The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-02-15
THE WAY OF REFORM.

Tammany Hall has fallen on evil times.
It is again fighting the battle of ascend
ancy in New York politics, and again
of the opposition. The contest will not
occur until the fall, and, then, those who
know anything of New York politics neel
hardly be informed that there will be a
halcyon and vociferous time.
Reform will once more be the issue,
and the red light district and gambling,
pool selling and the other forms of social
vice or reckIessness will be greatly con-
demned by all, but mostly by the reform
ers. Anti-Tammany is once more the
rallying point Of the reformers OF course
Republicanism is in evidence, and will
be to the end of the struggle, when if it is
waged successfully, one or more Repub-
leans will be installed in high local Of
fee and a number of under-strappers will
find comfortable berths in the city serv-
ice in the name and by the sign manual
of reform and reformers.
To those who know how much or how
little good has come from such under
takings as the present warfare upon
Tammany, the present seems not an I'M
usually interesting or, in the slightest de-
gree, an original movement. The cur
rent lists of boss reformers contain many
names of not too savory odor in connec-
ton with local government or misgovern-
ment in the big city.
In the columns of the Sun of recent
date there are two articles of local in
terest which bring out into more or less
| prominence the name of a leading anti
| Tammany reformer. His name is
| O'Brien-James O'Brien. He has blown
| the slogan of reform for many, many
years, as many as thirty years in fact.
Being a leading and, indeed, a veteran,
reformer, his pet aversion is one Richard
Croker by name. Mr. O'Brien is very
severe on Mr.. Croker, as he is reported
in one of the articles in question. But
| Mr.. O'Brien is much more severe on
himself, as a reformer, strange as it may
appear, in the other of the Suns articles.
Mr. O'Brien has a great record as a
reformer. He began his career as such
| when, after having acted rs Sheriff
under the Tweed dynasty-which, fool
| ishIy enough, by the way, Richard Gro
ker fought strenuously while it existed
he presented certain bills as sheriff
which were disalloWed by the Tweed
people Mr.. O'Brien thereupon united
the two characters Of informer and re-
former, and gave to the New York
Times the information which as partt-
ceps criminis he had acquired, showing
the gigantic plumber Of the community
which had been in progress under the
auspices of Mr.. Tweed, Mr.. O'Brien and
their associates lie had many years
| before done his utmost to remove Rich
ard Croker from his sphere of earthly
influence as an opponent of Tweed by
endeavoring to fasten a halter around
| Croker's neck for d murder which he did
not commit and which O'Brien of al
men on earth knew that he did not COM
nit and could not have committed.
With such beginnings it is needless to
say that Mr.. O'Brien as reformer
could not be well gainsaid; and now at
the end Of thirty Or forty years he still
pursues his course of seeking at once
municipal regeneration and the destruc-
ton, rightfuIIy or otherwise, of Croker
and Of the organization of which Croker
is the recognized head.
While Mr.. OBrien is thus showing the
vigor of his youth in tie pursuit of re-
| form through one column Of the Sun, in
another he is revealed as defendant in a
| divorce suit brought by his wife, who
| among other tendencies which do not i'm
| ply reformatory spirit, charges him
with having defrauded her Of large sums
of money. OF course Mr., and Mrs.
/ o'Brien may be left to adjust their little