The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-07-20

The New Post Office in City Hall Park.
We published yesterday a number Of adver
tisements from the Office of the Supervising
Architect, Treasury Department, Washington,
calling for sealed proposals for the beginning
of the work on the new Post Office in the City
Hall Park. In the first place, there is call
for the purchase of the old iron fence and
coping, amounting to some seven hundred and
fifty feet, which is the first step towards clear
ing off the unsightly placards, booths, shanties,
peanut stands, chain. and curb stone loafers
and other disfgurements that have hung
upon and around the old park ratings and
sidewalks for many years past This rubbish
is to be cleared away by the l4th Of August
early day fixed shows that the department
means to commence work Immediately and in
earnest. Next come calls for proposals for
excavating and carting away all the earth
from the site of the new Post Office, for fur
nishing and delivering twenty thousand barrels
of cement, one hundred and forty thousand
cubic feet of dimension granite, ''clear in
color and free from seams, stains and sap"
and, lastly, we have proposals for large
amount OF rubble and concrete stone.
Thus has the work for the erection of the new
Post Office been practically commenced, and,
of course, there will be the usual strife among
competing rings for the possession of the
many fat contracts its, construction will
require. But we sincerely, nay, confidently,
trust that the federal authorities having
the disposal Of these contracts will see that
. the proposals of no men OF straw, of no middle
.jobbers or irresponsible rings OF any kind will
be permitted to have finger in the magnificent
plum pudding about to be. set before the sove-
reign people by bounteous Uncle Samuel The
Treasury Department, the Post Office Depart
ment and all other government authorities that
may have the giving out of the work must
bear in mind that there exists within the cir
conference Of the same park in which is pro-
posed to erect the new Post Office monu-
ment of eternal disgrace to the ring jobbers
and plundering contractors who infest the city
and think they have divine right to all the pick
ings and steaings involved in every new public
work. They should also recall the unreason-
able delays, the culpable extravaganza, the
bad faith of those ring masters Of quarter of
century ago, who had the job Of constructing
the then Custom House, at the corner of Wall
and Nassau streets, now occupied as the office
of the Assistant United States Treasurer, aud
who kept the job on hand for many years
after the building should have been finished,
just as the job Of the new Court House in the
park has been kept in a convenient state of
incompleteness at enormous expense to the
taxpayers Of the, city, in order to ill the
already plethoric purses Of more modsrn ring
masters. The old Custom House, we believe,
was the last structure OF any Importance built
In this city for the purposes of the United
States by neutrality-suspicious., If we except
perhaps, that dngy concern which, like
the fgurehead of scavenger cart,
shames the lower end of the Battery
| and is called "barge Office" 7he
long interval that has elapsed since the me-
tropolis enjoyed the advantage Of having a
noble structure erected within its limits under
the auspices Of the general government is in
no triging degree attributable to the procras-
| tination in completing and the prodigal
waste of the. public money in the case of the
old Custom House. Now, let the government,
acting upon the experience of ahe past,
as well as in viaw of the signal evid ences
Of jobbery thai prevail in the pres
ent day, exercise the utmost precaution in
awarding contracts for the proposed new Posi-
Oaice building. Let it be sure that none bu
proper men are engaged to do the work
There must be proper men now~a-d days for sucf
purpose, or we shoald hear Of complaints o
private parties, whe, like A. 7. Stewart and
other philosophical citizens, are continually
putting up prncely mansions and costly ware
houses, There should be no difference be
tween The proportouatc cost or time employed
in the construction Of public and private ed
ficcs upon an extensive scale But, after all
II may not be the actual contractors who en-
gage to do The public work who are to blame