New-York tribune., 1905-07-29
JEROME ON TAHMANY.
broken.

IL there ever was a time when Tammany
thought of adopting Mr. Jerome or Mr.. Jerome
thought of following his friend Mr.. Grout into
the Tammany fellowship. that time must def
nitely have passed. Mr.. Jerome's caustic COM
ments on the threatened removal of Mr.. Fuller
from the chief clerkship Of the Court Of Special
Sessions to make room for former alderman
and bartender, if not the sign of break al
ready made, cannot fail to be the cause for
future enmity. Mr.. Jerome is proverbially free
with his opinions and blunt in his characteriza-
tons of other men. Mr. Murphy has doubtless
acquired the politicians grace of taking invidi-
Gus remarks without undue seriousness STILL
there are some things hard to forget and harder
to forgive. When Mr.. Jerome tells of a reported
conversation between Mr.. Murphy and the JUS
tees, and how Mr.. Murphy said that one of
them could break in the incompetent to his pro-
posed duties and adds, 81 shall continue to be-
"Iieve these statements until they are denied by
"a man of honor" he might as well slap Mr.
M1rphy's face and tell him that he is not
man of honor
The District Attorney hits out from the
shoulder in regard both to the Court of Special
Sessions and to Mayor Mcclellan. The removal
of Mr. Fuller for political purposes would be
one more step in the degradation of that I'M
portant tribunal from the position which it held
in the first years Of its history, when Mr.
Special Sessions deals with the great mass of
offences on the proper punishment Of which de-
pend the order of the city and the welfare of
its inhabitants. The large decrease In fines OF
dsordery house keepers and violators OF the
excise law and the preponderance of acquittals
in these cases are indicative OF the tone OF our
present administration. This court is the foun-
tain of Justice to a great body Of the citizens
whose affairs are not taken into the higher
courts and when it becomes inefficient and is
turned to political account it is serious mat
ter The bar should not remain Indifferent to
such an invasion.
Mr. Jeromes sweeping indictment of Mayor
Mcclellan will be something of a surprise and
perhaps something of a shock to many easy go
Ing well meaning persons who have been
charmed by the Mayors likeness to themselves
Because they do not see any Van Wyck raging In
the City Hall or any Devery creating public
scandal they are ready TO pronounce the present
administration to be good as anybody could
expect Mr.. Jeromes talk is ike a breath OF
fresh air in the subway. 1t is time TO sweep
away this myth founded on the personal popu-
larity of the Mayor and get at the real charac-
ter of his administration. and what Mr.. Jerome
says is emphatically true. The Mayor has
lacked the courage to pick his own subordi
mates, and has been content with inferior men
prescribed to him by the organization. To be
fairly clean" with Oakley, Pallas, Featherson
and McAvoy, to be a reformer by displacing Dr.
Lederle, to be a stern moralist by making the
whole city government weapon in Murphy's
warfare on McCarren and letting the Murphy
firm use it as an instrument for securing con
tracts-to do all these things is to be good
Mayor of the Mcclellan pattern. After the
weak attitude of some of the Citizens Union peo-
pie 1t is refreshing to have such plain spoken
analysis of the administration from one who
cannot be accused of narrow partisanship in his
views Mr.. Jerome is not trying to help the
Republicans. He dislikes them even more than
he does Tammany He is just telling the truth
with that indiscretion which is so characteristic
Of him and important a contributor to his
DOOularitV