The New York Herald Newspaper, May 25, 1875, Page 6

6 NEW YORK HERALD, TUESDAY, MAY 25, 1875.—TRIPLE NEW YORK HERALD BROADWAY AND The Indians and the Administration. We do not for a moment doubt that Presi- dent Grant and those around him look upon the Indian question with solicitude. It would be a reflection upon human uature to suppose that there could be any motive but one of humanity and kindness in dealing with NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS.—On and | these interesting and unfortunate people. No alter January 1, 1875, the daily ond weekly | one supposes that the general government is a ar - é | in any way responsible for the misfortunes editions of the New Yous Hunaup will be | that have befallen the Indian tribes, but at sent free of postage. the same time those who have governed the | ANN STREET, JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR ———_.— THE day in the year. nual subscription price $12 All business or news letters and telegraphic despatches must be addressed New Yore Hema. country should be held toa moral responsi- DAILY HERAL: published every | bility for neglecting a manifest duty and pro- moting the growth of those criminal influ- ences which have made the treatment of the Indian question a reproach upon the Ameri- can name. At the same time it is unfortunate that the administration, m dealing with the Four cenis per copy. Rejected communications will not be re- | (turned. Letters and packages should be properly sealed. us LONDON OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK HERALD—NO. 46 FLEET STREET. PARIS OFFICE—RUE SCRIBE. Subscriptions and advertisements will be | fore, a misfortune for the President when he | received und forwarded on the same terms | PARK T! RE M, Maas Lina Wassmann, Sroadway —GALAT&A, al oP. WooD's MUSE pts Broadway. corner of Thirtieth street —UNDER FALSE COLORS, ato V. M.; closes at 1045 1 ML Matinee ats ant THEA No. 5lé Broad way.— VAL ra § COMIQUE, Y,ato?. M.; closes at 1045 MéTROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, Wost Fourwenth street —Upen from 10 A M. lo 5 P.M. OLYMVIC THEATRE, No. 6&4 Broadway.—VARIBTY, ac 32. M.; closes at 10 45 PM Ra HOUSE, hird street. TWELVE atl PM THEATRE, METRO PU VARIETY, ator. M. No. 586 Broadway.—¥ BOO(H'S THEATRE, corner of Twenty-third strect and’ Sixth JANE SHORE, at 8 P. M.; closes at ll P.M. Morris. avenue.— iss Clara BROOKLYN PARK THEATRE, Fulton av nue.—VAKIELY, at 8 P. M.; closes at 1045 GERMAN Fourteenth street.—MEIN THEATRS, OPOLD, até P.M. FIFTH AVE THEATRE, Ywenty-eighth street and Browiway—THE BIG BO NANZA, at 5 P. M.; closes at lu 3). M CENTRAL PAKK GARDEN. THEODORE THOMAS? CONCERT, at 6. M. LYCEUM THEATRE, avenue.—GIROFLE- Fourteenth street, near sixth GIROFLA, at8 P.M. Mlle, Geoffroy. SAN FRAN MINSTRELS Broadway, corner of iwenty-uinth, street. —NiGRO MINoTKALS), at 8 P, loses at 10 P.M. WALLA‘ Broadwar.—THE LAD av Wau P.M Mise Ada ; closes BOWERY OPERA HOSP, No 2M Bowery.—VARIETY, at $2. M.; closes at 10 45 ROBIN: ALL, street.—English “Opera—GIROFLE. SHEET, NEW YORK, TUESDAY, cloudy and rainy. Wats Srazet Yesterpay.—Stocks were un- settled by a sharp decline in Erie, but closed firm, the difficulty being in defining Gould's position. Gold firm. Foreign exchange steady. Srantsn Accounts speak of the retreat of the government troops on Igualda and the active pursuit of the Carlists, who seem to be stronger and bolder than ever. Asornen Prior to assassinate Bismarck. Is not this sort of thing becoming rather mo- notonous? A little variety of intelligence from Berlin would be desirable. Tue Tare Emprrons—William, Francis Joseph and Alexander—are to meet and confer at Ems. What a commotion will take place on 'Change until the momentous question, peace or war, is decided! Tar Hesrep Rar Tuanstr Brix. is now the feature of interest in all circlesand is the sub- jeet of mnch debate and diversity of opinion. Elsewhere we present the views of Mayor Wickham and Mr. Charles H. Roosevelt in re- lation to this all-important méasure. Tae Fast New Yous Tnacrpy.—At the Coroner's inquest yesterday this sad tragedy— the result of an unhappy marriage and hard drinking—was investigated in all its sickening | details. The husband killed his wife, com- mitted suicide and left all his property to the housekeeper. Tue Istemnatronan Rute Matcu.