The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-20
The Business Man in Politics.

The difference between the trained official
and the business man accidentally placed
In Office, elated with the thought OF man.
aging the public business like a business
man. on business principles. Is illustrated
In the history Of the Botanical Garden.
The illustration began with the very
choice Of the site. Mr.. HENRY WINTHROP
GRAY, when a Park Commissioner. wisely
proposed that a proper committee should
be designated to study and select a site.
But with the advent of the present munich.
pal administration, inspired with business
ideas, a new Park Board, composed of
business men wholly, ignored Mr.. GRAY's
resolution and. without study, with
out providing for an examinati, l.. that
would consider the interest of the owner OF
the land, the public, and without letting
the owner be heard, the new Board deliber.
ately gave a certain piece of LAND to the
Botanical Society because the influential
members of the society wanted it. If ex-
perts in the uses and value of public pleas.
ure grounds had been deputed to places bo-
tanical garden in this city, they would
have said that that portion of our park
lands which was incomparably the most
picturesque in it's nature, the most varied
in IFS surface, traversed by q beautiful
rocky glen, anc, crowned by a hemlock
grove of peculiar charm, would be the first
to eliminate from consideration. Such
and would necessarily be much more profit
able as a park for general use than as a
place to grow things, in which the
public would be subjected to unusual re.
strictions. But the beauty of this spot in
Bronx Park took the fancy of the Botan-
ical Garden Trusted as we'll as that
of the rest of the public; n they
wanted it, and they got it. We leave
to other philosophers to explain why
a number Of our best citizens accepted
favoritism at the hands of public officials,
which, II it had been extended with equal
bounty to What the Mugwump dictionary
describes as the MIKES, JAKEs, and BAR.
NBYs of politics, would have been regarded
by the better element as n case of dishon-
esty and maladministration. Nothing in
the conduct Of our civil affairs for many
years has so justified public indignation.
The chapter on the plans is the same.
The business spirit ruled from the begin.
ming until the enterprise was confronted
by two trained officials in the Board Of Es-
timate and Apportionment, Comptroller
FITCH and Corporation Counsel SCOTT.
Without authority OF law, the Botanical
Society got the preparation Of the plans
INTO their own hands and selected experts
of decided inferiority to aid them, partly,
we feel ourselves authorized to say, be-
cause they did not know better, and partly.
we assume, because, with the business
mans habit Of domination, they desired
men whom they could dominate. Then.
thanks to the enlightenment Of Commits
sioner STILES, an old hand In politics and
a stalwart champion Of art, as his place re-
quired him to be, three experts of the very
highest class were named to examine the
plans In order that the Park Department
might be advised as to approval and to
these three, Prof. SARGENT, Mr.. OLMsTED,
and Mr.. HASTINGS, there was added the
Superintendent of New York's parks, Mr..
SAMUEL PARSONS, for years a disciple of
Mr.. FREDERICK LAW OLMsTED and the
late Mr.. CALVERT VAUX.
But the business spirit was rampant.
The Mayor, with a business mans impa-
thence of delay or OF any authority other
than that Of himself or his partners.
actually wrote to the Park Department to
hasten the adoption of the plans regardless
Of the report upon them from the city's
experts. To some extent, though. we must
acquit the Mayor. We believe hat he was
instigated to this improper action by the
chief business man of the Botanical Society.
From the beginning there was a deter
mined effort on the part of the private citi-
gems in the Society to force through every
obstacle their plans for this public ground.
They pursued their own aims with the
arrogance of owners of the property. The
Park Board succumbed to them, Commits.
sioner STILES being overwhelmed by his col.
leagues and the recommendation of the
Sargent committee being contemptuoualy