New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-04-04

money would be needed. would subject The city TO
enormous sums of interest unnecessarily. and would
deserve indictment and punishment. y large por-
ton OF the bonds authorized but unissued on De
cember 81 1894. had their origin in laws passed or
resolutions adopted long prior to the beginning Oh
my term of office. and Of them can be traced
back more than ten years.
Ex-Controiler Myers, In an interview when III"
in tho morning papers. states this very clearly lie
says 1T is not tho custom and Il is not neceSsa!
TO Issue any bonds in payment for work until that
work has been actually completed. 1t would be
simply absurd for any municipal government 10 IS
bonds and assume the payment Of Interest on
those bonds foi work which might never De COM
pietcl."
The treatment in the Mayors message OF the
other statements made by me Is even more re-
markabe. on March o. 1895. | received from the
Mayor the following communication: III II Is not
too inconvenient to YOU, or your department.
would like to know the total amount authorized DE
Law 20 be expended and payable out o: bonds Tor
which the city is liable in the prosecution OF works
and improvements and the sum TO be expended on
each being fixed and determined. as well as me
definite or approximate cost OF work ana improve
ments. such Mulberry Bend and other PARK
and street Improvements, and for which bonds were
not directly issued by either the Board Of Estimate
and Apportionmcr; or Sinking Fund, on December
81. 1894"
While the latter part of this request involved IN
vestigation into matters not properly within Inc
scope of the Finance Department. endeaVoreu 10
the best of my ability to reply to the somewhat
indeterminate inquiry contained in the commuhca-
ton and on March A. 1895 transmitted an approx
mate statement of the city's liabilities on Jahur!
J. 1895, for public works and improvements 'he cA
pense Of which payable out OF the procee's
and bonds and Tor which stocks ana bonds had not
Mt that time been issued. The estimated amounts
included in this statement aggregated N'S'S'oVoo'
SAYS 1T is A DANGEROUS MISTAKE.
II Is Of course. NANTES: by the most careless
examination that the items included IN my state
ment of January IS are substantially lncluded !"
my estimate of March Il, notwithstanding WHICH,
in the message to the Board Oh Aldermen wv"
of these amounts are included the result peihs
tina, the public has been led to believe that THESE
Two totals should be added together, making an
aggregate of over S26 oOooO The numerous Sdng the
citys securities show how dangerous 10 ere in
credit such mis bh; a large AMOUNT Of what may
be called the citys liability Will taIi upon
the ADMINISTRATION of 1885, So far from TINS ofls
of the items of expense included IN me ben6s
during The three years OF Mayor Strongs admin admin
straCn Ana hcs Is GS Ignay created during
present administration VII IN laGt nay 0nt Of this
SIS go So 66OOO is for two items OF worR ay T
the Aqueduc the jerome Ram tSan
likely that the close OF the century VIII H. see nc shs
two great works still ur S pres Of the ciys
t i'e dn5, Statement is wholly to mslead the
minds of the citizens n r S F 10 Snort T step fur
Their TO include the $5oeOco OF oonus lor Ybicb the
CITY is committed and adding this amount TO b Sne
rest of the citys future indeoteueSS Ti. nx coed
ng Ia nar ce9t of its assessed valuation OF real
estate no further issue Of , 6on sa %onstuticn
Conclusion permit me to Sdd n2 or Ih hs pubc
ear which does not INCLUDE re a @t @Tesd the
ed
our financial system During the yeaTs Sk t nge Fund
from sources other than interests on investments
held by the Sinking Fund DURING InS e of the
Sinkng Fund were SS179 sl6 60 In other words the
latter henn issued se during that period
without Increasing the citys net lndepd'sgesS ;bt
the actual revenues of the sinking Fund during ih's
administration will approximate sSoW,o o,nt an" nF new
bonds which may be issued annually IN the iie w
future without Increasing p rnr ne hf the f2uT la
bilities of the city. estimated at apou, $780,
much or WIZ ny Vears loses much Of the terror which
it assumed in the Mayors n essage 10 Inc hoofa 0i
under the P5Ssd 70 c on eT dt Tf
excent with the consent of the Mayor When the
tax levy OF 1895 is made up it Will be easy LOT any
0 Oil Us be 70 the proper time to discuss It. may have
something more to say tomorrow.
Controller Fitch also sent the following letter
to The Tribune:
To the Editor Of The Tribune .
Sir: In your editorial this morning on me May4 }
message YOU were kind enough TO suggest mat
You Would be willing to listen to an explanation
from me in regard TO what you ana the Mayor
call financial jugglery in the issue OF city bones.
mont is concerned the Mayor is wholly mistaken.
The unissued bonds were not issued on December
Al 1891 simply because the work for which they
We're TO pay was not yet done, and for no other
reason whatsoever. The amount authorized but
unissued is about the same the Beginning OF eaen
wear and was almost much on December 81,
is93 Uhe day before came into office, as IT was
on December g. 1894. There was nothing unusual
in the failure to issue in 1894 the bonds which The
Tribune and the Mayor allege were withheld from
issue for a purpose. , -.
This statement Of mine establishes an issue OF
fact. Let me propose TO you a way In which we
might settle it: $50
Ex-Mayor Hewitt, ex-Controler Green and ex-
Controller Myers are anti-Tammany Democrats
who know ali about the cys finances and have
the confidence OF everybody. Henry L. Rowland.
Joel B. Erhardt and Salem II: Wales are Republi-
cans who have been at the head OF city depart
ments and enjoy the respect of every citizen. II
YOU can get these gentlemen to examine into the
Question I will give 81. 900 to The Tribune Fresh
Air Fund II any three OF them decide that there
has been anything, not only illegal. but even i'm
proper unusual. in the issue or non-lssue or
bonds since l came into office
ASHBEL L. FITCH, Controller.