—Yes- terday's practice of a portion of the American team at Creedmoor was eminently satisfactory, the average being the best shown this season. ‘The Irishmen are also hard at work, and the contest will undoubtedly be the most spirited | known in the annals of shooting. A Noumper oF Perrone Praonms were | drowned recently ina river in the Tyrol by the sinking of ® ferryboat. It is supposed that no less than seventy-six lives were lost by this dire calamity. No particulars have yet reached us as to the cause of such a disaster, bat it is likely that an investigation will be ordered by the Austrian government. Tux Larest Boston Hornon,—There seems | to be in the circumstances under which murders are committed in Massachusetts an additional element of horror. The last eastl the impression to go abroad that there was an attempt to stifle, on the part of the govern- ment, the Sioux chiefs and prevent an ex- | pression of the truth as to the real state of affairs in the Indian country. While we have abundant confidence in the generosity of General Grant on this question we have none whatever in the direct manage- mett of the Indian Department. It is, there- received the delegation of Indians to treat them in a manner, whether properly reported | or not, that appeared like indifference. In- stead of turning them over to the Indian De- | partment, which now stands arraigned before the peopte for incompetency and corruption, | the President should have carefully listened | to the stories of the Indians and given them | the best advice in his power, and shown by | his prompt investigation as to the truth of the charges that he would not allow any one, gentle or savage, Christian or pagan, to appeal to the White House and ask for justice in | vain, We have no doubt that if this Indian | question is thoroughly probed there will be | found in it a mass of corruption as depressing | | and widespread as was found in the Tammany | Ring. Men for generations have been grow- ing rich by plundering the Indian tribes, the benefactions of the government have been squandered and its highest purposes have been disappointed. The country will not be contented unless it sees on the part of the President a desire to honestly investigate the | comp!aints of Red Cloud and his companions. We have seen no such desire thus far, but, on the contrary, all the indications trom Wash- ington are that the Indians and the interpre- | ters have fallen into the hands of the cunning | ring who have so long paralyzed the efforts of | the government to do justice to the Indian | tribes. ‘The whole Indian question is one that con- | cerns, not simply the administration of the | government or the success of any party in | power, but the honor of the American name. ‘These simple, ignorant savage chiefs represent | all the power that once held this Continent. Their sorrows go back to the coming of the white tan to this Continent. Red Cloud does | not speak for himself alone, or for the tribe | which represents the departed glory of the | Indian race, but their misfortunes and disas- ters, The Sioux may fairly be considered as | the last remaining remnant of the race who | once controlled the dominions of this Repub- ! lic. There are hundreds of other tribes within the jurisdiction of Mexico and British America and the United States; but different influences have diminished their prestige. The Sioux only retain the power that repre- sents history we honor in Philip and Logan and Black Hawk and Tecumseh. They have only been slightly affected by | the debasing influences of civilization. It is one of the misfortunes of this Indian problem that the civilization of the white man has bronght destruction to the Indians. The other tribes are dying fragments of In- dian glory. They no longer possess the high- est qualities of the red man’s character. In California, in Texas, in the various Territories of the West, the remaining Indian tribes are | little more than a satire upon the old Indian character. The Sioux are an exception. In dealing with a chief hke Red Cloud, so far as our information goes, we deal with a man who is worthy to be remembered with the | greatest of the Indian chiefs. When he came to Washington sore years ago it was as an enemy of the white man who did not believe in the real power of the American people. | That visit changed his opinions. It showed him the futility of cherishing any of those dreams of empire which drove Tecumsen and Black Iiawk upon aswift and irrevocable fate. Since then Red Cloud, so far as we ean understand his policy, has been in favor of peace, of accepting the inevitable, and of | making such terms for himself and his people | a8 would permit them to occupy reservations and work out the sad problem of their fate | with as little injustice to themselves as pos- | sible. What, then, is our duty in dealing with the Indians? We certainly cannot expect to make honorable terms with these chiefs if we | begin by rousing their suspicions and wound- ing their pride. These stories of petty quar- rels between the subordinates of the Indian | Department and eager tavern keepers on the question of board and lodging are