Evening star., 1901-11-16
New York's New Rulers Will Have
Plenty to Do.
LIKE CLEANING The AUGEAN STABLES
Serious Problems That Confront
the District Attorney
WAR ON LAW BREA K Z r :


pI Dlue ldNS JLItuSlA lllC hlCNit'4ii "a -
semi-oficial pronunciamento. served up
orally by Mr.. Jerome, the district attorney
elect, outlining some of the work that is to
be undertaken under the new regime. 1t
seems then, that we are not to have any
blue laws after all While the campaign
was in progress the Tammanyite told his
friends who weren't decided as to how
they'd vote that the commonwealthS of
Massachusetts, and Connecticut under the
Puritans wouldn't be a marker" to New
York under the direction of the "goo-goos."
which is the Tammany appellation for the
reformers- The wavering voter was all but
informed that he'd stand a good chance of
going to the stocks or the pillory for i'm
printing a chaSte salute upon the brow of
his wife on the Sabbath if the reformers
were given the guidance of the towns af-
fairs. The TammanyiteS horrible prognoS-
tications of possible blue laws unquestiona-
bly, had some little effect upon the minds of
those weaklings who habitually permit OH
ers to do their thinking for them but the
returns indicated how signally the wall
anent blue laws failed to impress the
crete public mind.
Mr.. Jerome has announced-and with a
certain air of confidence that shows that
he has his principles behind him-that there
is to be no rigid enforcement of the excise
law on Sundays under the new administ'a-
tion- Everybody who has ever lived in New
4
move this will be from every point of view
Quite aside from the fact that it is good
politics, and well calculated to popularize
the new administration, it is a sensible
scheme on other grounds. New York is in
nearly all essential respects a foreign city,
and there are few great foreign cities
where the populace is violently restrained
from faring forth and diverting itself after
Its own inclination on Sundays. The excise
law never has been enforced on Sundays in
New York 1t was not even enforced when
Mr. Roosevelt. in his police commissioner
capacity, was the Haroun-al-R -Raschid of the
municipality If any man could have eff
fected rigid observance of the law that
man was Mr.. Roosevelt; and yet he fell
down in his attempt, and he frankly admit
ted that he had fallen down.
Don't Want Sunday Closing.
1t has now come to be believed even by
the most steadfast upholders of strict Sab
bath observance that it is simply impossi-
bic to enforce an air-tight Sunday closing
law in New York The vast majority of the
population don't want Sunday closing, aid
they cooperate with those financially in
serested in the maintenance of open Sun
lays in cooking up schemes whereby the
aw is got around punctured.
-|There are, of course, thousands of men
In this town who make practice of drink
ing to excess on Sundays, and these consti-
tute the body of horrible examples held I'D
as reason why the Sunday law should be
rigidly- enforced. But, on the other hand
there are hundreds of thousands of for
eIgners in New York who have made it a
Hfe-fong practice. to take glass or so Of
wine or beer with their families in some
attractive, cheerful place-where. as a rule,
there is nl,fsc-on' Sundays These people
don't get drunk. On the contrary they
regard with amazement and disgust the ir-
dividual of their own kind-such individuals
are very rare-who yields TO alcoholic ex-
cess
The drink dispersari are to be allowed
to remain open during certain hours on
Sundays under the new administration
They are to be properly supervised by the
revised police during these hours. of course
Ii Tammany ever takes up the reins of
power again. it will quickly see to it that
the absolute Sunday closing law is once
more spread upon the books. for that law
has been one of the most profitable sources
ot Tammany revenue. 1t has been a club
wherewith Tamm9ny. through its cowed
COnstabulary. has forced saloonkeepers de-
sirous of keeping open on Sundays to come
10 the 'front.' with the price of such per-
mission With permission already in their
hands to keep open at certain hours on
Sunday. the proprietors of these institu-
tionS could grin defiantly at the Tammany
collectors and decline. with impunity to
De shaken down. and this of course,
could never be brooked by Tammany.
For and Against.
Mr. Jerome's announced concession to the
peculiar requirements of this great city in
the matter of Sunday observance has al
ready, of course. evoked hoarse complaints
from the unCompromising croakers whose
slogan is No quarter in dealing with
what they call the devil But Mr. Jerome
has the most clear-sighted students of mu-
nicipal conditions behind him in this mat
ter, and among them are most of the no.
table preachers of the city embracina~
those of all denominations from the lew.
ish rabbi to the Roman Catholic prelate.
me meTnbers-elect of the new administra-
t1cn are now Sirding up their loins for the
herculean task that will confront them urnr
TIER installation on January l. Never in
the history of this or any other great city
cic houseeieaning of such magnitude
await new set of incumbents The gem
eral reorganization of New York that fol-
lowed the smashing of the Tweed ring was
h9'hlhS 10 the reorganization that this new
administration will have to undertake and
successfully carry through II it is to re-
Deem its promises, clinch the confidence of
the people, and deprive Tammany of its
mite remaining vitality. A lot of the new
sdihillStratlon work will be under cover
and the public will not hear so much of
the methods put into effect to estop grabs
and steals already half COMPLETED and of
economical measures for the conduct of the
city and county departments as IT will
near OF the labors of those officials who
are on record as to reforms directly af-
1ecung the people that they purpose ac-
Ccmplishing.
Head of the Police Force
The demolition of the present police sys-
fem and the upbuilding of a completely
new method of police administration will
probably attract more attention from the
general public than any other task of the
new regime. The head of the huge-paunch
ed Deyery, of course. is to drop Immediately
into the basket. They are saying now that
MI Low will send the yellow envelope to
DeVery on the same day that he takes
the mayors oath. Whether IL happens
with such desirable precipitancy or not the
enaeement Of Devery will be the signal
1Eat the wheels of the new government
Sre beginning to revolve. There is excel
fent authority for stating that a trained
snlltary man Will Se at the head of the
new York police under the coming ad-
minlstration. This is a European idea.
and an admirable one. We hear SO much
DI the rottenness of the New York police
Ihat we are occasionally too willing to
forSet that most of that rottenness is ar
ehe top There is superb material in the
force as mass, and Tammany's dirtv
work is not performed by the men who
walk the posts Under proper management
and guidance there Is probably not a finer
force OF uniformed police in the world
than that of New York The rank and file
OF the men have been very sore for wears