The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-04-12

of trifing with public trusts ana swindiing
with public moneys. The Police Commits
sioners will not be tolerated in repetition
on grand scale of Professor Disbecker's
humbug about the Harlem fats Then the
audacity and impudence of the officials went
SO far that they dared to deny the existence
OF n most pestilential nuisance that bid fair
to depopulate large section of the city
through the foul stencil that loaded the
atmosphere Of Harlem. Two audacious con-
tractors--Jones and McQuaid-were encour-
aged by the inactivity or dishonesty Of the
oficinls to continue piling up nuisance upon
nuisance by dumping fetid loads of the
most horrible city refuse upon portion
of the city surrounded by dwellings
and actually intended for building
sites. The enormity of the job was
pointed out by the HERALD, and if there
had been justice, honesty and decency
among the responsible officials of New
York these men would have been indicted,
tried, convicted and sentenced to long
term of imprisonment as murderers of
the public health. Instead of this they
were paid every cent Of their blood
money. Disbecker's conduct at that time
was enough to disgust everybody; but that of
the reform Comptroller Green--who haggled
SO desperately over every penny doled out
to the scrub women-in permitting these
contractors to take from the public treasury
thousands of dollars to which they were not
entitled by the letter of their contract
shows to what base uses the cry Of reform"
can be applied
We recall this Harlem fat nuisance for
the purpose of reminding Comptroller Kelly
that he has duty to perform in this bust
ness He has no right to pay cent for
street cleaning that is not honestly earned.
A correspondent the other day asked,
''Where is all this money dumped?" We
should say Mr.. Kelly could enlighten us on
the point. The sudden discovery by the
Police Commissioners that the streets are
dirty would be laughable if the subject were
not SO serious. In the language Of con-
temporary we ask. Have these Commission
ers been confined in vaults underground or
conveyed in balloons through the upper
mir, 'where they could not see what struck
every citizen in the face?" The Commits
sioners whine in q touching manner
that they have no place to dump
the garbage. We have told them time
and again not to dump, but burn it.
Suitable furnaces could be quickly con-
structed in different parts of the city and
the garbage cremated without causing the
slightest Objectionable odor. The trouble
with all our officials is that they have not an
original idea among them. We respect and
like the Mayor, but we are compelled to say
that he is showing no backbone in dealing
with his subordinates and the abuses they
create. Instead of waiting for written COM
plants he should be the chief complainant.
So it is with the other public servants. They
lead lazy, dronish life they run in ruts
and care for nothing but their ease and
their salaries. Our experience of Ameri-
can officials is that to-day we would be
riding in old numbering stage coaches
and communicating by canal boat express,
instead of travelling by rail and writing by
telegraph, if progress depended on official
initiative. Private individuals or the news
paper must originate ideas and keep ham,
mering them into official heads in order to
have them adopted. Thus the idea the of
cremation Of garbage, though suggesting q
simple plan for getting rid of the filth, is re-
ceived by the head Of the Health Beard as
something not to be easily understood. He
makes the insane counter proposition that
the sum of thirty thousand dollars be given
him for experimenting on eharring the
refuse. Does he not wish he may get it !?
We trust that the officials Of New York will
take this warning and amend their conduct
before it becomes matter for solemn action
by the Grand Jury.