unseemly. The Indians are suspicious of the general government. They have a weird, timid idea that the President, who is the Great Pather of their homely dialect, who represents to them the dignity and wisdom of the dominant race, | will hear their prayers and grant them justice. | But how long can they cherish this belief if, | fort, or of the rights of one chief over | another, some trifling, insignificant point— may be magnified into irreparsble mis- chief, They believe in the Great Father alone. They have no confidence in the subordinates of the Indian Department. They have learned to regard the servants of that department as their enemies, as the men who have fostered the Indian agencies, who have sent out vicious and scheming adven- | turers to prey upon them. If they do not receive justice from the Great Father they will leave Washington profoundly convinced that in all the wrongs which have emanated | from the policy of the Indian agents the Presi- | dent was a direct participant. In our eager, hungry desire to possess new | territories we have looked upon the rifle as the swiftest means of deciding allndian con- Indians in Washington, should have nee troversies, So that it has become almost a law of the settlements of the West that the | first duty of the settler is to exterminate the Ind‘ans. There could be no severer reflection | upon our civilization than this. When Presi- dent Grant came into power we learned noth- ing more gratifying than his resolution to utterly reform the whole Indian question and add to bis administration the laurels that would come from a peaceful settlement of our relations with these tribes. The first thing the President should do is to listen patiently to the complaints of Red Cloud and his followers. The second is to ex- haust all the means at his disposal to investi- gate these complaints and see whether they are true. And third, to put his toot se- yerely upon the Indian rings. He bas as much power to do this as to fight the whiskey rings; for certainly the people will sustain him in making a war upon the jobbery lurking in the Indian Depart- ment, as they will sustain him in stamping out the infamies that have grown up under our revenue and tariff systems. Thus far we have not seen any evidence on his part of a desire to consider this question calmly and decide it in amanner worthy of the American name, and we therefore implore him, as representing in the fullest and bighest degree the honor of the country and the humanity which should always characterize the ruler of a high gov- ernment, to take into consideration the duty thatdevolves upon him and to send these In- dians back to their wild home in the West convinced that the President of the American people is animated by no other purpose than to see that justice is done to every inhabitant of this Republic, whether white or red, whether of Saxon or Indian race. The Peace ot Europe. It is thought in Vienna that the peace of Europe depends upon the fact that Prussia can present to Russia no bait sufficient to tempt her. Russia, they argue, desires peace, and peace must be maintained unless she consents to war. But why should she con- sent to it against her pacific inclinations? Berln must show some reason—:must be able to indicate how war may either gratify some revenge or soothe some irritation or fill the outline of some treasured scheme or tra- be shown, for there is no fact on the diplo- matic cards as now dealt that is especially against Russia or even that she could wish changed at the expense of the disturbances that war causes, even in the countries not directly engaged. From this theory it seems to follow that France must attribute the disasters of 1870 to the triumphs of the war in the Crimea. It was the Treaty of Paris that tempted Russia to permit the destruction of the balance of power. By that treaty Russia was disarmed on the Black Sea—within her own limits ; hamiliated by the dictation of foreign courts in regard to armaments in her own waters ; and the temptation to tear up that treaty—as she did tear 1t up—secured her complicity in the designs of Prussia against France. But there is now no fact of which the Prussian Chancellor can make similar use, and there- fore Russia will not consent to a new war against France. But for this it is probable the Guard would have been over the Meuse in June, for it is evident that Germans regard France as having, by her great elasticity and financial vitality, freed herself trom the bur- dens imposed parposely to keep her down; and it is equally evident that they are fever- isbly eager to impose new bonds, to re- enact the treaty of peace in severer terms, and to not ouly exact ten milliards from a nation which paid five milliards so easily, but