New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-10-19
THE PROGRESS OF A CRIME
HOW THE BROOKLYN RING PLANNED 10
ROB THE CITY.
scANDALoUs HISTORY OF THE PURCHASE OF rHa


of Brooklyn has challenged the Democratic ring vlsch
for six years has ruled and robbed Brooklyn and Kim
County 10 defend Itself the notorious attenp,
of the city officials put 81 100000 into the pocket
Of ring favoftes, by the Illegal purchase OF the Iona
Island Water supply Company; the frauds % tAs
county farm at st. Jonland, which have called form
indictments and repeated presentments by gaaa
jures gross favortism In the collection Of tax arra
through wrlts OF certorarl sent out by favored e,
poratons without real opposition on tho part Of aa
officials; street paving with discarded blocks from
yew York streets and the prostitution OF the Street
Cleaning Department to the enrichment Of member
~ tine Board Of Aldermen through dummy con
tractor.
The Democratic party has been asked to meet the,.
issues and 1t dared not The ring deserted the leader
who had been their faithful friend and In refusing "a
allow Mayor Chaplin to take up the gage Of batus
thrown down by william Zeger they made confession
NJ their inability TO for their acts. Never
theless they cannot avoid these issues by making NJ
Chapin a scapegOat Henry a. Meyer, the Repubk
can candidate for Mayor, declares that the Zczer IN
dlctments are his platform and calls upon David
Boody and the ring leaders, who, as 10 Tas said IN
the Democratic convention d" know that he Is vita
them heart and hand7 10 plead 10 the indictnent
The ring cannot escape by the nomination OF another
tool however respectable.
In spite OF the vocferOus shouting OF the ring tlas
fine water scandal IS not ISSUE that question nus,
be met Twelve judges have said that 1t was won
and now the verdict Of the people must follow the t.
clsion Of the courts.
The issues Of fact made by Mr.. Zlegler were never
answered The city officials. prefcTring 10 be tod
that their action Illegal rather than that 1t Wa
fraudulent succeeded I'm the main In combining the At
tentIon of the courts 10 the legal side Of the cas-
Justice Bartlett I'm his decision Of January :, however
did not hesitate to say that Mr. Zlegler made on, a
nrlma facle case OF a proposed expenditure vha
would he yasteful IN the sense In which the tern
waste Is used In The statute. THIS case the defend
ants have met the present motion principally b.
aNdavits tending 70 show that the INTENDED purchase
al the price agreed upon, Will result TO the Advantage
of the city. Assuming such TO be the fact It IN 10
wise affects the question whether the property cOga
not have been bought for a sum very much lower aaa
the amount stipulated TO be paid
II is TO be hoped that now the people OF Brooklyn
viii become familiar with the facts about the LOtg
Island Water supply Company whose whole hst1.
according tn the Democratic Brooklyn Eagle" IA
been story of fraud. From the criminal ar
notation" says "The Eagle" OF the forged ~
fraudulent provision for purchase In TIE law lotl
down 70 the present time, who has had 70 dzl
with It has come out we'll The facts shoah M
he forgotten to-day, when the Democratic party
taking final action in the making Of ticket and .
platform for an election in which It's RepubAea
onemv homes for success because Of scandals and
complications which have followed In law ana Io&
tics the progress Of a crime" They Will not b hr
gotten.
the town of New-LOts the Twenty-slX "An
Brooklyn was passed, the Long Island Water supply
Company was doing small business In that district
II had been organized in 1881 with charter extend
ing TO 1881 1t had a contract to supply water
the town Into the Annexation Act was smussiea
a. provision excluding the city from supplying Naef
in the Twenty-sixth Ward, thus giving 10 the con-
pany a monopoly. The law also authorized tle a"ll-
sition by the city Of the company by purchase "
right OF eminent domain within two years. THIS e1'
cited such indignation in Brooklyn that al the heA'
election Walter L. Livingston and Thomas b. kuun'
tho candidates for Controller and Auditor had TO pledge
themselves not to make the purchase. IL VIII De
remembered that Rutan one OF The men "ho uhoe'
the dietaton of the ring, last winter, violated inc
pledge and signed the contract.
