Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-12-29
STUFFED THE PAX RoLL& ),
Ex-Compsroller wcshercll Tells How
Chicago Has Becn Robbed.

CHIcAoo. Dec. 2a-Expert Account
ant kingvill's report OF 60 70000 de-
felt In the city's accounts may be al
exaggerstion and misleading. rs charged
by x-ComptroIlsr Wetherell and Alder
man Madden, chairman OF the finance
committee. but IL is unmistakably true
that the city has run bohind. and that
IL 10 only just emerging from an era Of
reckless waste and prolific extravaganza
bordering on criminality. Mr.. Wether-
ell admits that the city government has
run behind between s60o.000 and $780,
COO during the year 1923. How much OF
q deficit was inherited from the previous
administration he does rot pretend to
say. II Kingwill is right the vacuous
inheritance must have Appropriated
s2000,00Q Alderman Madden estimates
the dcficit at the present time at 81, 200-
0c0. IL he be right there must have
been . shortage OF from 100000 to
100000 at tho beginning Of the current
calendar year.
The story has been current about the
city hall Tor months that the city was
being looted for political purposes, and
that IL had been systematically robbed
Of large sums Tor 2 great many montha
asked today What he knew about the
story Of plumber. After explaining at
some length how the city could not be
robbed he declared:
but there Ia one way the taxpayers
have been robbcdin wholesale manner.
and that is by means OF stuffed payrolls.
The payrolls are made up by the fore
men OF street gangs and approved and
run through IN the usual form. The
city treasurer puts up the money 10 Gu
veiopes to correspond with the names,
addresses and amounts enumerated on
the payroll. and drives the paywagon
through the city paying Cd the
men, The names are called of.
. man responds and 10 given he en-
veiopes Sometimes the foreman iden-
tides the men and sometimes he doesn't
Tho city treasurer has no possible way
Of knowing whether any one Of the men
he pays Ia entitled TO dollar OF city
money or whether he ever did a stroke
OF work. A man simply answers to the
name "Pat Moloney." John Mcclure"
William Smith" gets his envelope and
walks away. The recipient does not
have to give his address. and half the
time not even his full name. For all
/ know and for al tho city treasurer
knows half Of the tens OF thous-
sands OF names on the street pay
rolls during the last year may have
been bogus The method Of making up
the payroils and paying them invited
dishonesty and am not surprised that
il was practiced. Only a few days ago
4 man hunted me up to say that his con
had been drawing pay from the city for
year without doing anything 10 en-
title him TO the remuneration and that
he had turned the money over to third
party. It would be easy To have q
thousand bogus names on the payrolis,
and even more in busy seasons
That's where some OF the money we
are short OF went. l tried to stop the
leaks. but was powerless. My protests
were unavailing. The city has been RUIZ
at high pressurs hong time and II was
inevitable that it should run behind"
There IL at present on deposit 20 the
credit OF City Treasurer Bransfield. all
told, f3.2032s992 in cold cash. There is
no danger Of defaulting on any portion
OF interest on bonds or OF failure 10 take
mp maturing bonded indebtedness. Chi
cago city bonds bearing per cent sell
close TO par aud the assets back OF them
are ample for a bonded indcb tedncss
i've times rs large as exista
The publication OF tho temporary
furry over in the city hall may have an
effect outside, however, and TO quiet ap-
professions about tho city's solvency 10
may be said that Chicagos bonded debt
property valuation than that of any
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