The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-06-13

Our desire is that their faith may obtain its
own realization but forming our judgment
upon the hard basis of facts, we see no greater
probability than formerly Of a continued peace
with the wild Indians of the West.
Criminal FlOur-The Wonderful APPe-
tits or Criminals and Paupsrs.
Mr.. Commissioner Stems dry goods pur-
chases for the Department Of Charities and
Correction have already been the subject
of investigation by a Grand Jury who
failed to bring in an indictment, if Judge
Daniels is correct in his Interpretation
of the laws against malfeasance in Office.
If the District Attorney is faithful to
the service he owes the people the
next inquiry of the Grand Jury will embrace
the purchases of meat and -four by the Com
missioners of Charities and Correction well
as the purchases OF dry goods, and the result
will be more favorable to the ends OF justice.
The city charter requires that whenever any
work is to be done any supplies are to be
purchased by any department OF the city gov
ernment when ''the several parts of the said
work or supply shall together involve the ex-
penditure of more than one thousand dollars
the same shall be by contract given to the
lowest bidder. We have seen that Mr. Stern
has purchased dry goods of relative, in bills
larger than one thousand dollars and some
of the bills thus in excess of the amount spec;-
fed in the charter have been divided up so as
to make them come within the prohibitory
provision, thus showing wilful intent to
evade and violate The law. Judge Daniels has
pronounced this to be malfeasance in Office
and a Jury has convicted the Commissioners
Of Charities in Brooklyn for less marked
offence, for in the case Of Mr.. Storms dry
goods it is shown that for the articles supplied
by MIR. Sternbach the city was made to pay
about ne-thrd more than the market value.
But there is reason to believe that these pur-
chases are honest and legitimate transactions
as compared with the enormous bills for Grim
inal beef and criminal -four alleged to be con-
sumed in the Charities and Correction Depart
ment. We have already shown that the meat
paid for during the year is sufficient to feed
an army of twelve thousand soldiers at full
rations. We propose now to examine the
consumption Of -four by our hungry paupers
and criminals.
From the Comptrollers warrants, drawn be-
tween April and December 1873, for nine
mouths, we find the amount Of flour bills as
foliows-
A APE n Mas ana an ynae and
OCTOBER, November ana December. ;. 800. 39,991
sll5ss5
Add Oue-fourth for balance of year ....... 2S,921
Total. .sl44,6o6
The -four used in the prisons and asyums
is not Of the best quality We are not at pres
ent in position to know whether the city is
made to suffer in the price paid by the pur-
chasing Commissioner or in the quantity
alleged to be consumed. We therefore take
the contract price to be what such -four can
be bought for III quantities on The market
namely, six dollars barrel. Reckoning at
this price we obtain the following result
s144,6O6 purchases, at So per barrel, 2t1Ol
barrels of -four.
"a, 1Ol barrels Of flour per year is a fraction
over 463 barrels per week.
463 barrels of -four, each barrel containing
1876 pounds, is 80, 74S pounds of -four per
week.
Adding one-third to this weight Of -four
for bread, and we have 120,997 pounds of
bread consumed per week, or 1926 pounds
Of bread per day.
This would give to every individual Of the
whole population claimed by the Commission
ers Of Charities and Correction, including
employees, invalids in hospital, children and
nursing infants, more than two pounds of
bread each per day.
But the Commissioners say their con sump-
ton of -four is fifty barrels per day. AT this
rate, the price paid for the -four consumed in
the time embraced in our calculation, Of
which three months bills are averaged, would
be within fraction OF 50 per barrel, or 50
per barrel above the market price.
On O consumption Of Is, $50 barrels year
| this would leave margin against the city of
$50, $500. What Commissioner Of Charities
and Correction buys the -four for the depart
ment, and has any Commissioner relative
in the -four trade?
----------------a.-
| Nor MUCH IN FAVOR OF Civil SERVICE Re-
FoRM.-Mr. Butler gave a decided blow at
| civil service reform yesterday. He moved to
suspend the rules and to pass an amendment
fa ha .y,, us,,%