The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-02-24

ments of any OF the officials OF your department.
INSTANCES or DELAY.
z. State an instance A. can't state in detail;
l know OF one case-that OF Gilmore ne refused
10 pay him his salary.
q. bid he finally obtain 1t? A. believe he did,
U. How did he obtain its A. BY process OF law
Q. Had the Comptroller. previous 70 that re-
fusal paid Gimores A. believe he had.
to paw A. Yes. $3.50
q. Has h, paid him SINGER A. think he has.
q. DO YOU recollect any other instance OF that
kind connected with YOUR departments A. ! recol-
lect an instance of one OF tue officers OF the de-
MISTAKE IN designating the title under which he
acted; his name vas Turnbul; term clerk; he
was alterward paid.
Q. DID he perform servicesg A. He did.
z. And ne applied for ms saiary and was re.
neld was wrongly aes s as a,sDursns csrk
q Had he been previous TO that paid his salary
regularity A. believe he had.
O. BY the Comptroller? A. Yes.
T. SO that after paying nlm some time he re.
fused 10 pay and kept hm out OF his money Tor
payroll was corrected by myself; changed the
designation and tiIle Of the olhcer:
PETTY PERSONALITIES.
O. Do you recollect any other instance In your
department-oI his refusal to pay the women work.
Ing under you9 A. Yes.
9. Can you state awning to the committee con.
corning them A. Well, sometimes the names
would be wrongly spelled. initials left out and
whenever TINS happened the Finance Department
declined to pay under sucn circumstances until It
was properly specified who did the work and the
names set right.
being refused their wages by the Comptrolerg A.
don't know that any were actually refused;
know there were some delays.
O. In what case A. cannot particularize; ]
OF DELAY: the Comptroller never gave a cause Tor
It; the delays would be sometimes short, some
q DO you recollect any other instance OF
officials or employees, scruooers or Others IN your
or kept out OF their wages ior any length OF time
A. can't SPECIFY any; believe there was the
case OF shaiier, the Inspector OF Encumbrances;
can't say how long he was kept out OF mis- salary
some considerable time
q. State TO US whether during your experience
as head OF the Department OF Public Works
your department. has had any business with
the Finance Department curing the lncun.
structed and retarded aided and assisted IN the
prosecution OF public works and pubic improve
THE DEPARTMENT oBsTRUCTEn.
A. Appearing; AS 40, under order of the com.
mittce, wuud state tnat this matter Is some.
wnat oistasteiul to me; theirs have oeen personal
feelings. II may use tire lei N, manifested against
that the department. at times has been put to
some dflculty IN procuring material as parties
would say they could not readlly get their money;
or, at the prices agreed upon by the Department
OF Public Works, these oills would run the chauce
OF being reduced, and parties would be compelled
TO receive the money at reduced rates or leave
their warrants, as tde case might be.
O. Safe whether your departmenJ has been
ataed or OOstrucle ed by the Finance Department..
A. don't think We have been aided.
O. We DON'T want Implications. State plainly
WuetNeE your department. uuEluK your auullOlS.
tration OF 1t nas been aided or oostructed by the
Finance Department. A. should say 1t was OBJ
O, Has the Finance Department to approve Of
the suretles on contracts III your depai tmentY
Has here been any obstruction III that wayy A.
There have been Delays III approving suretles OF
contractors unler the ordinance Of the Common
Council; can't partlcuarlz an instance OF THIS,
but there have been Instances Wien ne has taken
a month anu from TWO to three months; SUPPOSE
that Was owing 10 investigation beng made Dy
the Comptroller Us 10 the adequacy OF some OF the
SUI cites making the contracts.
THE REASON OF THE DIFFICULTY.
BY Alderman Shand ey-Have any property
proving suretles? A. don't recOllect any partic-
ular lnstance-tnere might nave been.
BY the Unairman-Cun you give u reason for
the difference between the heads oi departmentsS
What Is the cause VI the personal feeilng You re.
the mead Vi the Finance Department? A. say, IN
answer To tnai, That cannot say what actuates
the mind Of the Comptroller AZ toward me.
T. You say obstruction to the department orig
mated IN a personal ieehng ag inst you. Now,
we want to Know your reasons Tor saying there
WAS any personal ieeLng against you. A. From
the mann Ell VI the Comptroller IN sUme respects.
o. WHAT IN his manner led to that belief A.
He was sometimes brusque ana unfrlendly.
T. Can You give US an instance wnere he was
brusque and unfrienuIyY can't recoliect.
z Can YOU reIresn your memory don't know
that can.
.. Now, II IT has been very frequent you surely
eau 1x sumo time. All the committee wants to
know Is as to what has taken place between these
two departments OF tue CITY government where
harmony should prevail ior the puzzle good. You
speak 0i Instances. We woud desire You TO par
ticuar,ze one or two occasions when be was
Orusaue ana unirlend.y; what that unirlendliness
was the un.rlenuly langua9eY A. 1t wasn't so
much tnat as MS manner.
LIMITED POWERS OF DESCRIPTION.
Q Can you give US description of ms manner
toward you A. Inat would DC very dinicult.
wOuid look on turning his Dack on q private
cluzen A. can only answer tnaG by saying the
Comp rollers feeling ard me was unlrlendiv.
Y. You state that you ielt the Comptroller was
uniriendly toward Sou Can yon give the CON-
mlttee an instance or AN example where he
BY Alderman ohandey-Was II IN your otfice or
in tne omptroers office where this Drusque and
I'm rlendly action TOOK placer A. Sometimes IN
Alderman Snandley-Have you received that
Official courtesy mat should exist between two
heads OF departments. both acting Tor the public
goOuY A. ldont think there has been that OH.
ciaI courtesy existing that should exist-that
courtesy that would be due to the proper aud mar.
monl0us WORKING OF the CITY government
BY the Charman-it IS tner publicly alleged
that Comptroller Green mas retarded the growth
aud prosperity Of the city; ave the committee
your opulon whether the admins ration oil the
Finance Department by Mr.. Green mas been such
as to retard the growth and prosperity OF tue
CITY,
A. That Is very uif11cuiG question TO- me to an.
swer; Uut would say, rom my own standpoint,
II there mad peeu more liberal policy adopted
growth; don't know OF any puollc WORK, having
been retarded by MIN. except IN a general way.
ln TINS connection witness referred to the River
sioe avenue and tue M0rnlngsde property,
which, II prosecuted. would nave Improved prop
erty and eased taxation, but In these two cases
the head OF the finance department. mad put
different construction on The law.
BY Alderman Snandley-Do you know OF his hav.
Ing empiOyed private counsel at Albany A. Not
" my knowledge; | saw people there who were
saiu to be Interested Tor the Finance Department
In cases be- ore the committees; sa n Oi1cer on
his payroll named morrison there: don't Know
what ne was operating on; also saw Dexter A.
HawKn there.
Tnis closed the examination or Mr.. Van Mort.
TESTIMONY OF MR.. HOWE.
Mr.. Lindsay J. Howe, Commissioner OF Accounts
was the next Witness
z. How long nave you been Commissioner Of
AccOuntsY ,A.-since June Is, 1873.
Y. Whl you Please To state, In accordance with
the nrst resQlution, whether The Comptroller has,
wIthin your KNOW edge resisted the payment OF
just aims, &C. A. recall one Instance wnIch
cdn mentlDn; we applied to the Board OF super
vIsOrs Tor an Appropriation to carry on our work,
Tor cierS hire, &C., rom June TO December, and
this app OPERATION was granted.
U. We're me clerks paiu A. No air: the Comm.