Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1871-08-04
The Tammany Swindles.


The New York Times illustrates tne 'ri-'
prodisality Of the Tammany regime oy se'',.
.,r;or, calculations. The sum which, acco'oins
- ,ha ,on,ro,,er,, books, was paid for carpeting
a.. -, .ou,t house and srmories Wouiu guy
l22. 222 square yards at s4-oo q sS,''
xor,a oover about seventy miies-in o'Ne'
-. !, would 70 nearly from New YORK u
~ u.vsn or half way to Albany, or irOin
ANN 70 Oswego. For the chairs supplied 70
,,o ,rmories, IngersOll & Co. got Sl'o''0o' II
NV chairs cost So each, snd II each cnair
-, . fee, in depth, the money paid to in-
-, ron,d have bought 81, Jas chairs, and II
-, - a straight row these chairs would have
cached over s5,36S feet, or about seventeen
niles If they cost $40 each, they would MAKE
limo If eight and one half miles, and even IL
coz each they would stretch from the City Han
Park to FOrty-second Street The cabinet "OrA
and furniture in the court house and county OIL
cos came to s2,Sl7,56 Allowing Slo,VoV
nor house. this sum would furnish, thoroughly
nearly three hundred houses on fii'n Avenue
from Washington Squsre to Thirteenth o"''''
=, 10Th s;a.s of the street The same amount
xould mt two psrlor suites at $3.50 each' and
&c. t.d-oor saites at $500 each, into every
bonse IN Broadway from the Battery TO the
pnner end. on both sides, and enough Woulu NC
,af, 10 furnish in the same way every house Oh
rhi-d avenue from the Bowery to Seventh
Stree, on both sides
Mr. Charles NordhofI, late of the EreHing
Past moved by natural feeling Of curiosity
to see the splendors thus lavished on a sils''
build;nr visited the new court house, and re-
norris his observations. he found 1t only less
shabby than the City Hall. 1t has oeeH
8. scrimned.'' as the builders say, 81 every
mint. and to look at it, one would suppose the
county authorities were the most economicsl'
not to say misery, Of men. 1t is furnished very
rl.;nIv Mr.. Nordhoff thinks 900 would be
an extravsrant estimste of the value Of all the
f,rn;ture in it The cost to the county was ST.
47G. sos. There is comparatively little plaster
inr. and what there is, is Of the poorest qaiity-
The walls are dirty, diapidsted, in shameful
condition generally. Yet Mr.. Garvey's little
bill for plsstering WAS over S26S,OOO' besides
several hundred thousands more for repairs
Mr. Nordbof thinks he could find plenty OF
plastere,s who would gladly have done the job
for $40, 600 Lastly. the books show an outlay
Of Sos OBJ for window-curtains, shades and
cornices thst is, nearly $500 per window
But Mr.. Norihof could not find single cur
tain in the whole building, and he went into
nearly every room. The windows have common
linen shades, working on rollers. The total cost
Of these shades, at the extravsgsnt price OF ; ~
per shade, would be just 1850.
The Times continues TO push on the columns
Of figures with which it is storming the Tsmmany
stronghold. Il shows that nearly million ana
a Quarter Of dollars were drawn from the city
treasury on account Of plumbing and gss-httlng
in the armories and the county buildings during
two years The Times dsposes Of Mayor Hai's
plea, that he and the Comptroller hsd no power
to 90 back of the action Of the SUPERVISOR by
citing judicial opinion upon this precise point,
given by Justice Mullin, and ooncurrsd in by
Justices Barnard and Clerke -
"If these officers are TO SCI as guardians OF
the Treasury-if they are to protect, so far as IN
them lies, the city from the payment OF inbound
ed and dishonest claims-they must have the
means of knowing whether the claim is one pro-
per to be paid and it is their duty TO inform
themselves in regard to it, and countersign or
refuse, as they may deem proper, after such m
vestigstion. In this way, and in this way only,
car these men efectually protect the treasury
The Times further declares the Mayors pledge
that the Comptroler's account shall be publish
ed in full, boast which he dare not fulfill, for
whenever the City accounts see the light, frauds
on much greater scale than those revealed in
the County accounts will be brought home to the
authorities 1t is no wonder that y. I. City
securities, which, to the amount of SiO,OOO
were set up st auction in New York Thursday,
found no bidders No prudent capitalist cares
about putting his purse in the hands Of high
waymen.