even to declare against France, as France once did against Prussia, that her army shall not exceed a certain limit. If this be the real state of the case—if Russia’s veto on the Prussian purpose was simply due to | the absence of any interest in war—the sta- bility of the peace thus maintained is indeed not great, and depends upon what countries may be brought into any bellicose complica- tions. If Evgland were brought in it is pos sible that some reflections on her Oriental pol- icy might change the aspect of the case for the Colossus of the North. Now, there is but one screw in the political machinery of the Continent that touches England, This is the screw called the neutrality of Belgium. England can keep out of every other compli- cation, as has been seen; but her honor is so plainly involved in that famous guarantee that she cannot ignore it, and this cireum- stance explains, perhaps, the tenacity with | which the Prussian Premier endeavors to make a cause of quarrel out of the miserable incident of the tipsy braggart Duchesne. The Flood Tide. instead of finding the Great Father anx- ions to investigate their troubles and | enter into the spirit of their com-| plaints, they are met with rudeness, | | indifference and contempt. We can perfectly | understand how a President in the rush of | the necessary business of his administration, | The rush of travel to Europe still continues. Five steamers sailed on Saturday, filled with passengers, and it is not a wide calculation to | say that seventy-five thousand of our citizens will visit Europe this summer. No terror of gea, no disaster on the Scilly Islands or on tragedy that occurred in the pions city of | with ten thousand cares crowding upon him | the Banks of Newfoundland can deter our ad- Boston is still more revolting than any of | and the summer time bringing suggestions of | ventarous fellow countrymen from the jour- ita predecessors. A bright little girl, five years of age, connected with one of the first the seaside retreats and pleasant days in the | | country, would be impatient in dealing with | ney. It would be curious to know how mach money these thousands of travellers will take families of Boston, attended Sunday school | a group of ignorant savages who know noth- | ont of the country. It is a sate calculation to at Baptist church in that city on Sunday | ing of the amenities, the restraints, the limi- | say that every visitor to Europe spends at last, was brutally murdered and her mu- government. President Grant | tations of least two thousand dollars, and the amount of tilated body, carried up into the tower and | must not regard Red Cloudand his colleagues | capital poured into Europe by Americans thrown upon the floor of the lott, The sexton as be would an embassy from Spain or | every year can only be estimated by millions. of the church is suspected as being the per- | Germany. He must consent to annoyances | While this tendency to visit the older coun- petrator of this frightful crime, and the police | and suspicions and embarrassments ; he must | tries may be a misfortune in some senses, and | condition of General Francis P. Biair's health believe him also guilty of the murder of a | enter into the spirit of these simple minded | is already complained of by business men young girl who met with a similar fate over a year ago. Nothing short of an insatiate thisst for blood or a grovelling sensuality below the brate could prompt a human being | their lives in robbing them. The smallest in- | must grow from year to year. | cident—a auestion of precedence. or of com. | travellers go abroad a# nlexsure seckers or | paigus. ae “e throat at Grant to whom fo commit aneh au unnetnra! crime. men, whose only knowledge of the governing power at Washington bas been learned from | the thieving Indian agents, who have spent | that it is attracting from the country a large part of legitimate trade, still the influence of Americans and American ideas apon Earope If these ditional policy, and none of these points can | SHEET. | business men they aro also missionaries. ‘The American is a proselytizing creature. He is not ashamed of his country, and as a gen- eral thing will not omit opportunities of ex- | tolling it. In the peculiar movements of polities which we observe in European coun- | tries, during the last generation, at least, it is not extravagant to say that the influence of American ideas is growing from day to day. We could wish that this exodus was smaller. We hope to have in time « country which will keep its citizens at home. At the same time, | with this Beecher trial poisoning all minds and political scandals making the atmosphere fetid, with our hard but rushing American lite and onr carelessness about so many things that a gentleman should not overlook, we can well understand how there would be a longing on the part of some citizens for the tranquillity of even three months’ sojourn in the lands of the Old World. 