While editors in town were scratching their heads over Mayor Bloomberg’s budget, a wire fetched in from Senator Schumer containing a letter he’s just written to the president of Wal-Mart, Lee Scott. In the letter, Mr. Schumer urges the corporate captain to open a new Wal-Mart in New York’s Adirondack region. The letter is a study in political interference in private enterprise. “Recently,” Mr. Schumer writes, “Ames Department Store closed its retail stores in Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake, leaving the residents of southern Franklin and St. Lawrence Counties and western Essex County with no comparable retail establishment nearby. In fact, the closest alternative is the Wal-Mart in Plattsburgh, a full hour and twenty minutes away. … I cannot imagine what it must be like to travel so far just to do your basic shopping. The year is 2002, not 1902, and our citizens deserve better.” Mr. Schumer reminded Mr. Scott of when the senator intervened on Wal-Mart’s behalf with the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which were holding up a permit for a New York distribution center in 1999. “A new Wal-Mart would meet the needs of local consumers and would also be a viable business opportunity for you,” Mr. Schumer writes.

Wal-Mart was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton and has grown to 3,200 stores in America, and another 1,100 around the world. Plainly, if there is a business opportunity to be had in the region, Wal-Mart, or some other entrepreneur, will step in to fill the gap. But at least a Democrat is on the side of one of the left’s favorite bugaboos. Wal-Mart has been accused of destroying local businesses and has also been under attack for so-called union busting. There is even a Web site devoted to hatred of the corporation at www.walmartwatch.com. All of this despite the fact that the stores clearly provide something consumers want. In that respect, perhaps, it’s encouraging to see Mr. Schumer on the side of corporate America.