Year: 1873

ID


GOVERNING a GREAT CITY.


The device of the Senate Committee for the
distribution of the appointing power finds not
one word of approval among the whole press
of New York Red-hot Radical and thorough
paced Democrat all alike condemn it as a
fraud and an insult. Only five months ago
we were asked to vote for the nominees of
the Republican party in this City and State on
the distinct promise that their first care, If
elected, would be to give an honest, non-par-
tisan, reform government TO this raScal-rldden
metropolis. They pledged themselves that
there should be no more Rings, and that New
York should no longer be ruled in the inter-
est of a faction, but with a faithful regard to
its own wants. As guaranty of good faith
they nominated a Governor and Mayor who,
though they had recently acted with the Re-
publican party, were Democrats in their
history, their principles and their pre-
elections. But once i'll power the man
ayers of this Charter scheme, to whom
a malevolent fate has intrusted for the nonce
the leadership of the Republican party in
New-York, threw off all disguise. They broke
with the Mayor. They avowed their purpose
TO frame a charter which would insure them
control of the city, without reference to the
wishes of the citizens. After crying out for
years at the mOnstrous evils of an irrespOnsi-
ble executive, AS illustrated in the career Of
Oakley Hall, they proceeded to reduce the
Mayor to position far below Halls in infu-
cnce. and to make of him little more than an
officer TO review. professions and license hack
drivers. After dcnouncing the mischief of
administration by clique of corrupt Council
men, they proceeded to organize the Aldermen
and Assistant Aldermen into new Ring, and
to give them powers which Mr.. Tweeds old
Board never dreamed of asking.


The heads of all the executive departments,
according to the programme now completed,
the members of all commissions except the
Board of Education, all officers, in fact, except
the few who are to he elected by the people,
are to owe their places to the new Common
Council Ring. The Mayor has practically
nothing to do with these appointments. The
chief executive has nothing to execute. He
may name candidates; but so may the news
papers; indeed, our powers in this particular
are greater than Mayor Havemeyer's, for
whereas we can urge the claims of one good
al
can suggest only one, and if that suggestion
be not acceptable to the Aldermen the whole
thing passes out of his hands. The Aldermen
are allowed five days to deliberate on the
nomination. At the end of that time they
need not take the responsibility Of passing
upon it; if they are dissatisfied and afraid to
say so they have only to do nothing. Then
the President of their board and the President
of the Board of Assistant Aldermen come to-
gether, and being agreed upon the Ring can
didate invite the Mayor to join them in making
an appointment. The poor man is powerless.
He is only one against two, and whether he
vote for the nominee or against him is a mat
ter of perfect indifference to the others. Thus
the Ring will fill every office in the city, and
have the handling of all the public money.


An irresponsible Common Council having
thus usurped the appointing power, a delusive
authority to make removals is conferred upon
the Mayor the object of which is apparently
to throw upon him the Odium of the miscon-
duct of officials whom he really cannot con-
troll He may indeed remove with the written
consent of the Governor, but he must make
public and very clearly defined charges, and
we know very well that in ninety-nine cases
out of hundred this proviso would insure
the immunity of almost any moderately sbdlful
rogue. The whole city had moral assurance
of the thefts Of Tweed and Connolly years
before any proof of them could be obtained
and if this proposed Charter had been in OPP
Grafton two years ago we venture to say that
no Mayor could have yentured to remove
Tweed or Connolly, or any of that firm, at
any time before the secret accounts were
brought to light,-possibly even before Mr..
Tilden traced the stolen money through the
bank accounts. And if the frauds of the new
Ring should become too great to be hidden,
the managers doubtless expect by that time to
have Governor of their own whose written
consent the Mayor may find it hard to get


Even were it not for these scandalOus pro-
visions, there is a reason why the proposed
Charter should be Indignantly rejected by
every honest friend Of good government. 1t
is not an instrument designed to meet the
wants of the people, or to carry out any gen.
eral principle of administration it is q mere
piece of special legislation for the exclusive
benefit of particular set of men. In the first
place it is intended to get rid of the Control
Ter, who watches the treasury too closely. In
the second place it explicitly provides for the
reteniinn of certain men in whom the Custom