New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-11-15
THE SENATE COMMITTEES FORK.

THE SENATE COMMITTEES UORh.
While the facts revealed by the Senate In
yestigating Committee are not new they are
decidedly interesting. Taken together they
furnish striking evidence of the incompetence
and waste to designate them by no harsher
terms. that prevail in every branch of the city
government The testimony proves beyond
question that the municipal administration mas
not TN dergone any change since the exposures
made by the Roosevelt Committee nearly two
years ago. The effrontery and unscrupulousness
of certain city officials in the misuse of their
trusts are simply amazing.
The Roosevelt Committee unearthed some
strange abuses in the County Clerks office. III
was shown that the present County Clerk ana
his immediate predecessors had retained large
sums belonging to the city. Not dollar mas
ever been recovered. To stop the system oil
using that Office as a mine to be worked Tor
the benefit of a few Democratic I" bosses law
was passed making the office u salared one and
turning the fees into the public treasury. But
County Clerk keenan, deliberately set to work
to nulllfy that law by sending to the Board of
Estimate, as absolutely necessary, list OF
employes which included many sinecurists and
which increased the expenditures about 500
II
carried out had it Lot been exposed by the
Senate Committee.
The two Democratic Excise Commissioners
have united TO license some OF the vllest
resorts in the city. They could not claim that
their acts were in conformity with the law
but that gave them no concern Nor did they
show more concern when proof was furnished
that large brides had been paid to secure
licenses for such places. In spirit OF bra
vado and to show their contempt for the COM
mittee and the law, they refused license TO
first-class hotel while voting one to low
Bowery amusement hall. No attempt was
made to contradict the testimony showing the
employment of unnecessary inspectors ana
the payment of s.. 600 for n useless counsel.
Dock Commissioners appointed by the " re-
FORM Mayor acknowledged under oath that
they did not understand the duties OF their
Office, and that they could offer no reasonable
excuse for having increased salaries ana ap-
ponted unnecessary clerks. The "reform
Assessors were even more Ignorant or thclt
duties, which they do not pretend to perform
The Armory Board was shown to have pau
exorbitant prices for armOry sites on which a
friend of President Smaller received several
thousands of dollars as commissions The
citys loss of q million dollars hy the failure OF
the Marine Bank turns out to have been largely
due to private business transactions between
Ferdinand Ward and certain city officials.
Even the Mayor has been shown 10 be unplca--
antly mixed up with Wards scandalOus trans
actions
Those are few of the things brought to the
surface in mere Swimming over by the Senate
Investigating Committee. There are depths
of fraud and rottenness yet to lie explored.
Valuations are being increased. taxation Is
growing mpre oppressive, and yet Judging by
the late elecuop. the day of delivcrancc Is far
of. Indeed, the man whose votes and political
acts did so much to bring about this wretched
state of affairs sits enthroned for three years
more in the Governors chair at Albany. No
redress is possible there without his consent
And when we turn our eyes homcward We meet
an army of apathetic voters. and a host OF
official spoismen who ask what are you going
To dD about il r.