The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-11-03
THE BOSS OF NEW YORK.
More Powerful Than Proconsui or Cap
tain-General.


(Bourke Cochran in Carnegie Hall, Fri
day night.)
When I use the words boss and boss
ship I am not moved by desire to indulge
in personalities or in abusive epithets.
The boss-ship is too real, too strong a
force in our municipal existence to be
disposed of by sneer or reproach. use
the term because no other will convey an
adequate idea of the power with which
the citizen must grapple if he is to vindi-
cate his liberties in this crisis. All TIE
power, legislative and executive. of this
municipality IL today in the hands of the
individual who rules the destinies of the
mocratic party, or, in other words. in
the hands of tho boss. and there they will
remain, whatever may be the outcome Ct
this canvass. The individual rights of
the citizen, his right to liberty, property,
and character are his own, and they will
continue to be his own property, indie
pendent of a boss or anybody else, just
as long as Independent judges can he
found to defend them, and no longer.
. 1t ia, therefore, no exaggeration to Say
that the elementary rights of citizenship
are involved in this canvass. Upon its
result depends whether the citizen can
enjoy them by virtue of the constitutional
system under which he lives or whether
he must seek them through the favor of
boss.
In order that we.may measure the mag
nitude Of the issue 1t is necessary that
we1 should examine the character of our
local government as it exists, and the
effect likely to be produced upon it by
the defeat of Judge DAILY at the polls.
Nowhere in the experience of mankind
can find any parallel for the force which
dominates and controls the affairs OF this,
the second greatest city in the world. A
nominal government is installed at the
eroised at the Democratic Club. Officers
are appointed and sworn to discharge GER
tain functions, and, to some extent they
do discharge them, but outside the mere
routine duties Of their departments every
discretionary power is exercised and con-
trolled by a private individual, who is
not required to register his DEGREES or
even to acknowledge them.
Many thousands ofspsrsons are engaged
| in the public service, and in contempla-
ton Of law are appointed by the heads OF
| departments and are responsible, but, as
a matter of fact, each one owes his APP
pointInent to the forbearance IF not 1.-THE
favor of political leader, whose exiS-
tence is unknown to the law, but whose
commands, though unregistered, are more
| powerful than statutes and whose nod
can make fortune or unmaka career.
| livery financial interest in the city courts
his favor and breads his hostility. An
| interview can send it's stock soaring above
| that mysterious line known as par or can
depress it to those gloomy levels which
evoke bankruptcy or liquidation. Let it
| he known that he wished million dollars
| for political purposes, and before next
Friday night he would have received two
millions.
What oficeholder among the tens of
| thousands who draw pay from the city
treasury would hesitate to prove his graft
| tude for the favor which lifted him into
the public service and the fervor OF his
| hone. that he might be retained in It'll
| while the hundreds of thousands who
hope to get into office would seek to at
| tract by liberal contributions the favor,
able notice of him who is the source OF Oil
| employment and of all promotions. Wnal
contractor performing public work would
hesiuate.to use part of his profits to pro
mote his prospects of larger rewards
| What corporation exercising q public
| franchise would fail to embrace an op
portunity to propibiate his favor when s
| sign OF his hostility would be a fatal blow
to it's credit? What extensive owner Of
real estate would venture to incur an in