The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-05-05
FELIX ADLER ON CROKER.
= 49, " q
deed / wuz.
(From an address delivered before the
Ethical Culture society, New York,
last Sunday1

(From an address delivered before the
Ethical Culture society, New York
last Sunday)
How MANY men and women in this
great CITY lead a double life. How
many lose their identity. Innumerably
! greater are the temptations offered
Glance around at the grogshops and
| the gambling saloons and the low
vulgar music halls. Especially have
the latter grown and thrived during the
last year. And what temptations &c
they present to our boys and girls.
Who of us is sure that our sons or
daughters might not fall to the temp
tations which surround them? To us
fathers and mothers the problem of
how we may limit these temptations is
vital problem. Impossible is it to
stamp out vice entirely. Then comes
the question, how may we lessen it?
Comes the answer, the home, the
school, the church. But there is also
for consideration the government Of
the city. On it, in a great measure
rests the responsibility of lesssning
vicious surroundings.
We should teach our children rever-
ence, but how may we teach them to
revere city officials who are not worthy
of being looked up to? Every day CUR
children see examples of politicians
reaching the pinnacle of success by the
basest means. What kind of a gov
eminent has New York, and why? AS
you all know, an investigation has been
going on for the last few weeks to dis
cover this.
For my part, the obvious bias of the
Investigators would make me lose in
terest ia the matter were it not for the
admissions that have been made, adj
missions which are matter of record
of the most startling character.
First. the chief witness of all gets on
the stand and freely confesses that he
is the dictator TO which we must bow:
admits that he is the dictator and that
conventions ratify his will; admits that
it is his will that makes our judges;
admits that ii is his will that the men
of his organization shall be the favor
ed; admits, in fact, that the govern
ment of New York really exists only
on paper.
One hundred years ago Thomas JEFF
ferson. that father Of the principles of
represents, refused to appoint relative
to Office, giving as a reason that he
would not create q precedent by which
much evil might result. a precedent
that might warp the judgment of gov
eminent officials. And since that time
his ruling has been an elementary
principle of political rule. Yet this
dictator tells you practically that we
have gone back over 100 years, and he
wishes you to believe him. He thinks
it right and proper that judges owned
and elected by him should turn money
into his purse. Re proclaims that he
has never stolen a penny of the csty's
money. He dramatically says you may
cut off his right hand if you can prove
that he has ever stolen cent of tie
city's money. What does he mean by
that? Admittedly ne probably has
never put his hands in the public
treasury and taken its contents, h::t
from a moral standpoint how can we
view his acts. In his thick brain ha
has stolen nothing unless he has put
his hand into the city's treasury.
He cannot see why a city contractor
who gets his contracts through favor
itism isn't as good as anybody. Does
this same contractor get his contracts
by reason of virtuous merit? No; he
gets them through pecuniary aid, and
he pays somebody for it. And, this
being the case, must he not recoup
himself? And how does he do this? He
either charges the city higher prices,
or else he does inferior work. L say
that every penny thus gained is just so
much stolen from the city's treasury.
1t is theft pure and simple.
And are we political babes to allow
this self-appointed master to dictate
this man who has publicly proclaimed
and emblazoned himself as the political
master of New York? Why is it that
in a city like this the tail rules the
head; that the morally undeveloped
rule the morally developed? It's your
fault, | say; the fault of The better
class. You do not understand the
problem. How may the minority rule
the majority? 1t is fiction and fallacy
that have kept the reformers from
the problem.
The efforts of the legislators at AL
bany to effect change by the pass re
Of the constabulary bill. viii not solve
the question. Far from it, On the
other hand, it is a mere suicidal at
tempt to remedy a wrong.
The power of moral intelligence is
the only force measure that can be
used to get az a solution of the prob
lem. There are three qualities that are
essential in the successful leader-he
must be free from all faint of the
pharisee: he must have a broad con-
ception of public will. not allowing the
small things to disturb the big ones;
and last, he must be entirely free from
class prejudice. To the latter prejudice
can be traced the failure of reform
The successful leader
must be a big man.