New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-12-29
MR. THOvpSONS ANSWER AGAIN.

MR. THONPSON'S ANSUER AGAIN.
| Commissioner ThompsOn's long answer to the
charges against his administration appears to
have made good impression among those not
| thoroughly informed on the subject This Is
not surprising 1t goes so extensively into de-
| tail, deals so largely with presidents and au-
thOritles, heaps up figures so lavishly, and
makes so good show of meeting damaging
disclosures that many will hasten to accept 1t
as conclusive. But thorough consideration
proves it to be in reality weak and cvasiye.
From beginning to end it betrays the shifts and
cxpcdicnts of public official who has been
steadily seeking to twist every statute, every
court decision, every opinion of the Law De-
partment, and every precedent that could be
made to serve his purpose of converting his de-
partmCnt into great partisan engine, and to
draw from the public funds every dollar that
anv Deryeysion Of law would allow him to lay
hold of, in order to strengthen his political
faction bg TIE employment OF It's followers,
and to enrich his personal friends.
TIE TRIBUNE has shown how he has
crammed the pay-rolls with men selected
solely for their usefulness in party manip-
ulation and intrigue. We have shown
how he has nulifed the law in regard to public
contracts by granting hundreds of orders for
aggregate amounts far exceeding the statutory
limit of 81, OOO-these orders going almost in
variably to personal friends and associates. He
has been bold enough to defend this practice as
at worst only an evasion of law, not a violation
of it. But do the people put men in office in
order that they may evade the laws for the
profit of their friends Mr.. ThompsOns reply to
the Mayor is singularly weak in regard to this
practice.
1t is equally weak In its effort to defend what
is wholly indefensible--the system of UNI
balanced bids 1t Is weak again in its assertions
concerning assessments. The Erening Post
last night said: "The most serious of The
"TRlBUNE's charges was that on account of
"Mr. ThOmpson's contract methods the city
chad lost since 1876 over sc, 900, 900 through
vacated assessments" Then, referring to Mr..
Thompsons assertion that assessments on
work done under his administration had been
affected only $4,000 by unbalanced bids,
The Post adds; "This Is a very different
"matter from $8,000,000 loss, and THE
TRIBUNE ought either to bring fresh evidence
"to sustain its original charge or else rctract It,"
If THE TRIBUNE had made any false state
ments, as Mr.. Thompson would have the public
believe, it would promptly make the retractiOn.
But in the light Of Mr.. ThOmpsOn's reply, and
of our own knowledge Of the facts, we see no
reason to withdraw single word that we
have said on this subject. Mr.. Thompson be-
came Commissioner of Public Works in De-
Cember, 1850. THE TRIBUNE has never said
that the city has already lost $G,O0O,O0O on
assessments vacated or reduced because of UNI
l,;1o occop+a1 Inripor Mr. Tbnrnnpop'a
term. 1t has said that since 1876 the city has
lost $6,000,0 900 on assessments reduced and
vacated because of frauds, Irregularities and
excessive cost. 1t is true as Mr.. Thompson
says, that assessments are not modified upon
the expressed ground of unbalanced bids. Of
course not. Unbalanced bids have never been
specifically declared illegal as such by the Court
of Appeals, and therein Mr. Thompson found
his justification for deliberately continuing a
VIGOROUSLY fraudulent system. What THE
TRIBUNE has charged, and charges now, is that
Mr.. Thompson received thoroughly bad sys-
tenn from his predecessors, which, as he well
knew, had led to the most serious frauds and
losses, both on the canals and on the public
works Of the city, and that, instead Of trying
to break up that system, he fostered and
expanded it, and even to-day he ventures to
defend 1t.
But Mr., ThOmpsons statement concerning
assessments on contracts let under him
is wholly misleading. When any large con-
tract for assessment work Is let, years
generally elapse before the assessment
is confirmed and the property are called
upon for payments. 1t is then that the objec-
tons are raised and the assessments are modi-
fed. Hence the time for seeking relief from
unjust burdens imposed by Mr.. Thompson's
contracts has not yet arrived in great manyof
the cases. His statement therefore, that in
only twenty-eight cases have objections been
made, out Of 219 sent to the Board of
Assessors, is far from telling the whole truth.
Many of the cases have not been acted upon.
Objections have been seldom made until after
the assessments were confirmed. The large losses
from the reductions and vacations Of assess
ments have occurred in that way, most of them
years after the assessments were confirmed
Now, how many of Mr.. ThompsOn's cases have
been confirmed The assessment cases come
principally from his department He says that
he has sent .219 cases to the Board. 1t has now
100 cases before it uncOnfrmed. During the en-
tire year 1t has passed upon 1913 cases, many of !
which were disposed of recently. Hence,
a large proportion Of Mr. Thompsons cases are
and many have not been acted |
upon. His speciOus tale of loss of $4,000 |
thus utterly fails to cover the ground.
Mr.. Thompson's showing of an extremely |
small percentage of excess Of cost over "esti- |
mates" in the contracts let and completed by
him Is strong on the surface, but does not bear
xaminati0n. He gives what purpOrts 10 be the