
| are actuatcd by the highest motives. or inspired
| always by pure moral purposes; nor Is II hcc's-
| sarv 10 deny the thesis that The conduct or the
| majority Of men in their political action Is gov
erncd by their selfish instincts, with which
| neither public nor private morality has anything
! to do But intelligent men who have any knowl-
! edge of human nature or any experience III inc
! practical affairs Of life do not need 10 be tod
/ that however immoral the ma jority may be In
| their own habits or their views of life, ana how
! ever low NAV be their standards Of political mo-
rality. there is something that stands for con-
| science in the public mind, that has 10 be reck
| oncd with some time and that the most reckless
OF trificrs NAV well hesitate 10 offend. And
when. as in the present instance. this public con-
! science or moral sense by whatever name ii may
be called is aroused to activity by the conscious
ness of public peril AMI supplemented bv the
| instinct Of self-prescrvaion, 1t is serious mis-
! take 10 SUPPOSE that it's influence upon political
! action can be dissipatcd by silly snecrs against
the prctcncc Of political morality or impaired
bv such trucuent ribadry as that with which
| Senator John RaineS disgrace1 himself and dis
| honored his constituents yesterday In the state
Senate The People may be immoral, may be
dishonest may be utterly dcpravcd and willing
TO play all sorts Of deceitfu games in politics, as
these men assume, but, even If they are, 1t Is a
mistake to tell them so and faunt 1t in their
faces There's one very fluent and eloquent
statesman now "out Of job who pronounced
political morality IAN irdescent dream"
| As a matter of fact-cold fact-thc question
now in agitation in this community is not in its
essence as these Plat Senators and Platt news
papers sneeringly assert, Il question Of abstract
political morals. though that enters into it in a
large degree; just as the question Of the morality
| of human slavery entered into the great issue OF
the preservation Of the Union While that mo-
| mcntous struggle impended the same sort Of
thnwis laughed at the political moralisis and
sneered at the party Of moral IDEAS just as
they are doing now. But 1.-THE party Of moral
ideas" went on undisurbcd, and did not permit
itself TO be diverted from the purely business
question of maintaining the Union on the basis
OF free labor by sneers at the morasis and scnti-
mentalisls who saw in 1t nothing but the hui
manitarian aspects Of the slavery question.
What interests this community so profoundly to-
morality shall be maintained and upheld; it Is
whether out Of all the agitation and all the cX-
posures OF the last year this town Is TO secure a
decenty honest municipal government with a
decenty honorable and trustworthy police sys
tenn under which men and women and children
may be reasonably safe in fe limb, property
and reputation All honest voters are interested
in that. And they are not likely TO be snecrcd
out Of II by contemptuous taunts about their
being under the temporary influence Of Il high
moral purpose. And whether the great mass OF
the voters are or are no: susceptible Of high
moral purpose one thing is certain that they
have sufficient selfrespect 10 think they
are And the man or set Of men who suppose
they can be swerved from it by jcers and gibcs
make a considerable mistake Morals may not
always be potential In politics. bur the poll