Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1871-08-08
From the New York Times.
WHAT WE ia VE PRO VED.

We gave in the Daily Times of the Sth ult.,
list of lofts rented by the City authorities as
armories for the National Guard. We showed
that S36. per year was being paid fer the
top floor of Tammany Hall, which could not
be let for $4,000 for any legitimate business.
We showed that Peter B. Sweeny is receiving
$50, 900 year for rooms on Broadway and
Thirty third-street, which could not be let for
$1,000 for any legitimate business; and that
+. A. Palmer, President of the Broadway
Bank, receives a sop of $4,000 year for an
empty stable loft, corner of Ninth-avenue and
Twenty-s which could not be
let for 81 900 for any business purpose. We
described the different premises where these
armories are situated, and showed that the
public have to pay SS5, 500 a year for empty
rooms that are not required for nor used as
armories. We entered on this branch of the
subject first, because every citizen could sat
isfy himself as to the correctness of our state
ments, without calling on Hall and Connolly
for the proofs.
On the Goth we followed up the same branch
of the subject by giving a list Of the checks
that had been signed by Hall and Connolly,
and paid to four men for repairing and fitting
up these armories. We accounted for S94l, =
Oe4.3l that had been charged to the account
of "Armories and Drill-rooms" in less than
five months-from March u, 1870, to Aug 8
l870-and for S2,S04 ,207.05 that had beer
drawn on especial accounts" and divided il
the same manner during the first three months
of the present year.
On the 22d we published list of checks
amounting in the aggregate to
$j,663,64G.s3
that had been paid for carpenter-work il
county offices and armores, and for furniture
carpets, and shades for the same. All thes
Oh md
by an imaginary claimant, to James Ii. Inger
soil, the notorious agent of the Ring.
On the 24th, we published another list O
checks, amounting in the aggregate to
So.
which had been paid to or indorsed by Andrew
J. Garvey, for plastering in county offices an,
armories The first of these checks was pai'
Jan. 10, 1869, for "repairs on armories t,
Jan. 6, 1862" and the last on Aug. II, 1870
''for repairs in county buildings to Dee. Il
1869" thus drawing more than two and three
quarters millions of dollars for work done be
tween Jan. 6, and Dec. 2l-lacking tfteer
days OF one year.
On the 26th we published another list Of
checks paid to John II. Keyser for plumbing
and gas-ftting in county offices and armories
and amounting in the aggregate to
SI,23l,sl7.7G.
In the several articles that we have pub
lished since the 8th inst, we have accounted
for
Sl2,S71, 1921
that has been paid out to Ingersoll, Garvey.
keyser and Miller between Jan ! |, 1869, and
March 81, 1871. OF this sum no less than
Ss,32l,055.3G
has been paid during and since the month of
May, 1870, and after the new CITY Govern
ment was inaugurated. Mayor Hall had alb
solute power over the claims representing
this enormous amount in the Board of Super
visors-- his single vote being sufficient TO de-
feat the unanimous vote of all the other
members of the Board-and yet he approved
of these claims and signed checks for theil
payment.
The Mayor says that ''many of the claim
were for work and materials in 1865" Thu
is as untrue as his statement that the Boart
of Supervisors audit bills, and that signing
the checks for their payment is ''simply min
isterial acts" Out of nearly thirteen millions
which is mentioned above, only S2,2l6, G23. 5(
was paid for work and materials in 1868 and
$40, 74O AZ on claims of previous date. But
even these claims had 10 come before Hall, in
his ministerial capacity, before Connolly could
pay them, so that the old Board of Superyis-
ors, however infamous it may have been, was