The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-02-20
THE CRY OF THE PEOPLE.

Pay Us Our Wages, Comptroller Green.
NEW YORK, Fen. Is, 1s7&
To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD
SIR-The conduct OF the Board OF Audit Ii SO rep
rehensible that trust you Will allow one Oh their
victims to say word or two to the public through
your columns. During the fall and winter Mr..
Green pretended That he could not pay the servants
OF the city in consequence OF the funds being ex-
hausted that were appropriated to the payment Of
salaries, laborers, police, iremen. &c. Tne en-
ployes OF the various departments believing the
statements OF the Comptroller, borrowed all the
money they could nom their friends, to enable
them to support their families and themselves, for
tho last eight months. They also drew on the
provision dealers as long as they could
get credit, believing that they could pay up
when the Legislature should meet and provide
the means. The Legislature did meet, and provided
the means Of paying OF all the EMPLOYEES OF the city;
passed over and the Board OF Audit have LETT the
Unpaid The new law proylaes tnat salaries should
be paid without waiting the five days tnat other
81 naye 20 %s et ne nas
to wait five days Ike all other claimants. II they
had even then been PAD an would have mad their
Is resOrted TO TO keep the officials out OF neir paw.
In place OF meeting from day to DAY until
Board Of Audit meets for o few minutes and
then adourns without doing anything 10 forward the
other big iobOers VINO never earned their money.
ana the men VINO aid are lett unpaid. Is Il reason.
able or right that the Board should adjourn from
yesterday until Thursday, whine so many families
are actually starv,ngs II Is plain there is niger
Justly due poor men, and authorized bv law to be
paid the first OF all claims has o purpose IN It.
served by this scandalous delay thai deserves the
censure OF the press and me public. No wonder
that the victims OF this fraud were DOstcrOs yester
DAY, when they saw the Board adjourn without &C.
ton on their claims.
roler has at his command ali the monev he wants.
and capitalists are dairy Offering him more. Tne
Comptroller has caused more misery IN New FORK
during the present winter than all the Tammany
Rings that existed. He has kept thousands OF
Of the city to an extent that cannot be calculated
Will this man be longer allowed TO carry on his
sure sure OF the pressf He spends MS whole time in
council with politicians, III place OF attending to
81 ms once He Laying tss
ing poor and py some means manages TO get the
NEWSPAPERS 10 praise MIN Tor nus ndenty ana nom
estv, while he Is acting the tool ana partisan OF out
siders.
As the press will not do It's duty in the premises,
suggest That public meeting or the city employees
be held at once to den0unce the trickery OF Green
and his Audit Board and take measures in the
the city's creditors. II the other CRY papers woud
follow the HERALD in showing up the Audit Board
the members, but as they are not Inclined to 40 50
the hungry victims or this delay mad better meet In
to compel payment. The long intervals between
the meetings OF the Audit Board and the slow
progress made In the last three weeks must
convince the most scepuca that there is political
and partisan object In all this delay.
The cry for REFORM as tar as the present city
officals are concerned, was SIMPLE swlndle.
Green commenced mis- reform by refusing to pay
the just debts OF the city, Siebbins by discharging
| the labOrers anu mechanics who lived by their
daily labor; and Vac Mort by reducing the pay OF
the abOrers ifty cents day. II this not be.
| ginning reform at the wrong end do not know
what reform Is. Van Mort openly declares that he
| Is republican, and Will run the pubic works In the
interest OF the republican party. Here then, Is a
| specimen Of what Is meant by reform. the Old
| labOrers, mechanics ana employees OF the depart
ment are being rapidly discharged and republicans
put in their places Is 1t not time that such small
political rOguery should be stopped by the united
voice or the people and the pressS VICTIM