The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1871-07-28
Wore Bills which Are "Perhap' Exorbi'
inf
THE THIRD SERIES.

robbers by copy of the accounts allowed by
Controller Connolly and countelsgned by
Mayor Hall for plumbing and gas fitting dur
ing the years 1869 and 1870. These revela-
tons are calling forth the comment of every
independent paper in the country. Such
slarng frauds, it is safe to say, have never
been known in the history Of government
that ever pretended to be responsible for its
acts.
AS tie first and second extracts have been
given in brief, the following extracts from the
Times reviewing those accounts are gwen.
The Times says:
The Mayor SAYS that the Controllers ac-
counts shall all be published in full. we
know, and he knows, that he dare not Keep
this promise, 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. In
| the meantime, we continue our quotations
| from the Controllers books, and we say again
| that the accuracy of the copies given in our
| columns cannot be lmpugned.
The principal account given to-day is that
| of Keyser d Co., and it will be seen that the
| bills of this fourishing firm were for plumb
| ers' work and gas-ftting All the warrants
were drawn in 1869 and 1870, and the bulk of
the work purports TO have been done in 1868,
1869 and 1870 The first bill alone goes fur
| ther back than 1868, and covers from Janua-
ry, 1865, to May, 1866. An immense amount
| of plumbing and gas-ftting was done in the
armOries and drill-rooms by Keyser & Co. be
tween October, 1868, and December, 1869.
Here is an abstract of the account:
ARMoRIEs AND DRILL-RooMs.
Oct. 8. 1868, to Feb 6, 1869, Plumbing and
Fec i, 1863, 70 July 5. 1859, Plumbing and '''' ~
work .................... .......... 1s4, 57a IL
work and gas Il things 49,. ........ 76,o9s 10
Total. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. $43i, 12s 20
In the county court rooms and Offices the
same firm did work as follows:
Jan. 20, 1865, to May 10, 1866, Plumbing.
Jan g. 1868, to May is, 1853, Plumbing, 1901 .
gas-workS, &c 35l,33S 81
Total. .............. -..,.......... 1851, ia 81
-For the county offices Keyser's account was
Feb. 1865 to Nov %, 1868. plumbing. 8. K.z 4.
JAM 5, 1868, 10 April Is, is7o, plumbing.
gas-works, &c." ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 373,976 81
/ Total" .$439 5l3 Ok
This firm of Keyser & Co. thus earned al
together the modest sum of 81 ,231 ,817 76
chiefly in the course of two years. Are they
not "top-sawyers" in their trade? @
we may give Hall & Connolly frerh serie!
of their own figures TO ponder over.
We have seen what good thing it is to b.
appointed furniture dealer, or carpenter, o.
plasterer, or plumber, under the City authori
ties. We have seen that the money paid Of
alleged to have been paid, for carpets in th,
new Courthouse and armories, would have
purchased 122,222 square yards at 81 SO :
yard. If of the usual width per yard, this
carpet would cover 366,066 feet, or about sew
enty miles-in other words, it would 60 near
ly from New York 20 New Hauen, or half
way to Albany, or four times from the Bat
terry to Yonkers, or from Albany to Oswego
l Bus what carpets are there really in thu
Courthouse? Only three floors of the new
Courthouse are occupied. On each foo
3,O72 square yards are occupied as offices
making total of 9,216 square yards. If GOV
cred with carpet at IS per yard, the cos
that occupied by the Bureau Of Arrears O
Taxes, has no covering whatever Oh its floor
The County Clerks office, Sherih's Office, ant
office OF the Surrogate, are not carpeted, bu
are covered with oil cloth and mating, will
the exception of the small private Offices
| Few OF the other offices or court-rOomS ar
carpeted throughout. Fn
With regard to the carpenter work done t.
the new Courthouse, for which such enor
nous sums have been paid, it must be re
membered that the building is chiefly con
structed of marble and iron-there is very lit
tie woodwork in it. Yet, if this woodwork
cost so much, what must have been the ex-
pense of the iron and marble? Those ma
terials do not enter into tie accounts which
we have laid before the public.
For chairs supplied to the drmOries ONLY
lngersoll was paid $17O,729 go. Ii armor!
chairs cost IS each, and it each chair was l
, feet in depth, the money paid to Ingersol
would have bought "a, 145 chairs, and if plac
ed in straight row these chairs would hav,
reached over S5'363 feet, or about II miles
Ii they cost $40 each they would make a lin
of S1-2 miles, even at $25 each they woult
stretch from the City Hall Park to Forty-sec
! ond- street. ,- fr
For cabinet work and furniture in the new
Courthouse and county Offices the sum o
S2,S17 ,469 10 was spent-or at least was sign
ed away by Mayor Hall and Controller Con
molly. An eminent uphoIsterer informs us
after making a careful estimate, that h.
would furnish the new Courthouse magnifl
Gently for 100000, and make handsome
profit on the transaction.
Look at this charge in another way Wha
could be done with the $2,Sl7 400 10 in fur
nishing private houses? Allowing $1,000
per house, it would furnish, thoroughly, near
ly three hundred houses on Fifth avenue
| from Washington square to Thirtieth street
on both sides of the street. The same amount
would put two parlor suites at $3.50 each, and
three bedroom suites at 5000 each, into every
house on Broadway from the Battery to the
upper end, on both sides, and enough would
| be left to furnish in the same way every house
L on Third avapue from ROWarv n 2QvpDtaafI