The evening world., 1893-12-07

quoting the same section and putting
the very opposite construction upon itH
WIN he explain why It ~ that the law
department Of this city has one law for
the signal system 10 prevent a contract
from being awarded to u successful com
petitor. and another law for every other
pHtentCc or contractor VIII he say
Why, under these very opinions. h"
allows the CITY 10 drop behind every
other city In the country that he insists
on policemen leayinE their posts IN,
the streets; that he gives opportunities
for the commission OF murders and all
sorts of crime? WIN h" explain even.
where IL the politics or II?
II might be n difficult matter to get
at the many opinions which Mr.. clark
has written in his time. but there is one
can see for himself 1t can T." found In
the testimony taken before the fass"tt
investigating Committee. and is num-
bercd Exhibit -, page 2.552.
1t ~ on the same question concern
Ing the purchase Of patented supplies,
under the very section which In the
opinion above set forth. he says can
only be purchased after the Board OF
Estimate and Apportionment has pre-
scribcd the conditions. This purchase.
however, had been made by the Fire
Department. not the Police department.
and no obnoxious Iierzog signal system
was at stake. Read this:
SEW YORK. March ~. 1890.
Lew Department. Once Of the Counsel to the cor-
tOfntlDn.
The Honorable Thee W. Myers. Comptroller
sir. | have received your letter Of the ith
Inst. inciosins afvrr,itencr's Of thu Fire Depart
mont fgf %propnsal for furnishing rubber lined fire
hose, Maltese Cross brand. aisp Eureka nre-hOsc
brand. You also asked whether, In view Of the
| provisions NJ section 50 Of the Consolidation net.
such articles can lawfully be purchased without
conditions having FIRST been prescribed by the
Board OF Estimst" and Apportionment to secure
ton Of Consolidation net to which you refer pro-
Nides especially to patent pavrm"nts and tho re-
pairs thereof similar Inquiries have been Rl-
dressed to the Law Department on prior occa.
siOns. and II has uniformly been held by my
predecessors hat the conditions prescribed In the
section named apply only to the purchase and
repairing Of patented and do not In.
eluio the purchase Of Other patented articles,
such ms the hose In question. The following.
among others are the opinions to which | refer:
l. 10 Finance Department, Jan. %. 1857 Jan.
70. 1873 ~. In relation 10 the purch use Of %pitented
IRE hydrants,
2. To the Commissioners NJ Public. Works. Nov.
30. 1871. In relation to patented ventilators.
3. To the Department NJ Charities, Fen. ). 1891.
In relation to patent valves and traps supplied
to the new Insane asylum.
: To the FIRE department. Jan. %. 1873. in
.. To the Board Of Etucation. July %, 1881.
In relation to patented furniture and copyrighted
1t vii! he observed that one of the foregoing
opinions relates TO the purchase Of patent hos,
precedent for the purr hdsc nov proposed.
am not disposed to depart from the interprota.
tion OF the section In which my predecessors
INV l'iiN 'hh'u ! I wv
you that the lids IN question may be received
and the contract awarded without invoking the
action Of the Board Of Estimate and AppOrti0n.
ment. Yours respectfully.
MILAN H. CLARK.
Counsel to the Corporation.
by comparison u the date of the above
opinions 1t will he foun6 that the las
one was written long before he iniorset
Beekman's first view of the signal sys
TENS defeat. MIR. clark might say tina
he was even " ong on the opinion las'
quoted, but cvcu that lOophoie Is no
left for his escape. Since his opinion or
the signal-systcm question he has writer
others, holding the same Interpretation
of the law as that set forth In the opinion
regarding Fire Department supplies.
1t WIS when these two opinions were
shown to Commissioner McClave that the
Evening World" reporter:
opinions, but what are Se to do? Th
Corporation Council is the legal adviser OF
the Police Board, and We must taxi tn,
law from him"
1t may be interesting to state here
that Mr.. Clark has positively refused t
hear the Herzog side of the story. HI
has been written to "A dozen times II
vain. He has delayed explaining ever
what the Board of Police should do unde
the circumstances. He has practically
dead.ocked everything, even refusing /,
answer letters addressed to him.
Here IL the concluding paragraph of
letter written by T.. Benedict HcrzCR
Feb. 20, 1891, requesting Corporation
Counsel Clark to grant him "A hearing:
This opportunity becomes all the NOR