4 Contradiction and Its Worth. A telegram recently appeared in the col- umns of the Heranp which hinted at the pos- sibility of an understanding between Prince Bismarck and the liberal party in Belgium. As might have been expected ‘emphatic de- nials’’ followed from Brussels and Berlin ; for it is a curious phenomenon of human nature that persons who are charged with doubtful transactions invariably protest their inno- cence and exhibit a naive surprise that their asseverations are not always accepted as de- cisive. They next resort to a time-honored legal maxim, ‘It you have nothing to say for yourself abuse the plaintiff's attorney.” Thus the Indépendance Belge abandons itself to the wildest invective, and appears to con- sider that it has thus retuted tho statement contained in the Henaup. There is a well known saying about abuse not being argument; and sad experience bas demonstrated that a man may steal a silver spoon at a club and _ burst into a paroxysm of rage when accused of the theit. Our contemporary, however, is probably in the right, and, doubtless, there is at the present moment no prospect whatever of an alliance between the German Chancellor and the Belgian liberals, A boy was once detected by a farmer climbing ovor his orchard wall, when the boy “emphatically denied” that he had taken any of the tarmer's apples. This was perfectly true; for, whatever dark designs the boy may have cher- ished in regard to the fruit, secrecy of execution was an indispensable oon- dition of their success. The information turnished to the Heranp came, as it is need- less to remark, from a trustworthy source, but it i# quite possible that its publication may have materially altered the plans of those whom it concerned. The violence of the Belgian denial will not have escaped the notice ot impartial observers, who will probably draw their own conclusions, Prince Bis- | marck contents himself with a simple plea | ot not guilty. And whatever may be the state of the case the Emperor William’s Minister can scarcely be blamed | for serving his Sovereign by every | means in his power. He who sold his coun- try for a trifling consideration was not held to bave acted honorably, but the purchaser's share in the transaction was of a totally differ- ent kind. With that delightful frankness which characterizes ths Prince he has con- fessed in Parliament to a wholesale bribery of the European press. Nor is it altogether be- yond the bounds of credibility that he might have aspired to influence (by perfectly honor- able means, of course) even such august personages as members of the Belgian Cham- ber of Deputies. For the rest we are unable to set more than a slight value upon official contradictions by the German Chancellor. It is within the memory of men still living that the London Times printed an account of an interview be- tween the Emperor Napoleon LL and the King of Prussia, which an inspired telegram forthwith declared to be “without any founda- tion whatsoever.” Unfortunately it turned out that the Crown Prince himself was the author | of the narrative mm question, and that he had been an ocular witness of the interview. Either, therefore, Prince Bismarck’s denial was ill considered or—one hardly likes to state the alternative. After all, the indignation which the Belgian liberals deem it necessary to affect is a little strained. History has often shown that the ties of religion and of party aro stronger than those of country. During the Peloponnesian war the otigarchical party in Athens held secret communications with Sparta. In a later age the Huguenots of France introduced German mercenaries into their native land for the subjugation of their Catholic fellow citizens. In the last century so pure-minded a statesman as Fox could rejoice in the triumph of the American arms and the temporary humiliation of the British name. And, finally, M. de Laveleye, the ablest of Belgian publicists, has openly avowed his regret at the establishment of Belgian independence in 1830. He would have preferred that his country should have remained under the yoke of Protestant Holland. Had our statement been merely a guess, instead of well authenticated intelligence, it would have aimed very near to the truth. Sherman’s “Memoirs."