In 1859 samuel Hatton was the principal o~ns'
~ the company which was capitalized at S@ooNVo'
and had $500 900 OF bonds outstanding 1heSe OoHU'
represented no value in addition to the stock sO~
~ the bonds were issued in payment for the pHnS
and for the rest little no money was pau
Edward Freel the contractor, ana tooA @l-''''s
of paper for the work. lie Is reported 10 nave Sas
that he would have been glad OF SoOooo IN caSh w
the lob In 1855, when seeking 10 nave i's asses
ment reduced, the company valued It's property Al
|
lions in the way Of mains, Mayor ON"PHl 0oNi@''
to pay 81 $50 900 for.
| samuel Hatton tried hard TO sell the property %
the city at par, but was met by Mayor ChaPh Au'
his fellow officials with an absolute refusal u No
rotiate and was told that the city had no use ~
the concern Early in the summer oil 1852 Ss
tematic persecution Of the owners OF the COMPANY
WAS begun by the men WHO desired 10 get Con.iU y
| the stock and sell it to the city. John r. Adaa'
| WAS Commissioner of City Works. Every possible "
stacIe WAS nut by his department in the way Of uS
oneratlon OF the works. Permits were Teiused
open the streets to make connections Win PHsN
houses and men were arrested on the mereSt pfe~A
Of having disobeyed ordinances ana were taAeu INV
police courts. .,... "a
All tins time Cyrus E. Staples, who once po'es -
the owner Of the stock, but Is no" ness tor
been but the dgurehead who carried on ousn0I vss
gang OF politicians WHO ua'eS n cS,t h,r me stock
was making Offers OF Az OF % Celi'S 10 Wnrks De
These operations of staples ana inc Oly ".HSn Mr.
aton and The most OF hs friend, sold at 20 eehs,
on the dollar staples cHaIeed IldV -. ling no
brokerage for making the sale, thele uieu soma
pretence that lie was not Ssths, a. 80 SGack Al
Of tie old holders would nos sen thelr ssISr,s al
effort made 10 buy odt tne s. i Tr HAT b
Felix Campbell, and he frankly toiu l'c al a., tr.pA
was not gong 10 sell at 20 ana nave ISH' ,s'Tt-
their money OF the city treasury ii It IL ines
ened TO assess his stock ana he tou lneh '' lie .ul
did he would expose their who!e seheHie' ~
holds his shares. . comics Tor
The stock was transferred I'm blank to STA "a
$4,000 All documentary trace Of the ownership Ss
thus lost but the witnesses 10 the conferences - vsy
politicians I'm staples ONCE could not DS He nss
with and the real owners OF the STOCK uee'b M,
fec1iy we'll known to MIR. Zlegler before ne piOusH'
suit. - ,.oi,ded he
enrichment of the bOndhOldcT>, politicians 'e,une
making the city guarantee their bonds thus ,Ia1
what they paid tle or nothing for worm hyse s ior
| par. In contemplation OF TINS stear VIC P".,, the
paying interest on the bonds was changer tSs peOr
| Mercantile Trust Company of New lorA 20 'H1 nsm-s
nIe,S Trust Company which is controlled % pvH I'm.
cratic politicians There they could cut Their couP
| and no one would be the wiser; 49, boss NJ the
1 In Febrary $50 soon after the puIchaso , ~.
stock by the gang the MAJ or, Auditor ana Ne
tlee officials whom the gang Rad maze, oP,i.b tbsse
uationS for ihe purchase of the plant "nen 80 -
same officials had told llattOn short tlnle eook
CITY had no use for. For eleven months uc ,hr %
lions were carried on In secret, ana on DSSeyv Was
ls9O the contract signed bN when t no ~ ,hare
! 10 pay 81 ,25O,OOO tor the concern, or S'V'
! plus Ohe bonded debt. sod at ssh
In 1850 the whole property was aSsesseu RAJ i.s
go and the president of the company sGnocsmber ~
stock had merely nominal value; Cn tSst fhe real