New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-03-30
MARKEr SoANDAL INTERSECTIONS.

Every day brings new disclosure Of dishon-
esty or shiftlessness, or both, in the manage
ment Of the markets. The probe has not yet
gone very deep, but the new Superintendent
already considers himself justified in saying
that the whole system Of bookkeeping is rot
ten. There is a pretty we'll supported belief
that not only the bookkeeping but the whole
administration was rotten. Thursdays prin-
cipal discoveries were that more of the books
were missing, and that the collection Of fees
from wagons at GanseVoort Market had been
made in such manner as 10 SUCCESS daily
loss to the city of from 800 TO S125. The
revelation was made that, whereas the fee from
every wagon is % cents night, and the num-
Der of wagons at the market seldom falls be-
low 800, and often reaches 500, the largest
sum reported by the collector is $50, and that
there are some returns Of only 81 so. The
collectors accounts are said to be in ga very
tangled condition" phrase which is certainly
most unhappily suggestive II not methodically
exact. The tickets, moreover, which the farm
ers purchase, or are supposed to purchase, for
rs cents apiece, and to turn in to the
collector every morning in payment for their
market privileges. have been kept in an I'M
locked drawer where they were accessible to
everybody, and where they were constantly
holding out the most hospitable inducements
TO every chance rascal to help himself
The Superintendent remarked on Thursday
that his only wonder was that the city had re-
ceived as much money as it was actually able to
acknowledge, considering the way in which It's
market business had been managed. This Is,
IN fha 4oa ~
case. Clyde wondered at his own moderation.
and it is probably in a similar spirit that some
OF our plunderers now regard their past de-
liDquencies. II return Of 81 so could pass
SO long without comment or observation, why
should anybody have taken the trouble TO hand
in $50 on single dsyP Works of supereroga.
ton in our municipal government are unex-
pected, and scarcely applicable
The facts in The market scandal are coming
to the, light in greater abundance than there
was reason to hope for, and there now seems
TO be chance that tolerahly complete ex-
posure win be made. But In any case the in
yestgation has already revealed enough petty
swindhng, indifference TO public interests, in
competent supervision and general rascality 20
set people to thinking seriously about the rest
q the municipal departments. On the face
OF things there is no reason to suppose that
other branches Of the city government may not
be a. this moment IN the same condition as the
Market Bureau Indeed, there is good reason
to believe that some Of them are. EVERYBODY
whose occupation makes him familiar with the
facts knows that certain functionsries have to
be bribed to do their duty. They do not call
Il bribery perhaps nobody does. A smaIl &C.
acknowledgements Of anticipated courtesy and ex-
petition b a phrase which sounds better and
Il Is probably under some such gnise that bone
factions Of that character are given and re-
ceived. Bat IN whatsoever polite phiaseology
hey arc described they are symptomatic II
misccncepHon, neglect and decay. we should
be surprised 70 know that there was & single