—The First Gan, The battle of the books has begun in ear- nest. While General Sherman's ‘Memoirs’ are still damp from the press, we learn from different parts of the country that the triends of many of those criticised by him are preparing to defend themselves, General Logan informs our correspondent that he pro- poses to write his criticism upon the book after he has carefully read it, which we think an act of wisdom on that officer's part. Gen- eral Heintzelman, one of the sturdy old chief- | tains of the early war times, confesses that he did some “bard swearing” at Bull Run, but does not particularly blame General Sherman for making that fact historical, General | Hooker is preparing an exhaustive reply to General Sherman, which, we have no doubt, | will be marked by that officer's trenchant and incisive style. The Hon. Montgomery Biair, who was the Postmaster General of Lincoln's | administration, has published a letter, which | appoared in yesterday morning’s Henauy, The | is such that bis brother finds it necessary to take up his defence. The points of Mr Blair's letter are that General Sherman is a | man ‘of an envious nature;” that he gives | Halleck the credit of the Tennessee cam- 1 terests and the public health must receive the Sherman owes everything."’ That he dia not enter the service until he had been made a colonel in the regular army ; that his fault as 8 soldier was “constitutional timidity ;"" that he never accomplished anything until Gen- eral Grant became his commander and “steadied his nerves,’ and that in dealing with General Francis P. Blair General Sher- man showed himself to be capable of the greatest injustice, These are the points which Mr. Blair elaborates with eloquence and force, With- out entering into the military questions be- tween General Sherman and General Blair it is proper that we should say this: General Blair did at the outset of the rebellion con- spicuous service. He was one of the first Southern men who came to the rescue of the Union, It was not his misfortune that he had been in politics, because if nobody had taken service during the war except those who had been trained at West Point we should probably have had General Lee at Portland within ninety days after the battle of Malvern Hill. Butas a politician General Blair's services to the Union cause were in- valuable, As his brother aptly points out, he was among those who resigned from Congress to recruit soldiers for the Union. No one has ever questioned his courage and military skill. The fact that he came out of the war holding one of the highestranks in the army is conclu- sive of this point. Nor do we think that Gen- eral Sherman doos General Blair the injustice of which his brother complains. Tne allusions to General Blair in the book are more nega- tive than positive, and indicate upon the part of General Sherman, not antipathy to Gen- eral Blair or even a desire to*disparage him, but the fondness of a West Point officer for his class. The severity of Mr. Blair's criti- cisms on Sherman will hardly be accepted by the country. We do not think that General Sherman can be properly accused of a dispo- sition to take any honor from General Grant. With the exception of the march to the sea, tho credit of which has been taken from Sher- man by Grant's friends, there is nothing in the ‘‘Memoirs’’ to show any feeling on the part of General Sherman toward his commander but that of kindness and respect, At the same time the letter of Mr. Blair has this value :—It isa frank, manly arraignment of the most conspicuous military book of the times. We have all along contended that the great value of General Sherman’s book is that he says what he has to say while he lives and when thousands of other men are living who can demonstrate whether he speaks what is true or false. The Harlem Pest 8. We havo already called the attention of the Board of Health and the Police Commissioners to the dumping of garbage into the district known as the Harlem flats, and we mean that the officiels in both bodies shall bear the full weight of their responsibilty if fevers or other malarial diseases are the consequences. Should the present hot weather continue it seems impossible that the people of Yorkville and Harlem can escape a terrible and deadly epidemic. The whole district 1s a vast pest bed, made so by criminal greed on the one hand and criminal neglect—perhaps criminal performance—of official duty on the other. While the contractors must be held to the strictest accountability for the faithless per- formance of their contracts the authorities charged with the protection of the public in- sternest punishment if a plague of any kind follows the barefaced wrong which has been perpetrated with the co-operation of the Police Commissioners and the connivance of the Board of Health. When we begun the investigation of this subject we undertook it simply in behalf of the public safety; but we had no idea then that it was the outrage it turns ont tobe. It was plain to us in the beginning, however, that Mr. McQuaid and the other contractors who have peen filling up tho flats with garbage and noxious matter were acting with an arro- gance that could only come from a conscious- ness of a support stronger than their con- tracts. We had no suspicion, however, that the Police Commissioners were their partners in This business and that the Street Cleaning Bureau was supplying the deadly stuff that was to threaten a whole city with a dreadful | epidemic. It now turns out that such is the fact, and the revelations we make in our news | columns this morning will be read with | amazement by all our citizens, Not only does the Police Board supply the garbage gathered from streets for this purpose at an ab- | surdly low price, but it was through the intervention of the Commissioners with the Board of Health that the latter body was induced to give official sanction to the planting of # plagne spot in the very beart of the city. These wrongs were perpetrated under so many guises and disguises, and continue to be perpetrated in spite of so much pretence to the contrary, as to excite the gravest suspicions of jobbery on the part of the Police and Health Commis- sioners. It appears that the police must have had o share in the outrage, either by their want of energy or else by getting a direct share in the profits. It seems impossible that public officers should s0 trifle with the lives and health of a mil- lion people; but the circumstances sur- rounding this case are so grave as to make it necessary for the Board of Health and the Board of Police to explain the whole matter to the satisfaction of the public if they wish to escape so terrible an imputation. It may | even become necessary for Mayor Wickham to investigate the relations existing between the | Commissioners and the contractors, and it | will be necessary, unless a better explanation of the whole bustness is made by the depart- ments concerned than seems possible from | their action in this matter as it now appears. ‘There is, however, a more immediate duty— the duty of preventing an epidemic by the | removal of garbage and other organic matter used for filling. It is due to the public that this shall be done at once and at the expense of the contractors who used it {o poisona whole neighborhood. In no other way can the community escape disease and death and these men be adequately punished for the wrongs they have committed, Let the Board delay, for it will not do to jeopardize the health of a community for the benefit of a few | greedy contractors or to allow them to escape with the profits of a wrong upon the people. Not only must McQuaid and others mot be paid for the work they bave done until it is | wistes to abdicave. performea in the manner required by law and their contracts, but we repeat that they must remove the stuff they have dumped into the Harlem flats at their own expense. If this is done we shall not have to fear similar outrages in the future. The Proposed Police Reform. General Smith's first step toward reform in the police force indicates that his services as a Commissioner will be of practical value to the city. The notorious demoralization of the force is due partly to the incapacity of the Commissioners, but mainly to the fact that improper persons are appointed as patrolmen, and made officers and detectives, through po- litical influence, An applicant is not success- ful because he bears a good character or is well qualified to perform the duties of @ po- liceman, but because he brings recommenda- tions from the political or personal friends of the Commissioners, or is backed by this or that political organization. The patrolmen are divided up between the Commissioners as if the appointments were so many perquisites of the office. To-day it is the turn of Matsell’s man, to-morrow Voorhis’ man claims prece+ dence, and the next day Disbecker’s man has his chance. If one Commissioner should vote against the nominee of any of his colleagues he would fail te obtain their votes for his ba candidates. There is no question of the in- terests of the city and the proper protection of the public. The uniform and the shield are dealt out as political pickings belonging to the Board. Recently a patrolman was about to be appointed, when it was found that an important paper— the certificate of the captain of the district in which he resided, as to his char-, acter—was wanting. The fact was, in con- sequence, disclosed that the new guardian of the lives and property of the people of New York was to receive his appointment as @ favor toa country member ot Assembly, and that he had no residence in the city. Never- theless, he was successful, for the Commis- sioners knew what effect his rejection would have upon their own nominees. A force thus