The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-06-24

rifle. There Is no good reason why Greco
moor should not be the scene Of friendly con-
tests as interesting and as popular as those
which annually take place at Wimbledon. The
coming contest for the championship between
the Irish and American teams will no doubt
have the effect Of turning attention to this
subject and promoting desire to excel with
what we have always claimed to be our ma
tionai weapon.
The Expenses OF tho City Government
and tho Board OF Apportionment.
Although the fnll information of the de-
tailed expenditures Of the several departments
of the city government which has been de-
manded by Messrs Vance and Wheeler In the
interests of the taxpayers has not yet been
secured, the, report received yesterday from
the Park Department is sufficient to Justify
the position assumed by those members of the
Board of Apportionment. The enormous
salary list is shown to foot up q total of
$268, 900, exclusive Of laborers, cartmen,
teams, blacksmiths, skilled laborers, garden
ers, division gardeners carpenters, painters,
helpers and plumbers. From the force Of
these unenumerated employees set down as
necessary in the former revised estimate Of
the Park Department the expense would be
increased s467, 200 if the numbers stated were
employed all the year. Thus we have the
exorbitant sum of nearly three-quarters
of million dollars expended annually,
from tax and construction account,
on salaries and labor alone in the Park De-
partment. The exhibit may well startle our
taxpayers and will at least show them the ne
cessity of thorough unwilling of the mys-
teries of the construction account behind the
hitherto sacred secrecy by which these out
rageous expenditures have been possible.
But there is reason to believe that the de-
tailed statement OF the Park Department,
startling as it is, does not contain the whole
truth. We do not find in it any mention Of
the large percentages on certain expenditures
paid to an architect whose name does not ap-
pear in the salary list, but which percentages
are paid in lieu of salary. A superintendent
is mentioned with salary of 5000, land
scape gardener with So. 500, a landscape archi-
tect who costs So, 500. and has an eighteen hun
bred dollar clerk and q thousand dollar messen-
ger, bearing the same name as the acting Cham
berlain experimenting architect at 81, 200,
with craftsman at 81, 095 an engineer at
$500, with an expensive attachment OF
assistants. craftsmen, rodmen and axmen,
footing up about $4,000 more civil and
typographical engineer, who draws S., 200 and
carries at his tail an assistant, four division
engineers, three first assistant engineers and a
squad Of craftsmen, rodmen, chainmen and
other subordinates who add $50, 900 more to
the engineering expense. Then we have an
engineer in charge who gets SIS, 200 more,
and ''another engineer who draws 81, 214 in
addition for these architects and engineers
keep multiplying and doubling up ike the
glasses of lager beer consumed by Doesticks
on his famous visit to Niagara Falls. But the
report is silent as to the perquisites Of the per-
centage architect, who draws the biggest plum
out OF the Central Park pie
1t is very clear that the Park Department is
an expensive treasury leakage which should
be at once stopped. 1t costs altogether too
much to support incompetent friends" out
of the public purse, and there can be no
necessity whatever for the services OF all these
fancy architects and engineers. The people
are satisfied with the Park 1t is, and only
ask an improvement that without entailing
any large expenditure, will give them an en-
joyable rendezvous like that in Hyde Park
or the Bots de Boulogne. 1t is 70 be hoped
that Messrs. Vance and Wheeler will insist
firmly on cutting off all these expensive luz
uries, and 80 reducing the Park appropriation
as to put stop to such foolish and unneces-
sary expenditures. They should also in
sist upon q full exhibit from the Park
Department of all the works in progress, the
amount heretofore expended and the esti-
mated final cost similar to that very properly
called for by the Comptroller from the De-
partment of Public Works Let the people
know where they are drifting and what their
ultimate liabilities are likely to be before any
more of their bonds are issued or any more of
their money is squandered. The detailed
report, which the Finance Department still
obstinately withholds, should also be de-
manded before dollar is appropriated to
that department. The people have been kept
in the dark long enough. Now let us have
some light
The DOUBTFUL Court House COMMISSION
ERs have o curious conception Of their duties
First, placing themselves under the protect
ing wing of Comptroller Green they claim the
right TO appoint and. control all the employees
of the new Court House. Bafaed in this by