New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-04-09
THE CANAL FRAUDS.
POLITICIANS PARTLY RESPONSIBLE.


BrRs or TIE RING BY THE LtGIsIAIUhE
fFrov STAFF CORRESPONDENT or the TEiBUSEI
RocuEsrIl, Aprii c." There has been too mGch
politics and too ii,lc regard FOR honesty skill al"
efficiency in the management oi Tue c"n"'s o, '"o
STATE remarked an engineer. whose eAPe'io"o0
with canal business covers period OF ~ years. ="
me to-day. and the more familiar become Win the
,uonncr in which the money of tue people
has been spent upon the canals, the more
ana convinced that ho is right. Ihc
whole machinery by which the canals are
constructed and kept III repair is political AZ"
uecr.saily imperfect. This is most stIiilney seen
NV = critical examination of the systsm b. which
ihe ordinary repairs are done, 10 when 'hiuo S"'0
reference IN a former letter.
The repairs of a whole division Of the canals, H.
Gliding ono-llird of the entire State placed ID
the hands Of a Canal Commissioners, elected by Tic
people for "A term Of Two years. This Commissioners
is NOT selected fOr ms peculiar fitness for the pooitioh
he holds; he is rarely engineer b. profession anu
if he has rs sometimes happens. any especlai KNOW
edge or exrerience winch qualities him 10 direct III
telhgcntly III, expenditure of the money OF the
STATE. il may be considered rs fortunate ciEcum
stance. The place is sought for lis point
zeal patron.Ee, and IS given to
poli,ician Is reward for party seTV-
ices. The Commissioner names tho SuperIh-
ten!euts, and they generally selected VIA less
regard for their qualifications than the CohD'i'-
sioner himself. The Superb tendents may nave
been shoa.nakcrs or groceIs, and they are sure %
have been licai politicians. The man VINO "ofh"'
o ag lest in his district to secure the nomination
on election of tine Commissioner, or the man VINO
can control the most votes ut the next election IS
IN. man VII, il most likely to obtain tho place
And tbe SUPERINTENDENT in turn Las his Trends 10
reward. lie nllIst give his cierkslIip and ms AS
si,tont clcri.ship 20 men wno have gwen HIM
helpinc hand And so ii may happen that IL man
who has Lille more idea Of the best Iielnrd
OF keeping the canal in repair or Oh ths
cost or character Of the work he has I" pan
and direct than Feciec Islander, ana who has about
l man "a Ignorant Of the subject as he himself IS.
estimates tho amount of money that is needed on
soction Of the canal to keep il in good condi-
finn and has exclusive control Of the eNpendi-
tnrc nj the money simple description OF
.his system condemns it,. No private corporation
could live under such system. lhe roah COM
papy which iutrusted the care ot lis r"ad-pcd anu
tracks to men 10 better qnalidcd tor thef poSitlonS
than some Of the Canal Surerntondcnts, ard gave
them the power to spend in repairs such sums as
thcv tboncnt necessary. would soon become bank
r,pt. no matter what its income might be- when
,l,e sx.t,,o is fully understood can be sur
urisrd that ihe annual expenditures on the canals
reached IN 1872 the Enormous SUN Of Sl,1l2 mile,
os was shown by State Treasurer Riies IN state
r,enf made TO the Canal Committee vi The Assembly
two years ago.
Tho sygtcr under which The OK raoriinary repairs
IVY new work is done on thr canals Is lii e better.
Willie fine SuperintemdentS are all subordinate 10
the Commissioners and one else, the assistant
engirrers are perpcyed and hammered by divided
aurhcriiy-that IL the SAFE Engineer and Of the
Commissioner. Nominally the entire engineer corps
is under the direction of The State Engineer but he
Commits Toner for each division reIaIns large au-
vs1ry power oTcr all appointments IN this corps.
He alone has the power to pay. and II appointments
Of which he does not approve a:e made he may
simply rfnse 20 pass the vouchers and no money Is
forthcoming. difference between the Commissioner
and the State Engineer, or either OF the DIVISION
Fncinoers sometimes results III having two sets Of
officers on the canal performing the same dates, Is
,yos tbe case for time on tho Eastern Division
when Commissioner Barclay was IN charge. and
when he refused to pay tie men whom the state
Fngiueer anpointcG aud appointed engineers of his
own Sometimes ii prevents changes, a. Is the case
in one or Two instances in the Western Division.
where the Diyisi Engineer and The Commissioner
have each candidate, and, as they cannot agree
the AZ istant engineers under the former admins
traton are retained, although their removal Is de-
sired by both officers. Another result of this di
yiGed authority il sometimes an inter
ference by the Commits 0ners with the
plans of the engineers. For instance work
NAV be arranged and begun in n certain way,
but the Commissioner orders the Assistant Engineer
TO do it differently. The former knows very well
that the Division or Resident Engineer is his supe-
rior from or through whom he ought to receive
ders but he does not dare TO disobey the Commits
sioner as if he does. his pay may be stopped. Tho
Canal Engineers have been very largely in the pow
er of tho Ring, and will probably have to bear
large share of the responsibility for the gigantic
frauds that have been committed Al the same time
comparison of their estimates of work at no time
contracts are given out, with the amounts
of work actually done inside the same
contracts. and the natural conclusion
that they have pu-poscly or ignorantly
underost;mated the quantities and thus enabled
contractors to swindle the State, may do them very
great injustice All extraordinary repairs on the
canals are done in pursuance of appropriations made
by tic Legislature, and the engineers in preparing
their quantity sheets have to to it that the con-
tract az il is awarded shall call for more work
than there is money available TO pay for it, But it
often happens that before the work is completed
the Legislature makes an additional appropriation,
and directs the money to be spent under the exist
ing contract III tDiS Is continued several Years,
il often has been, the unequal character of the bid
grows annually more and more apparent.
Let me suppose a case in illustration. The Lcgis-
laturo might appropriate, tins year, $4,000 for
building "A vertical wall between two given points
on the Erie Canal in Buffalo. and for dredging Black
Rock Halbor The amount of vertical wall of given
dimensions that can be built between two points is
limited and known but there is limit, except its
cost to the amount of dredging that may be done in
a harbor. The engineer, therefore. in making up his
quantity sheet first estimates for the wall and then