New-York tribune., 1873-06-21
DAINTY DISH ROR BROOFLTv.


Under the guise of reform, and with thc ap-
parent Endorsement Of the Committee Of One
Hundred, tho Legislature has passed Il charter
for the City of Brooklyn which, whep an
alyzed. proves TO be a moDstrOus fraud upon
the people of that city. 1t is true that The
Committee before named prepared cartar
which abolished Commissions, appointed SIN
gle heads 10 Departments all under thc 'ou-
troll of the Mayor, and secared, AS i,lr a5 pos
sible, self-government to the people. Ih'
Legislature has so changed the b.ii original!
submitted that, as passed. it continues the
worst Commissions, enlarges their powers,
and, adding to the number OF officials at tho
same time, increases their salaries BY about
$40 900 n wear. This seems to us to lie -clom
of the cI.wfish order for n city whose udcm-
edness is equal to lot per cent of its entire
real and personal assessment, and whose values
of real estate have been decreasing for tho past
two years.
Let us state moro in detail the detects Of
this charter which only awaits the Governors 4
signature to become oppressive.
/. In the first place it fixes the salaries OF
the heads of departments so that all may un-
derstand but it allows those heads to appoint
as many suboIdinates and at such salaries as
they may name. We should think little Of the
ability or ingenuity of Tweed's pupils in Brook
lyn if they could not tilch at least SIO)JJ) out
of this single provision.
ii. The pending charter permits tue Common
Council TO let contracts to the lowest bidder
but from the moment he signs The contract
he is responsible only to the Board OF City
Works, and in the event of his failure to full
fill his contract the same Board IS authorized
to let it without publicity. Suppose, a. an in
stance a sewer actually worth 100000 to
build is advertised the Council go through
the sham of asking bids and finally give it TO
dummy" of the Board of CiJy Works for
100000. This has been common practice,
and dummies live by this means Ia
Brooklyn. This fictitious bld cuts OFF
all tho genuine bidders. What results
The lowest bidder never strikes a blow the
work is never begun; and he is reported to
Mr.. Fowler the "active minority" Gas he
delights to call himselD of the Board of City
Works. He thereupon calls upon Messrs.
Kingsley and Keeney to build the sewer, and
they do it at price far in excess of the half
million which would have been fair pay for
it, Such transactions have taken place within
our knowledge as for example in the case of
the Third-ave. sewer; and there are numerous
other instances of which Controller Schroeder
has furnished us the figures, and of which we
shall soon give the people of Brooklyn the
startling facts showing immense frauds.
III. Among minor objections to the act, as
framed. let us note here that it first provides
for Department of Parks, and in II subse-
quent section transfers all parks to the care
of the Board of City Works. From Stranahan
to Fowler and his clerks Palmer and Whiting,
is an illustration of the old disaster of leaping
from the frying-pan into the fire, which we
believe the people of Brooklyn will not heart
lily relish.
IV. There is no limit to the assessment which
may be levied upon land for opening streets
and filling in sunken or low lots of which
Brooklyn naturally rolling country, has 80
many Here lies one Of the principal
sources of Brooklyn's debt and her ex-
cessive taxation, which we illustrate in
another column. She has already over
one-ffth moro in miles of streets laid
out than New-York has, although the metrop-
oils has nearly three times the population and
fully twice the wealth of her suburb. Poll
ticians purchase outlying farms, convert them
into city lots at the public expense for the
necessary streets, assess non residents at their
pleasure, and, Of course, make money not only
on the land, but charge enormous fees for
the opening of the streets and equally enor-
nous profits on the contracts for paving and
seweriHg them. Through this outrageous sys-
TEN of filing lots and opening streets the
late Charles Christmas, partner of August
Belmont, actually lost over one hundred lots
and had Judgment entered against him for IA
large deficit.
Y. 1he charter allows the Board Of City