New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-02-14
WHAT BROOKLYN TALKS OF.
The WATER SCANDAL RECALLED-BRlDOE
AFFAIRS-OTHER TIMELY TOPICS.

water question but il is evident that he has no IN
entOn Of duplicating his predecessors baa
OF course he Is IN position &c profit by the Diuhuor
That undid Mr.. Chaplin; but anyhow ME- b'ou'
mind IS east in different mould and he IS inclined u
OPEN straightforward proceedings In preference u
ANYTHING that ,ovor, OF government under blanket
MAYOR Bcody's purpose IL the bill he has had prepared
is entirely right. In point Of water supply al '"c
residents Of the CITY ought to stand On inc s""''
footing. TO permit ward o be ae:'eu O' PRIV 40
company which enjoys a monopoly WITHIN It's ul''r''"
Is n wrong that calls for remedy. The objection TO
the plan concocted by Mayor Chaplin HtiIc over !"
year ago was not to the object aimed At but To Ne
n,ipcnlc and method involved secret bargain WIS
made for the purchase Of The Long Island Water supply
IOinpany's plant al an cNtHVaSaht Ndl"'''i'ii' ~
chance II leaked out. and one pobiIc-spfi'eu ''~o
was energetic enough to sue ont an lhJuh'uo" ''"'
bring the matter before the courts Ju'u'e h"'''-,
T., will bc remembered rendered decision that struck
,or IN the hearts of the conspraors. declaring that
IND cxnenditure OF the sum proposed for the poPcrN
ouyh. would be In the nature Of waste In the iesai
sense Tho question: however, was never ue'iu'u a.
10 It's merits. since the Gen,'al Term OF app'"' w
clsred that no authority Of law existed 10 HIRING INC
purchase on the part Of the city. But the smiFch
which Mayor Chapn's reputation had receiVed was
not thereby removed
Msyor Boody has conc about the requirement OF inc
vnter plant in a way that insures respect ana con
t0cQcp. II ]
HIS bill provides for the appointment by the supreme
Conrt of five commissioners 20 value the properly ana
fix the prlce which the city shall pay for It, the hhdihg
u the commissioners to be subject 10 review by the
Special Term Of the supreme Court. In case OIL lc
lection tbe hill provides for a rohcarng by the same
commissioners or the appointment OF lie" COM
mission which shall proceed in the same manner. Inc
decision of the special be reviewed on appe"
By the General Term bat the decision Of the ia''er
* 10 he final There seems to be no objection 10 uc
passage Of this measure Al the proceedings VIII Ue
open and above board. II viii not be dark lantern
affair The scheme proposed opens the way ioi
securing the plant and franchise OF the Na'eI'uppS
COMPANY in a satisfactory manner. ard When inc
people understand the matter they will In all prooa
bilty give it their approval
The Bridge Trustees were in a somewhat liberal mood
nj their last meeting In the first place. tNy S"'o"
an allowance of 5000 10 the heirs of the late
Engineer william II. Paine for moneys eXpehdeu DS
him in perfccting tie grip used on the Bridge cars
Mr. Paine never charged the Bridge ANYTHING
for his grip although he might very possibly nave re-
ceived handsome royalty for the use OF HIS p"e''
There is nothing out OF the way IN conpfhsauhs MS
family now for the amount actually eXpehdeo pE nm
ont of his own pocket. question mas Deeh id'9o0'
However as to the right OF the trustees 70 use for this
nurpoe the funds at their disposal and Controller
Myers ~ New York on this account voted against the
proposal The Bridge Trustees COUNSEL however ciiD
that such an expenditure IS valid Thet matter having
been disposed Of the trustees proceeded to confer upon
Alden s swan the Tax Collector of Brooklyn, VINO re-
signed from the Bridge when requested 10 DO so pS
Mayor Body in pursuance Of his p'lnciIIe Oh " one
thing at time pass the Bridge god for all
time No objection was raised this. In Itself ii IL
little thing: but in principle II is radically wrong or
wholly indefensble suppose that when MI straha-
han retired from the Bridge few years ago. ai'er Il
long and honorable connection With TIE ente'psc-sup
nose that at that time the trustees had voted % exempt
fom taxation for all time all of Mr. silanahnns prop
er,v IN Brooklyn! Would there have been. in PRINCE
pie any difference between tho two acts! Oh course IL
viii be said that the bridge trustees have no power
over taxation. Wei. then, suppose that the Boaru "a
Estimate or the Board Of Assessors. had RENTED All
taxes in the case say of Mayor Low mt the END OF MS
two terms of Office II will be difficult. imagine iof
the trustees who voted for Mr. Swans free brdFe pass
70 "draw the mystic line separating the actual thing
tlom the supposititious one
A handsome pamphlet called "The Astronomer
Handbook for the Year 1892 has been prepared by Tue
department OF astronomy of the Brooklyn INSTITUTE
Its purpose as forth in the preface Is 70 present.
in convenient and readily accessible form Information
about planets variable stars. mceo~. occutatonS ana
other celestial phenomena. with the hope That many
NAV be induced 20 undertake observations WHICH VIII
certainly prove 10 be Interesting - the Observers anu
cannot fail TO be valuable the department by giving
definite direction TO the eifots OF its members inc
little book is well adapted for the purpose ana Will oe
found full of interest Co.. AL amateur astronomers as
we'll as TO everybody who attracted b. the fascinating
srdv Of astronomy. There is full Information apout
,cl,psos morning and evening stars. times wah piaeA
are brightest occulta'lOns movements OF planets, e'o'
besides everything that is contained IN an or"i"''
almanac Interesting paragraphs appear a'o L Nv IL
,rc the Question of Venus's rotation JupeIs sa'ees'
the colors Of stars meteor showers the distances OF 'e
fixed stars ard other matters
The uptown movement which has been 90 iain''
In Fnton-st since the completion of the Briose a"u
more especially since the erection Of The elevated @
is beginning 70 make itself felt in The Eastern Du'
At least Mr.. Peters Of "The BrooIyn Times" mas
already decided TO purchase some properly hi'h
sozcn blocks from the river, doabt with the ihleh
ton Of removing his newspaper plant 10 that SIC M
,roner+y secured by him. between Rocbnng and Have
meyer sts. ard virtually on Broadway, viii proDapS
bo close 10 the terminus Of the new biieec' INC lo
r,nval Of The Times" from near the Eastern Disiict
ferries will correspond closely with the remoV" VI
the Eaclen ard The staudard-Union7 from near
ru,,o, Ferry Ia the vicinity OF the City Hall. "Ihe
rieso has long been situated the foot Of Broad
way and It's building is ono Of the landmarks In that
quarter
The accident on The cable railway IN Montague ST. was
rather disquieting. The wonder Is that good Zeal
moro damage was not done. The Montagucst. ihl
Is sleeper than many cable roads in this nclcOoT)cd
would have TO tackle if this system was generally
introduced hereabovt. The hill cause OF the
troubc-the chief cause. perhaps. Then coachnihn
Of q stubborn disposition got in the way. with malice
aforethought apparently, and compoled the grpman
10 drop the cable In order 10 prevent "a snash-up.
When the man attempted to rip again he failed,
for some reason Then the sole dependence Of the car
was ON the brakes II they Ind worked rs they ought
there would have been no trouble. For use on such
O hill, the cars should have been provided with
system OF brakes that could not get oat Of order
nil to work. There 70 have been grave over
sight on this point. There were only ak passengers
In the car at the time Of the If they had
had their wits about them. the wscst possible
would have been for each Of them 10 spring TO his
feet and seize strap each side OF the Even