Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1859-05-18
WASHINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP.

period of forty or fifty years past-at least as |
far back as the municipal administration OF
Mayor Smallwood- no considerable amount
has been expended by the Corporation OF wash
ingtOn on any improvement, except under the
Joint supervision of committees Of the Councils
and the Mayor. When the Washington Canal
was dug. when it was cleaned out, when the
Asylum was built, when the City Hall was
built, &c, &c, the faithful expenditure Of the
money appropriated to those ends was thus
rendered dOubly sure. All this occurred, too,
before it became fashionable for public func-
tiOnaries to have constantly hanging around
their elbows enterprising gentlemen making
their living by the profession Of brokerage in
contracts jobs, Offices, and other matters
wherein they may be able to impress parties
necessarily dealing with those in authority with
the belief of their power to influence govern
mental action, as is the case at present in al
most all the large cities of the country.
1t is a well known fact that perhaps millions
of the heavy amount of money raised annually
in New York city for municipal purposes finds
its way into the capaciOus pockets Of hungry
swarm of such operators, to be subsequently,
divided with their principals-the public func-
"
the other part, they too often act rs brokers
Trial after trial at law has of late years demon
strated the existence Of this class of business
men in large force, as well as the completely
of parties in authority with their operations,
and the enormous robberies of public trusts of
various dcscriptions-for we may truthfully
call them nothing elSe-fOr their mutual profit.
Up to this era, thanks to the sagacity of the
Councils of Washington in so legislating con-
corning such disbursements as that no officer
who might possibly have such solicitous friends
within reach, can, under their nominal per
suasionS, give out contracts to be toIIcd by
them, the treasury of the Federal Metropolis
has not been thus plundered so far as the pub
lie know.
We, however, submit it to the common sense
Oi our city readers, whether, under the infiu-
cnce of the prevailing code of morals concern
ing public expenditures, a departure from the
wise plan Of making assurance of honest dis.
bursemcnts doubly sure, will not in turn, be
certain to bring about the prevalence of New
York, Philadelphia and Baltimore customs in
this connection, in our midst. We respectfully
submit, further, that there is nothing whatever
ia the business history of the present Mayor OF
Washington, or in his personal intimacies, to
justify The impression that due guards over the
expenditure Of the Corporations funds may not
he quite rs proper nj this time as when Messrs
SmallwOod, Weishtman, Gales, Force, Bradley.
Scaton, Lenox, Towers, and Maury, were our
Mayors.
The public will doubtless laugh heartily over
the plea of 'uncOnstitutionslity' set up to
| compel the Councils to set aside the almost in
variable precedent for fifty years past, and en-
trust the present Mayor with the entirely un
guarded expenditure Of the million of dollars
to be disburscd for the Corporations water
works. Mayors Smallwood, Force, Gales.
| Maury, Wcightman, cf a., could find no inya-
sion OF kheir functions in such municipal rcgu-
iations; nor were any Of the Washington Cor
poration Attorneys VINO have served in this
capacity from the birth of our city until this
very late day, able to discover in any such reg
-i-'i~' - - az the Mayor pIururatiyc
Ii remains tor the voters of the city to say on
the first Monday of next month, whether Mayor
Bcrrets new plan for the disbursement of the
| Corporation funds in such matters should be
adopted, or the old and safe rule be adhered
to Every candidate for election to either
Council board, should be promptly interroga-
tel rs to his position on this question and his
reply should as promptly be made known; SO
that all may understand who among them is
and who is not practically for naturalizing in
or midst the New York system of toling for
the benefit of enterprising operators the
taxes raised for the support OF the Corporation
If Washington