The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-11-04

ture as well as the people of the present,
the campaign, as previously stated,
really narrows down to Tammany and
anti-Tammany. Into the midst of this
hodgepodge of local politics national is
sues have been forced much as the wedge
is driven into the gaping cash made by
the woodlands axe in the forest tree.
1t is claimed by both parties that vic
tory in New York for one or the other
will have n tremendous influence upon
| the next presidential election, and SO II
is that the contest has. in fashion,
taken on the appearance of presidential
election.
Men of partisan fame have quietly
! come to New York and consulted with
| the leaders. Hundreds of thousands of
| dollars. have been contributed by out
sidcrs to campaign funds. This money
| Is being spent in the most determined
canvass that has ever been made i'll a
| municipality. Any man familiar with
politics and political methods who will
take the pains to watch the drift may
judge that for himself. President Nc
Kinley has indirectly come to the aid of
his own party. Ex-President Cleveland,
although no longer a voter in Greater
New York, Is a partisan of Low, and SO
on down the list of famous names in
American politics of the. present, one
after the other. it would be difficult to
| find single one who has not in some
manner given evidence of his preference
as to the winner of the contest.
Indeed, the victory is well worth the
battle. The mayor of Greater New
York will be in control of more patron
age than any one person except the pres
idcnt of the United States. Within his
gift there will be 81, 1882 positions for the
faithful. These officials will draw every
city treasury. While civil service reform
will, in Il measure, be factor, it will
be in the power of the mayor, during the
first six months of his term, to remove
any one of his appointees at his pleasure
and without giving any reason for his
action except his own will. With the
advent of the new city government the
tenure of office of every city employe,
except members of the police and fire
departments, will come to an abrupt end.
Therefore this mayor will have II clear
field to put those in office whom he
pleases. Municipal history shows no rec
ord of such enormous power in the hands
of Il single man as will fall to the lot
of the first mayor of the consolidated
cities.
The new municipality will be divided
into five boroughs, Manhattan, Bronx,
Brooklyn. Queens and Richmond. The
first is New York City proper: the sec
ond that portion of Westminster which
il taken in and receives its name from
the Bronx river: the third is the city of
Brooklyn as it is today: the fourth is the
rest Of the county of Queens that comes
into the consolidation, including Long
Island.
Every city official holding non-clcctivc
office in this immense territory will be
subject to the new mayor. OF course
the mayor directly appoints a compara
lively small number of these. What are
known as his particular appointees will
be 240 old heads of departments. and
these chiefs will fill the remainder of the
places, but, it goes without saying. in a
all this broad land of ours there is no gov
ernor whose power approaches that which
will dcvolve upon the mayor of Greater
New York.
While national issues have been made
n part of the campaign, still the money
question. so far as the relative advan-
tages of Is to ! and the other bases are
has been largely held in abey-
ancc. That is what makes the election
so peculiar in measure. Here we see
the national committees of the great par
ties taking hand in this fight, although
secretly. and yet the central issue of the
last national contest and possibly the
future is kept, as it were, in hiding.
All these things make it plain that
Greater New York's first municipal cam
paign is remarkable in many ways. 1t
is notable not only for the character of
the men engaged, the four-corncred fight
that is going on and the Brobdinagian
of the contest. but for the
fact that for the first time in the his
tory of the world the representatives of
J, 0OO,O0G of freemcn will decide for them
selves how best the one city in which
they live shall be governed.