The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-02-21
A False Financial Exhibit by Comp
trOllor Green.

Mr.. Green's voluminous reply to the resolu-
tons of the Common Council is marked by the
deception and concealment for which all his
official statements are notorious. 1t does not
give the information sought, and throws but
little if any, additional light on our financial
condition. 1t is full of distortions of truth.
which barely escape the character of actual
false statements. and the object of which is
transparent Mr.. Green does not intend to
allow the facts in regard to his financial man
agement to be known if he can help it, and he
seeks by constant reference to the corruptions
of the past and by financial stump speeches to
raise false issues and to conceal the fatal inca
pacity of the present. He commences his COM
munication with comparative statement
of the increase OF the city and county
debt for three years under the Tamnany
regime. from December, 1868. to December,
1871, and for three years under his own man
agement, from December, 1871, to December,
1874 His object is to establish at the start
the belief that the debt has not increased so
rapidly under him as it did under his prede-
cessor, although it seems scarcely consistent
that a reform administration should attempt
to justify its management by comparison of
its results with those reached under the rule
of public robbers. Mr.. Green however, re-
sorts to a most contemplate deception in
order to obtain credit to which he is not
entitled. Every intelligent citizen OF New
York knows that revenue bonds are bonds
issued by the city, and formerly by the county
also, upon which money is obtained for the
current expenses of the government before
the taxes of the year are due and collectable.
The taxes do not come in until the end oil the
year. The revenue bonds are issued generally
between january and September, and are paid
and cancelled as soon rs the taxes are col
lected. They are not portion OF the debt,
but are simply TEMPORARY loan made, not
on the credit of the city, but on the security,
of the taxes for the current year. Mr. Green
commences his statement OF the three years
increase of the debt under Tammany rule
with 1868, for which year he gives the debt
proper, without including any revenue bonds,
and ends it with 1871, for which year he adds
to the debt proper between six and seven mill
ions of revenue bonds. He then commences
his statement of the increase of the debt under
his own management with 1871, IN which
year he includes the seven millions OF revenue
bonds above stated, and ends it with 1874,
for which year he adds to the debt proper
ONLY two million seven hundred thousand of
revenue bonds.
Mr. Green's distorted figures are made to
show the following results =
Bonded debt. December 81, 1868 2,205 43o
Bonded debt, December 81, lS1l....... lOs,55l,'oS
Gross increase in three years under
Tammany OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. $s6346,278
Bonded deot, December 81 1871 S10S 551, 70S
Bonded debt, December 81 1874. .... 14l, 503, 75S
Gross increase in three years under
Green. Observation-Disclosures. S33 ZoZ'ooo
Mr. Green is well aware that no comparison
of this kind should include revenue bonds,
which do not form any portion Of the city's
debt Yet he uses them to swell the apparent
increase under Tammany by nearly seven
million dollars and to conceal the real in
crease under himself to the amount Of about
four millions.
The bonded debt of the city and county,
on December 81, 1868, was actually as fol-
lows:-
Bonded debt OF the city payable from
sinking fund and taxation. $29, 92s, 3os
Bonded debt OF county. l4,64S, 500
Temporary debt pay abe from assess.
mentS. OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. 7,6lS,07Z
Total NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. $50, $780, 4sO
In this no revenue bonds are included, and,
as we have said, Comptroller Green COM
,nences his comparative statement of the in
crease of the debt with this amount
1852, 2O5, 43O), emitting all revenue bonds.
The bonded debt Of the city and county on
December 81, 1871, was actually as follows,
exclusive of revenue bonds:-
Bonded debt OF the city............. so. 999 Sos
Temporary deot.. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 14,g94Oo0
Bonded debt Of the county. 29,23930
To this amount, as we have said, Comp
troler Green adds revenue bonds to the
amount of &c. 319, 100 in order to swell the
apparent increase Of debt The true increase
between those periods was as follows:-
Total bonded debt December 81. 1868. $50, 1o0 4sO
Total bonded debt December II, 1S7I. l02, 232, COS
Gross increase in three years under
Tammany. .............. $50, 042 1913
The bonded debt of the city and county on
December 81, 1874, was actually as follows:-
Funded debt. Sis, 241557
Temporary debt. 20,851, 900
Total. .................~......$ la9, os2, 557
Having added s., 3l9, 100 revenue bonds to
the debt of the year 1871, Mr.. Green cuts
down the revenue bonds outstanding on De-
cember 81, 1874, to 50, 100000. He thus mis-
represents by nearly four million dollars the
increase during the three years OF his own
rule. The true increase between 1871 and
1874 was as follows:-
Total bonded debt December 81, 1871 s102- 232 COS
Total bonded deDt December 81, 1874. 139, 092 So;
Gross increase in three years under
We have thus the following comparative
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