Year: 1870

CANAL EYTRAVAGANCE OR ECONOMYf


IL cannot be too much insisted on that the
pending question in regard to the future or
the Canals is a distinct, substantive, and inde-
pendent one of political economy, and in no
wise one of partisan politics.; least of all
should it be allowed to obscure or excuse the
profigate administration of Canal affairs by
the present Democratic Administration. AT
the recent meeting at the Produce Exchange,
Mr.. Evarts cOntended for the nOn-partisan
character of the proposed measure, and his re-
marks will be approved by most of his party
friends Mr.. Erastus Brooks also is reported
as stating that "the measure rose above party
"considerationsn which few will deny; but
forthwith he betrayed the purpose for
which he was there, and the client
for whom he appeared, by saying;
"The Eric Canal had not been properly
managed and protected;" which can only
mean that the past Republican management
of that great concern had been careless and
faulty contrasted with that it is now enjoying
under Democratic auspices. He went further,
and specified some of the grounds of his i'm
peachment, thus: "The superintendence had
"been taken from responsible officers of the
Estate. BY the contract system individuals
"bave been made rich while the State was be-
"coming DOOR, Now what was this but an
insidiOus attempt to commit no-party gath
ering to the support of q particular system OF
repairing and supervising the Canals, the very
system which the Democratic Canal Commits
soner, Wright aptly characterized as the
wasteful and corrupt system of Superintend-
60 ka oh of ~
did not include the settlement of any such
question. Neither Mr.. Evarts nor Mr..
Peter Cooper seems to have perceived
the uses to which they were being put
| At any rate, this purely partisan assumption
| was not challenged by either, and the cOnse-
| quence is that their names are going forth
among the people who respect them as In
dorsing this proposition; that Canal ad-
ministration which had paid Sl7,0OO,OOO of the
Canal debt in ten years without aid from
taxation, beside maintaining all the Canals
in condition of efficiency sufficient for
that end, was void of merit and tributary to
private advantage rather than the public
interest; and that another, which has made the
Canal Department bankrupt in one year, and
instead of reducing the Canal debt is now
operating the Canals by borrowed money, while
it has so augmented the Canal expenses that it
has decided to tax the people s4,OO0000 this very
year to maintain its corrupt and prOGigate
expenditure, is to be preferred and perpetu-
ated. Such papers as The albany Argus would
have been slow to publish speech of Mr..
Evarts at this stage of canvass, if it did not
somehow contribute to an increase of Demo-
cratic votes. However much these gentlemen
tha &C toll tba,y
scarcely approve the late scandalous reduction
of them in order to enlist forwarders elevator
owners, and canal superintendents in the Judi
cial election, which did not appeal very strongly
10 the sensibities of the Democratic rank and
file. The necessary stimulus had been provided
in the City by simply fixing the Judicial for
the same day as the Charter election. But it
was still necessary to arouse support outside
the City. The toll-sheet of Tammany was the
price paid for that. The Constitution forbade
it but party needs were too urgent to wait
for its amendment, so it was deliberately
violated


1t must be apparent to the friends Of the
"act to create State debt,h that an insepara-
BILE correlative measure is the reduction of
Canal expenses to the lowest possible point.
MT. EVdrtS ulu so staCe the requirements or
the case; but shrewd agent of the Canal
Ring at once fOrestalled the question natur-
ally suggested by that statement-how shall
this be done 7-and adrotly committed him
and the entire meeting to the precise system
which all experience and the highest Demo.
cratic authority unite in stigmatizng rs the
most wasteful and corrupt ever tried 1t
WAS well enough for Gov SpymOur ot
the great Democratic gathering to address
himself to the task of making the question of
policy cover the vices of administration or
justify them but such an effort would have
been unbecOming ut nO-party meeting held
to favor nO-party measure. The question Of
tolls, however wisely settled, will notiindcate
the best method of experimenting and repair
ing the Canals; the questiOns are distinct OF
one thing both friends and foes of the act in
question may be assured, that no policy which
human wisdom may devise will produce any
thing but present loss and ultimate ruin, if
the execution of it be contided to the admins
trat0n which now rules and robs this State



The attack upon Gov. Morton as a thor
oughly incompetent person, selected to repre- |
sent the United States in England for the |
purpose first of bullying and then threatening |
war; which the Associated Press took pains to |