New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-10-01
MILLIONS FOR TAMMANY.
PLANS OF THE DOCK BOARD.
FL II POSSIBILITIES FOR sIREWD WITWAM
FAVORITES.
THERE WILL BE CONTRACTS ALMOST WITHOUT
END, ACRES OF DREDGING AND MILES OF
EULL HEADs-EsTIMATEs OF THE COST
or THE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS.

There was no little comment yesterday in both
| business and political circles and in the social
clubs and uptown hotels upon the proceedings
which took place in the Board Of Sinking Fund
Commissioners at the Mayors office on Friday. The
questions considered. involving the approval oil
plans made by the Dock Board for building
numbers OF immense piers and long lines Of
| sea wall and buliheads on the Hudson ana
| Harlem river fronts, which will require the eX-
penditurc of great many millions Of dollars
attracted to the City Hall large throng oil
interested taxpayers and property ty-hoders When
| the meeting cndcd with a collision between the
Mayor and the Controller. caused by the la'-
ter's ntcrposition of his power of veto IN the
matter of the plans for improving the hudson
River between Charles and West Iwenty-thlrd
sts and the Mayor hotly criticised the Con
troller's action and gave notice OF purpose 10
have the Legislature relieve the Controller ol
his veto power the citizens who had asScmblei
in the Mayors Office separated TO discuss III o'her
places the peculiarites of the situation
There is widespread impression that the OPP
portunities for enrichment which the Dock de-
partmcnt plans may afford will not bc neglected
According to the estimates of the Dock Depart
mcnt's engineer. tho Charles and Twentythird SIS
proicct will cost only S61j0.0Oo. But 1t Is
notorious that public enterprises always cost much
in excess Of hs original estimates, some of them
several times more Hubert q. Ihompsons "s'l-
matcd cost of the nav Croton Aqueduct when IN"
work was projected was $4.ooo,ooo Ater ''e
construction was begun II went mp 10 Ho'o'"'''"'
Int before the aqucduct was inl-h"d th' PoP'
found that they had expended about H-o'ooo''oo
The commission. which, when Organized WIS 10
completc its work for S4.o0o,o" c"uh'lh" """'
il successors in Office have spent. mp to th" present
, h.s mazda outlays of the public funds aggresatinS
over S21,000,00O.
TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS At LEAST.
comn.,.r, c>nerts who have estimated tho coat
-, construc,inc tho waterfront improvements
whicb tbe ramrnnny officials sought to push
,b,ou,b IN. BOARD of Sinking Fund ComnlS-
sioner. On Friday. declare that the city VIII D.
ro,io,,oa of 500 600 600 az least before the work
/ il donc II the experience Of tho people IN '''c
case oC the now Croton Aqucduct be taken as a
criterion. tho approximate proportiona'c h4uIe
,or th. cost Of the Charles and Twenty-thir' SIS
.chcnc may bc placed AT S33,ooo.oo", rath'r '"a"
$50 100000.
,,hi.f Fnoinc.r Greene admitted that 1t would
tako tvclyc years to complete the proposed con-
struc,ion This would certainly allow IN" chi'i-
and lesser braves all the time needed 10 ra"c III
tho unols In a rrntcel and lcisurely way
Tho episode Of Friday has revived much IN
,erestinc gossip about Dock Commis'ioner \, -
Whites sudden transfer from police lus'l''S"P'
with ar annual salary Of $4,000 anc cieA' N"a''
! lcf, of mis- term, 10 his present thrcS year
Mac. AZ only 81, 900 year. ana me mo'''S
which led 70 what many are disposed 10 IT,
card A. a significant change. In" eN-l"S''o
,s an experienced contractor who has h'r'o-
fore hal relations with various city depart
mcn,s and few who know him hcil'N' uhi' Il
,he dock plans 60 through thcr" Will DE- mu,"
suffering among his near confidential H1'h'S
during tho next fcw winters, no matter no"
cold the weather may be IN Harlem.
MR. rmrLAS Is : snREwo OPERATOR
Commissioner Phelan's abilities a shrrwd
orcr or and manpna,or wcr" also discussed IN con-
nection with the expansive opportunities WIZ"
r,a, no cyprcted TO loom mp in the n"iehoor
hocd of thc Dock Department. Nj. ph'lan l.
ct.,.ited with havins been highly SUCCESSFUL Ill
,,s, Years In extensive dredging contracts IN
! which he has bccn interested. lie "a' asso
ca,ed with Savcn in the Panama Dredging
| Company. the profits Of which are unh't>'oo"
70 have been enormous. Slaven acqulreu d
large fortune The Commissioner Il prlsh''
thorou .hly ~elf-pos-rss"d young man, VINO On
ioys the utmost confidence OF his ir"hdS' 'S
I,,rialIy Of those who know MN oeS''
l'ron MIN dcvoved the delicate task oi pre-
.enting the plans OF the department
before the Sinking Fund Commissioners, ana all
acrccd that he performed the part he und"rtook
in mastery way. jimmy fh'Iah "dS "'>''
known TO become "rattcd.7 His calculations
never lead him aatray
\ nractical civil engineer Of long experience has
estimated that there Will he at least twelve
acres of dredging to be taken care Of between
/ Charles and Twcnty-thrd-st alone. lie had not
vct computcd the amount of this kind of work
which will be required for the many other dock
,lans laid out by the board, but those who are
conycr,ant with such affairs think that the scheme
alluded TO includes only "A small part OF the
DREDGING that il TO I've done. business man SAID
Yesterday that he not surprised AT the ton-
troller's remark at Fridays meeting about IN"
unlimited millions that the Tammany leaders
are getting ready to cXpend.
MIR. GRAMS FATHERS WATERFRONT PROPERTY
Commissioner J. Sergeant Cram is president OF
the Dock Board. and he sent an able letter to
the Sinking Fund Commission instead of APP
pclring in person to advocate the adoption oi
the plans submitted. President Grams delicacy
in the premises may have grown out of the
faci that his father Henry \. Cram. owns
large part Of the Harlem water front between
Cne.htindrcd thirty first and Onehundrcd-and-
thirty -nintl-st, which lies withlh 'hc area "iioh
th. cnguccrs of the Dock Department have III
cludcd i'm their schedule Of Improvement. II
was 10 this part of the series OF grand projects
10 which Controller Myers referred AT In" meet
inc when the plan OF building over 5000 feel
of bnlkhcad was being suggested The improve
ments suggested, he said. covered over mile
of the fiarIcm River front. but he oppo'rd them
on the ground that they would be beneficial only
Ia real estate owners and spculators. In"
elder Mr. Grams holdings wonld receive great
benefit from carrying out the department plans
but il could not for moment De supposed INA,
this circumstance would AZ all affect the Official
action Ct the president Of the Dock Board
p1rxKIT-r SOMETHING OF CONTRACTOR. TOO
The bill to authorize the gigantic exp"ndi-
lures which are proposed was pushed through
the legislature by Senator George W. Plunkltt
Mr. Pmnkit is n little under the weather AZ
prescnt. bnt he is rapidly recovering and ad-
vices generally agrcc that he will b, redy to
take hand in whatever Is going when his ser