New-York tribune., 1873-09-04
MR. KINGSLEYs RULE APPLIED.

Mr.. William c. Kingsley, as most of our
readers are aware, is a prominent citizen and
prosperous contractor of Brooklyn. He has
been forward and prominent in great public
enterprises he has assisted greatly to develop
the city in which he lives; he has largely in
fuenced party action. Perhaps 1t Will be
thought unkind, though truthful, II we now
add that the enterprises in which he engaged
were profitable principally to himself; that
the developments of the city have been
mainly confined to such parts as he
WAS interested in; and that his influence
upon his party has led chiefly to such
stuffing of ballot-boxes and miscounting OF
votes as elected Powell Mayor of Brooklyn
and Britton District Attorney of Kings
County. Still we venture on the remark,
however malapropos it may appear In an artl-
Gle designed to be complimentary after a
manner He is a gentleman whose every act
has been overwhelmingly. we are forced
to add, because certain transactions OF his
which have been made public are very well
known to have warranted the gravest sus-
picions As far rs THE TRIBUNE is con-
cerned, very nearly every public act OF his
has been denounced and the majority OF
them have been exposed as fraudulent.
When, therefore, an opportunity presents 1t
self to commend any act or saying OF Mr..
Kingsley THE TRIBUNE rushes to take ad-
vantage Of the infrequent opportunity.
But at last he has uttered q wise saying and
done virtuous and patriotic act. Late re-
clining in the shades which border Lake
George concocting perhaps with Fowler OF
the Board of City Works how the city might
be plucked anew, Mr.. Kingsley was apprised
by telegraph that the defalcatiOn of Sprague
and the thefts of Rodman and his cOnfederates
had been unexpectedly made public, and he
hastily rushed to the central point OF interest
and danger Impetuously he broke upon the
councils of the cOnfederates of ROdman, and
demanded that the catspaw should be made
scapegoat for the salvation of the Demo
"cratic partyr Proverbially terrible was the
frown of Tweed when he was Boss" the
Brooklyn Ring knows now what terrors the
rage of its Bossn inspires Instantly the con-
vocation of confederates dissolved, and the
next day Rodman was under arrest. But
meantime, coming from the council which he
had thus interrupted, the indignant Mr.. Kings
lev put on his most sanctimOniOus air, and
encountering a convenient reporter on the
next corner he cOnfded to him, to be instantly
printed in italics, how wicked it was to steal,
and declared (his virtuOus Indignation getting
the better of his discretion) that it ought not
to go forth TO the world that person could
rob the public treasury in Brooklyn and re-
main unpunished.
We do not know that we quote Mr.. Kings
ley's exact words. but we heartily subscribe
to whatever he may have said which en-
phasizes any sentiment like the above. We
would like to see every one of the Brooklyn
thieves in Jail with Mr.. Rodman, as there is
fair prospect we shall soon see the worst of
them. We should like to see every man who
has secured any plunder from the city COM
PEELED to disgorge, and nothing imaginable
would delight us more than to see the officials
of the city or the officers of the law begin
with Mr.. Kingsley.
We might mention great many instances
in which Mr.. Kingsley has plundered Brook
lynn fact, we shall soon give the details
and figures of great many. But we must
be content for the present with the citation of
single case, which is possibly not unfamiliar
to the District-Attorney, in whose Office afi-
davits concerning it were lodged when Morris
was in power, and suppressed since Britton
came in.
Several years ago ono Bonesteel, a contrac-
tor, went to Brooklyn and sought to lay the
NicOlson pavement in its streets. He went
about fruitlessly for time seeking his first
contract, and finally, despairing of obtaining
any recognition, offered a gentleman, whose
affidavit exists in the District Attorneys Office
or can be obtained again, twenty per cent on
any contract which he could influence at So 50
| square yard, at which rate the Nicolson
pavement was then being laid in Washington
City and elsewhere. The gentleman declined
engaging in tho vexatious business, but sent the
contractor to Mr.. Kingsley, and his influence
was readily obtained; but not for the twenty
per cent. Mr.. Kingsley is not so cheap! 1t
was decided that Mr.. BOnesteel shonld have
his full price of So so a square yard; if any
body was TO suffer let it be the city, which
could stand the steal. And 80 Mr.. Bonesteel's
bid was raised to "a so a square yard, and he
obtained the contract which was denied him
at So 50 For his share Mr.. Kingsley was
paid in checks (now held by Mr.. Simeon b.
Chittenden) for $l5O,00O, which was the total
of the percentage of So square yard, which
was paid for his influence with the Water
Board. 1t may be worth while to add
that Mr.. Kingsley did not share this profit of
So with the members of the Board which he
| had influenced. They still had the city to
draw upon and 80 the bills to the property
owners were rendered at So 81 square yard,
instead of the fraudulent contract price, which
left 81 81 a square yard to be divided in the
Board. Now the proofs of all this can be had
| from some witnesses, can be forced from others
and the facts will justify the suspicion that Mr.