New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-10-27
NO WORK FOR SIX OF THEM.
USELESS CLERKS IN THE REGISTERS OFFICE.
HOW TAMMANY HALL PLUMBERS THE CITY tt
STRENGTHEN ITSELF.

HOW TAMMANY HALL PLUMBERS THE CITY TO
STRENGTHEN ITSELF.
The distribution of offices and the assessment
Of the holders of them is of course Tammany's
chief source of power Every salary paid by the
city government adds strength to the striped
iniquity," and the multiplication of places is
therefore a favOrte trick of the heads of depart
ments. most shameless instance of the employ
ment of men whose services are not in the least
needed is to be found in the Registers Office The
Fassett Committee found this place to be carried
on in most wasteful manner. and the turning
of the light Of day on the ease witfwhich employees
earned their salaries has not worked the result
naturally to be expected
Register Fitzgerald sent his estimate for 1890
to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment on
September 10, and it was Professionally allowed
on October 90. Among the employees for whom
he asked pay were search clerk at $500 q
gear. and six searchers, at $4,000 year EACH a
total of S13,50O. One man could easily do every
bit of this work. and the city is therefore called
upon to pay six salaries which should be saved.
That the retaining of seven to attend to
the searching is nothing more than plundering
the city to strengthen Tammany Hall is proved
by official figures
The Register every month files report of his
receipts in the Controllers Office. Those for the
nine months of this year show that he received
from January 1 TO September 80 S5,544 81 for
regular searches, and 81 ABS Id for extra fees,
which are paid to expedite searches. The pay
ment for searching is 15 cents for each year
searched against The clerks are allowed fifteen
DAYS within which to make their returns, and If
the person who applies for the information Ia
in a hurry he may obtain an early return by
paying one-half of the regular fee a bonus.
The total fees for the nine months, therefore,
were So, 9s3 O5. In the spring months this busi-
ness is heavier than in any other time OF the
year. so that the receipts for the entire year from
this branch win probably be less than $4,000.
Yet seven men are wanted for this work, which is
Just about half as much as one nan has done
in the same time
The title guarantee companies have greatly
cut into the income of the Registers office for
making searches In 1886 the receipts from this
source in one month were often greater than
they will be for the whole of 1891. At present
about the only persons who have these searches
made at the Registers Office are lawyers who
are engaged in partition or foreclosure suits.
Even in such cases lawyers often 20 to the title
guarantee companies In 1886 Register John
Reilly employed sixteen searches one of whom
did almost twice as much work as has been or
will be done by all the searchers this year. This
fact is proved by the figures Of report filed
by Reilly with the Secretary of State Reilly
paid his searchers half the tees received for the
work done by each of them, and in 1886 one
of them earned SS,5Sl SO, that is, 7o63, O6 was
paid into the Office for the work done by him
alone. In that year several men MADE more
searches than the record for the present year
will show. -.
This record, given by the Tammany men them
selves is most convincing preof that places are
made for no other purpose than to add to Tam,
many Halls power. The taxpayers are called
upon to hand over money to further poItcal
organization There is a prctence of economy
in the Office but this useless drain shows tnat
the Registers office is still Tammany heirloom
and is conducted with an eye single 10 the ad-
yancement OF the interests of the WlgWam