Year: 1871

FROM the above 1T Will be seen tnat our rohB-
ous contemporaries have unanimously exhorted
their worshippers to come TO the relief OF the
Chicago sufferers. Why cannot something be
done for the poor creatures lowering and
shivering in the forests and villages OF the
Northwest-in Michigan, Wisconsin and Min
nesota?


Tho City Isjunction and tho City Gov


characterization or Judge Barnard.


The application for modification of the
injunction issued by Judge Barnard against
the city SO as to allow the work in the Croton
Aqueduct Department to be continued was
argued yesterday, and the Judge took occasion
to explain the object and intended extent Of
the injunction. Itwas not designed to inter-
rupt or In any manner to interfere
with the machinery Of the municipal gov
ernment so long as it was honestly managed,
but simply to protect the treasury against
robbery; to prevent the payment of bogus
judgments and exorbitant advertising and
printing bills; to sweep away the greedy
army OF sinecurists, who were receiving
salaries for labor never performed
in the departments to stop the issue
Of any bonds by the Board of Audit without
the authority of law, and to prohibit the ex-
penditure of another dollar on the new Court
House until the community should become
satisfied that it would be completed with hon.
esty and economy. In short, the injunction
was issued for the protection, and not for the
injury, Of the city, and proper Interpretation
Of 1t would not embarrass any department of
the city government for an hour. As Judge
Barnard says, lit was not intended Chat the
laborers who are earning an honest living or
poor men depending entirely on their salaries
should be deprived of employment and thrown
out of occupation in consequence of any
irregularity that might have been committed
by any officers temporarily holding and con-
trolling any of these departments.


The HERALD has from the first taken pre-
cisely this view of the injunction, and has
insisted that, while all proper care should be
taken that no more frauds are committed In
the departments, the public works and all the
necessary business of the government should
be suffered to proceed as usual. There has,
however, been an evident partisan and
personal purpose in obstructing the machinery
of the administration, and there is little
doubt that the object Of many of the
political cliques and factions that have
been playing the r6le of reformers has
been to throw the great bulk of the employees
and laborers in the departments out of work,
and to bring the business Of the city govern
ment to standstill until after election, in the
hope of thereby paralyzing the strength of the
party in power. We have protested against
this as direct injury to the interests of the
taxpayers and property owners and as crimi-
nally dangerous experiment. The credit Of
the city is good the taxes are flowing in, and
there is ample authority In the law for raising
all the funds necessary for the purposes of
government. It 10 clear that the laborers who
have done work for the city must be paid,
sooner or later. All proper safeguards
against the misappropriation Of money
are now secured. There is therefore
no reason to be found either In the operation
of the injunction, the financial condition of
the city, the interests of the taxpayers, or
anything else, why the money due to the
single day, or why the public works should
be interrupted for an hour. The delays are
in consequence of misconstruction of the in
junction, and such misconstruction is made
from political considerations. There could
never have been any doubt as to the legality
of the issue of bonds for the purpose of carry
ing on the improvements on the several
boulevards, avenues and streets; yet the
peremptory mandamus of Court has been
needed to force the payment of the neces-
sary funds over to the Department of
Parks, the laborers on those works have been
kept for weeks without the money due to
them, and the works have been partially sus-
pended. There can be no doubt that the law
allows the issue of all necessary funds to the
Croton Bureau to insure the proper supply of
water to the city yet the interference of the
Court has been found necessary to force the
money from the Finance Department. There
can be no doubt that the Fire Department can
legally claim the amount needed to keep up
that important branch Of the government.
yet the Commissioners beg in vain for the sums
due to them, and there is at least some
risk Of q Generalization of the force,
which might leave the city exposed at any
moment to the calamity that has visited
Chicago The same can be said of the
Department of Docks and of the Health
Department. It is to be hoped that the
remarks Of Judge Barnard will put q stop
to the policy of "stopping the supplies,
originated BY ex-Mayor Havemeyer, and that
the machinery Of the government, the public
works, and the pay Of laborers and employees
will not be stopped until after the election