New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-07-29
II.
SHOWING HOW THE STREET-C COMPANIES
ARE CHEATING THE CITY.

There is mighty little satisfaction in writing articles
with the view of arousing the public against humbugs
or tyrants any OF the selfish people who prey upon
It, One can write until he the crsmp, and what
comes of it Everybody who reads what he writes
supposing that any one docs read IT. which some
times doubt. mods his head in stupid approval saws
yes, that's the truth; this article hits the nail right
on the head; these things gross inolerable out
RACES : the public is being victmized and abused
abomnably; II is shame TO let such things 20 on ;
the people ought to assert themselves; the Legs
lature ought to interfere in the public inerestevcry
body says these things and many more like them, and
then everybody throws down hts paper lights his
cigar. goes off and forsets all about IT, OF course
this is Just what the people who live by public i'm
positions calculate upon. They don't care straw
how much they cursed. so long nobody docs
anything effective in restraint of them. 1t often
seems 10 me that Of all recorded communities, the
city OF NewYork IS most Indifferent to the petty
tyrannes and trckcrics by which It is cheated and
abused The people appear TO accept these things as
inevitable and although conscious of the fact that
they being robbed the right and nsulted the
left and knowing full well that the power 10 punish
and correct resides in their hands they fold their
arms and meekly take It ALL comforting themselves
with the tranQuillizinr rejection that If they were TO
purge the town today Of all IL. present vermn, IT
would be ovcrrun by others tomorrow.
One hears Just such talk constantly and It IS upon
just such talk that these pcopc rely. They figure 70
a
and they give it full measure. Sometimes they get
utterly reckless and 90 TOO far Sometimes they
commit upon the public the finally unbearabc out
rage which was accomplished when two families
being tenants together in single ten by fourteen
room-the division mark being chalk line on the
foor-one of them began to take boarders Tweed
went far and so did Jacob Sharp but between
them and the fruit dealer. who occupies four
ffths of the with his stand. or the insoent
deputy sheriff who. coming from a Kerry bog to
NewYork Office is Immediately possessed Of the notion
that he Is little tin god wheels there arc thou
sands Of miserable rodents whose sustenanco Is drawn
from abuses Of public privilege. 1t ought not to be
the case tha. the public should manifest such indfer-
its interests. True. It is not often that
any single imposition involves TO the Individual a
personal Of loss outrage But that was the
with the old colonists The Declaration OF indie
pendcnce docs not complain so much OF the acts OF
King George as OF the object for which they were com
mtted 1t is the incessant encroachmcnts, the petty
little acts Of insolcncc that CALLING
A number Of incidents have recently occurred which
have directed public attention to the bo5an car
nuisance. Few people have any notion OF the
dsgraceful behavior OF the strcctcar companies al
most without exception, toward the public OF New
York They are all making loads OF money. Nearly
all of them have watcred their stock and ssned bond
on bond 10 the enrichment OF their managers, on the
shallowcst kind Of prctences, hcapng up enormous
debts and yet paying annual dividends Of from 10
per cent cheating the city all the while out Of IT'S
legitimate taxes l make this charge advisedly and
on the figures which have been at pains get.
They show a scandaous condition Of affairs The
strcet-car companies Of NevYork the city to-day
in accrued taxes, which they have failed to pay.
more than 81 200 oO0 Just think OF that 1t Is true the
city officials have been much to blame for permitting
things get rto such condition. but that does not ex
cusc the companies. They have simply cheated the city
and thai is all there is to it. considerable part Of
these debts are now outlswed and had not been for
Judge Henry F. Lscombc who, as Corporation Counsel,
Instituted whole lot Of s1s the money due,
should probably never have got penny OF II. As II
is out of the enormous sum OF Sl.6le,2li S. which
represents that have accrued during the last
twenty years, the city has as yet collected only
S316,754 50. little more VII probably be secured,
but nothing like the great gum to which the public
treasury entitled. The largest single obligation IS
against the Third Avenue Company, which owes
$780,, l52 so, and from which not penny has as yet
been obtained full list OF these debts, together
with the payments that have been received upon
them is worth looking at in detail. It IS given here
with, copied from the Official records in the Con
troer's office: