New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-10-14
JOBBERY ~ BROOKLYN.

When the present administration came INTO
power in Brooklyn some people hoped that the
jobbcry and crookcdness Of the Democratic Ring
would be cffectually exposed that the authors
Of il might not only he required 10 make rcsti-
tuition to the dcfrauded taxpayers. but also be
punished as they deserve through the processes
of the criminal courts. With a Democratic
District-Attorney in office nothing has yet been
done in this direction. though In point ~ fact
il was not necessary 10 wait for change Of
administration 10 head of Ubiquitous bar
gain made in secret and almost consummatcd
before the public knew anything about H. We
refer 10 the purchase Of the Long Island Water
Supply Companys rights and property. which
was prevented by the prompt action 81 pub
licspiritcd citizen and an energetic lawyer The
success won In that case ought To encourage the
taxpayers 10 do whatever lies in their power
toward bringing the iobbcrs and corruptonsts
first 10 account and then TO punishment That
an opportunity for vigorous and aggressive
action is now opened is made plain by the
revelations which we publish this morning re
garding the construction Of the Soldiers and
Sailors Memorial Arch.
The arch WINS built under the direction II a
commission made up exclusively Of Democrats.
BY law il was composed Of the Mayor, the Pres
ident Of the Board OF Aldermen and the chair
man Of the Grand Armys Memorial Committee
The men responsible for the arch therefore. are
Alfred C. Chaplin, David A. Body. John Me-
Carly. Michael ]. Coffcy. Thomas T. Rutan.
James d. Bell and Michael J. Cummings. An
examination Of the scanty records kept by the
commission brings to light many curious and
suggestive things. 1t Is not to be supposed that
Of frau mo hhr,,
But the indirect evidences are numerous. What
n suspicious circumstance 1t is that. although
the commission was formed in 1855. II was not
until February %. 1893. that book was pro
cured for recording the minutes Of It's proceed
ings. This Is unbusinessllke to the point Of
absurdty; but II IS more than that. II sug
gcsts that when the minutes were finally writ
ten in the book they were fixed up In such
Il way as 10 conceal everything that II was
deemed prudent 10 keep hidden. No other in
ference Is possible when the minutes studied
with care. The record Is far from complete
Important papers are mentioned. but copies
Of them are given. The letting Of contracts
appears 10 have been carried on I'm the most
happy go-lucky fashion. II was not deemed
necessary 70 give work TO the lowest bidders
Exiravagant sums were paid for cheap and
worthless material. The account ~ payments
mdc by the commission is so obscure that 1t
Is impossible to determine how much The sever
al parts Of the work cost.
Still the minutes themselves do disclose some
most important facts. apart from the palpablc
'gvc away in the entry which shows that
the minuieb book was not provided until five
years after the commission began its work
We learn. for example, that high-priced in
spccors were employed at the ciys cost, al
though II was the architects duty 10 do the
work Of inspection We find that for eleven
months in 1891 and 1892 not a single meeting
Of the commission was held; and when at length
ii did meet again il at once set about spending
a large sum nccdlessly in the direction Of certain
columns several rods away from the arch un
der the prctence that they were "adjuncts' of
that structure On these columns nearly 500
600 was thrown away. for the Columns arc M
tcrly useless and form no part of the arch
Furthermore. it is positively known that they
could be duplicated for $4,000 or less so that
a profit OF al least 100000 w2s made by some
body in this transaction. There is also clear
evidence Of waste Of the peoples money in GER
tain granite posts in bronze chain and bronze
gates. As nearly as can be figured, the granite
posts were paid for al the rate Of 500 apiece
whereas they could be procured to-day for $50
each: the bronze chain Is already falling to
pieces; and tho bronze and iron gates which
cost more than 500 each, cannot possibly be
worth over 500 apiece
II much as this Is shown the surface
who can doubt that there was vast amount
of crooked work covered up, The cost Of the
arch and the absurd 'adjuncts" thus far has
been $3J0.00O. raised by taxation and the issue
Of city bonds II Is the popular belief I'm Brook
Ign that at least 100000 was mistiscd. one Of
the men officially connected with the enterprise
is said to have made 100000 out Of IT, Is it
not the clear duty Of the people Of Brooklyn
to have all the facts regarding the arch TN
covered? The incomplete minute-book discoses
enough to indicate that the full truth would be