New-York tribune., 1899-06-10
them, every day, to make their stay IN Town
Just as agreeable as possible. For 1t Is season
able 36J days In the year.
MR.. MURPHYS SAD FAILURE.


The Hon. Michael c. Murphy has aim ,st as
much trouble with the Grand Jury as the Hen.
Asa Bird Gardiner. The members OF that body
are coming to be wary about accepting the
lead Of the fearful and wonderful ofnclas so
kindly bestowed upon us by the grace OF ram
many Hall. They some time ago discovered
that those officials would not scrupie to make
them the instrument Of private vengeance ana
political intrigue. A District-Attorney who
would prostitute the machinery OF criminal
prosecution to such petty ends as indlctng
critic Of public affairs for describing an Official
as "an educational masodon,' OF course could
not be trusted by sensible men TO protect citl'
zens from malicious prosecutions. III he could
he msled into securing Illegal indictments in
the interests Of a Tammany School Commits
sioner there was no assurance that he might
not get man improperly indicted for murder
through the influence OF some Tammany FAVOR
ite who had wronged him and sought to escape
the consequences by running his character.
Nor was there any assurance that he would
not be easily aroused to see something GRIM
nal In the actions Of a capitalist VINO had
failed to let Mr.. Croker make money IN stock
gambling deal. Grand juries have had enough
experience TO be careful about such things. and
the accomplished and scientific Mr. Murphy
suffers in consequence.
With infinite pains he has turned on the sub
ject that intelligence made famous by the dis
covery that grip was caused by the aroma or
miasma or something exuding from the asphalt
pavements. He has been climbing ladders ana
taking photographs of the structural weakness
of the elevated railroad 1t was curious
coincidence as has often been remarked, that
the Manhattan attracted Mr.. Murphy's official
attention and ceased TO be in his view the
only perfect work Of man in the field OF trans
portation which ii was long regarded by Mayor
Van Wyck and the rest OF our rulers at the
particular moment when lot or Tammany
men got on the wrong side of the market with
Manhattan stock and when Mr. Croker was
unable to make satisfactory terms for placing
his air pipes the structure. or course, II
must be n good relief TO Mr. Murphy now that
he has found how unsafe that structure Is that
It was not overloaded and lives further en-
dangered by those pipes. What is Mr.. Gro
ker's income beside the safety of the travelling
public? Even If the pipes had been hung on
the girders we may he sure that Mr.. Murphy
would have seen the cracks and weaknesses
with the same fafthfulness now displayed. and
first would have ordered the removal Of the
Croker compaDys encumbrances ana tnen the
repair of the railroad tracks
Unfortunately, he had no opportunity TO dis
play this high mpartiality, and now, more un-
fortunately too sophisticated Grand Jury re-
fuses to take him seriously. His diagrams OF
bent girders, his photographs Of posts with the
paint knocked off, his analytical reports on the
dust scraped from the seams in the platforms,
his classAcatons of the microbes that are eat
ing the steel as bugs eat cucumber vine, make
I'D n case of vast volume. The papers, If trans
ported on an elevated car. would surely test
the safety of the structure. II the uestle
could stand that strain il could stand anything.
And vet the recent Grand Jury refused TO find
any indictment or make any presentment on
the subject Mr.. Murphy says he will try again
on the present Grand Jury with new collec-
ton of pictures and reports, but he himself en-
tertans little or no expectation that the jurors
will do anything but buy new waste-baskets
10 receive the fruits of his labor. He is only
submitting the case anew to make record.
Then his conscience will be clear II the track
breaks down. Likewise he can tell Mr.. Croker
that he has gone TO the limit Of his powers to
make the city government what Mr.. Croker
avows he intends 1t to be. the foundation Of
his private fortune and the engine Of his per-
sonal revenges.