Year: 1875

sThe New York Municipal Society"


A new society for municipal reform has
just been organized, with this title, under
the statutes Of the State relating to corpora
tions. It's aims, plans and methods are fully
set forth in the official statements printed IN
our news columns. Its present members
number seventy-two, consisting for the most
part Of citizens eminent for their standing,
who enjoy the respect and confidence of this
community. By the constitution of the So
ciety the number of members may be in
creased to one hundred, with an addition OF
thirty-fve honorary members, of whom at
least fifteen shall be residents of this State,
but residents of the city. The evident
purpose of this provision is to secure the
cooperation and profit by the intelli-
gence of gentlemen in other cities
of this State and cities through
out the country. The problem of governing
cities with wisdom and economy is the great
problem in this country, and we rejoice that
a society has been formed to take the sub
ject in hand and throw upon it the light of
full investigation.


There are points in tho constitution of the
New York Municipal Society which give it
a strong title to public confidence in addi-
ton to that derived from the known respec-
liability of it's members One of these claims
to confidence is the pledge or engagement
required of all the members that they will
not be candidates for any office. The well
known Committee of Seventy (which did
run well for season" in the fight against the
Tammany Ring, forfeited public esteem and
became an object of scofing derision by MAX
ing that organization ladder to municipal
trusts, its President getting lifted by it to
the Mayoralty and many of its other
members seeking vulgar political re-
wards. This new Municipal Society
avoids this error by ''self-denying ordi-
nance" calculated to protect their labors
from suspicion. Its members make pledge
that they will not accept any office or
nomination for any Office, either munich
pal, State or federal, 'while member of
the society, nor within ninety days after
ceasing to be a member" This guarantee
of sincerity and disinterestedness is one of
the most satisfactory features of the organ
ization.


Another excellent feature in the avowed
aims of the society is its desire to
separate municipal government from
ordinary party politics. 1t is too
obvious for argument that this important
aim cannot be accomplished without COM
plete separation between municipal and
general elections. When they are held at
the same season of the year and on the
same day the State candidates and city can
didates will form alliances to strengthen
each other and municipal affairs be in
evitably drawn into the current of
party politics. Municipal reform is impos-
sible without q strict separation. The
New York Municipal Society declares in its
address that ''the partisan method Of gov
erning a city is false and pernicious !" that
municipal administration is rather mass
Of business to be done on business princi-
pies than of politics to be managed by party
leaders = that ''party action in regard
to city administration is almost never
based on any political principle and hence
is generally corrupt" The truth of these
assertions is self-evident and it is an evident
inference from them-which, however, the
society has failed to draw-that one of the
most important steps toward solid reform is
divorce of the city election from the State
election, by holding it at different season
of the year, when the party tide does not
sweep everything along with it.