composed cannot be expected tobe fit for efficient service. Tho evil is founded mm the system which makes the Police Board a po- litical machine and in the selection of un- desirable persons as Commissioners. Gencral Smith’s proposed reform promises to reach the foundation of the evil, and his action proves that if we can get gentlemen of char- acter and capacity on the Police Commission we shall speedily secure a better force. HK The rules which General Smith proposes to change are those relating to the manner of appointment on the force. The door is thrown open to any applicant who can bring satis- factory evidence of his qualifications and character and who can pass the medical ex- amination. The standard necessary to the members of the force is to be a height of fiva feet seven and a half inches, a weight of one hundred and thirty-five pounds, good eye- sight, perfect hearing, freedom from fune- tional disorders and a sound constitution. The signature of five reputable citizens and the affidavit of one are required to the peti- tion, A confidential inquiry by proper officers into the character, habits and associates of the candidate is provided for, and if all is satisfactory the accepted applicants’ names are to be placed on a roll and taken in their turn as vacancies occur. Under these regu- lations we should, no doubt, one day obtain a good police force. They would prevent the sudden appointment of improper men for political service, to oblige political or per- sonal friends or to buy legislative or alder- manic support. It may be too mach to hope for the adoption of the new rules while the Police Board is composed as it now is; but this only proves the necessity of such a re- organization of the commission as the Mayor and the Governor have it in their power to secure, PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE, Dr. Bucknill, fF. R. S., of England, is staying at the Fiftn Avenue Hotel. Count Monteavrier, of France, has apartments at the Westminster Hotel. Count Candioni, of Turin, rarily at the Hofman House. The discharge claimant has lost in fesh, since his Incarceration, 148 pounds. County Judge P. B. Hulett, of Rochester, Is stop- ping at the Metropolitan Hovel. Congressman P. M. B, Young, of Georgia, ts so- journing at the Hotel Brunswick. Mrs. Rousby has returned to this city and takem up ber residence at the Gilsey House, General Heory Brewerton, United States Army, 1s quartered at the Sturtevant fouse. Major Paimer, of the Royal Engineers, Britten Army, is registered at the Windsor Hotel. Naval Constructor Robert W. Steele, Unised States Navy, is at the Union Square Hotel, General Willlam N. Grier, United States Army, has arrived at the Stevens Apartment House, Assemblyman George West, of Ballston, N. Y.. yesterday arrived at the Grand Central Hotel. Lieutenant Colonel George A. Forsyta, of Gen- eral Sheridan’s staf, is at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. In Ireland they cal the tory party ‘ultra marine,” which should make them feel awfaliy blue. Rear Admiral James Alden, United States Navy, arrived at the Gilsey House Jast evening from Washington. jaeutenant Governor H. G. Knight, of Massa- chusetts, 1s among (he iste arrivals at the Futm avenue Hotel. Captain W. B. Thompson, of the steamsiip Britannic, has taken up his quarters av the Fite Avenue Hotel. It ws reportea that the Khedive has made Dr. Nachtigall Governor of Darfour. Dr. Nachtigall is an Austrian explorer of those parts, Onief Justice Cockourn 18 said to nave received a bint from bigh quarters that be would do weit to give up bis after-dinner answers to Dr. Kenealy. Two Frenchmen who weat to Belgium to have out @ duel were fined 300f. each, aud ti the Bel- gians keep tuat op they will improve their Dnances. Who wants a throne? His Majesty of Greece Carlos, Chamboru, Mont pensier, Count de Paris, Prince Imperial, who wit take his place? A cable telegram from Vienna, under date of yesterday, 2ist inst., reports that Its Excelien Mr, Orth, the new American minister, presented his credentials to the Emperor Francis Joseph at court during the day. Information has been receive: at the Post Omice Department that Third Assistant Postmaster Gen- eral Barber has 80 far recovered as to be abi resume his duties at the department, and w expected im Washington avout the middie of t is residing tempo of Health sce to it that this is done without | “°**. Lieutenant Jona [. Cian, United States Army, once fainiharly known as “The Little Diummer Boy of Chictananga,” and Misa Anita KR, | daughter of General William PF. French, co | mandant at Port Mctienry, were married yester- day alternoon at St, Luke's Episcopal church, | Baltimore, A jarge aud brililant as emninae wits | massed the Luptials,