New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-07-26
nothing will be done to encourage them in the
idea that the capacity of a car is the number II
will seat.
THE PERSISTENCE OF RAMAPO.

! Surely" said the wise man of Old lin vain
the net is spread in the sight of any bird" The
rule is usually n sound one. COnspirators of
evil conduct their plottings in the dark, and
! abandon them upon exposure to the light. glad
If they get off without penalty. Many an
d Ubiquitous design has been batfied by simple
revelation of its true character; many an evil
practice has in the same manner been forced
to prompt discontinuance. 1t is generally, as
1t should he always, sufficient to show people
that they are In danger of being swinded to
arouse them to make sure that they will not be
swindled. at least not in that one particular
way. But apparently we must now note con-
spicuous exception to the rule.
OF the utter and irredeemable iniquity of the
Ramapo scheme there can be no rational doubt.
Neither can there be desired more complete
exposure of it, in general and in detail than was
long ago made, and has repeatedly since been
made Yet il is not abandoned. The snarer
keeps right setting t net in the sight of the
bird, and prepares to drive the bird into it
with a club. in seeming confidence that the
bird will not fly away, but will permit itself
deliberately to be trapped. The Controller
truly says that RamapO is not dead. 1t was,
in fact, never more alive than at the present
moment. and never more active. and never was
more hopeful and indeed confident of event
ually capturing the metropolis in its tolls. 1t
Is conducting its campaign with remarkable
Openness and effrOntery. 1t is as though
gang of burglars should camp in front of
bank and proclaim their intention of lootng
ii as soon as the cashier went home There
has probably never been more audacious
performance than the present persistent at
tempt to create an artificial water famine in
a borough of more than n million inhabitants
in order to brighten to force the city into ac
Cepting a proposal for wholesale plumber.
The amazing phenomenon is to be explained
only on the ground of the magnitude of the
interest involved. 1t is one thing 10 grab a
million or two. 1t Is another thing TO grab
scores Of millions and to get the second city
of the world helpless within your grip The
prospect of making forty or fifty million dol
lars at a single easy stroke is incomparably
more dazzling than anything ever conceived by
Tweed in the full heyday of his plUndering
The prospect Of getting the water supply of
New-York as completely In their power for pur-
poses of profitable exploitation as the ice sup
ply has been in the hands of the Tammany
Trust is sufficient to embOlden the Ramapo
consplrators to almost any steps. But surely
these considerations should have an equally
potent effect upon the menaced city to rouse 1t
to self-defence. And as an effective measure
of defence it may be we'll to consider the
propriety of legslating all private water sup
ply concerns out of existence and thereafter
prohibiting them altogether AS the National
Government protects its mail carrying monop-
oily why should not the municipality protect
similarly its water purveying monopoly?