The sun., 1895-04-17
Rapid Transit ami tho Legislature.

Rapid Transit AMI tho Legislature.
II we were nct,intcd by any feeling to-
ward the Rapid Transit Commissioners
other than personal esteem, and regret con-
cerning their scheme so fraught with grave
and damaging consequences to Our people,
we could do them no greater ultimate
harm than to help on their Kaleidoscope
and costly muddiing, in the hope to have
their inconsiderate and impossible plans
carried to the utmost limit. Should the
millions of our taxpayers be sunk in the
abyss of dire and dismal failure, and should
their public condemnation be at all com
mensurate with the folly and its conse-
quences, nothing would be left to be de-
sired by the most rapaclous hostility.
But we have been controlled by more i'm
portant considerations In the first place,
we are uncompromisingly opposed to AL
bany usurpation in our local affairs, in vio-
lation of the essential rights of Democratic
Republican communities. To our city thus
invaded it Is n tyrannical and degrading as
sumption. The principle of home rule is at
the basis of public liberty. The millions to
be expended in this instance are the money
of our people, and yet our Albany masters
say that they shall not expend it by their
own chosen agents. but by individuals
thrust upon them by the Legislature.
Next, the expenditure of fifty mil
lions in the existing condition of
the citys finances. absorbing the debt
creating power to the utmost constitutional
limit for this one purpose, to the exclusion
of all other public works, appeared to us to
be excessively unwise and reckless Then the
obstinate determination of the Commission
ers to risk this enormous sum on an under
ground railway, in view of the universal ex-
perience proving that mode of city travel
to be everywhere n pecuniary failure, APP
pears blindly unreasonable. The failure
in other cities Of that manner of transit
was supplemented by our own recent expert
ence, when the former Commissioners found
themselves unable to obtain q single re-
sponsible bid for an underground road under
the most favorable circumstances in compc-
tition with the elevated and cable lines.
We knew, too from careful examination
of the subject, that the proposed tunnel road
could not be built, in view of the engineering
obstacles and difficulties, for fifty millions,
or near that sum; and we felt that the pros
ecution of the scheme, in the manner pro-
posed, would be loss of the entire capital.
with nothing but worthless excavation to
show for it. We desired to secure for our
people the best means of rapid transit, not
the worst. with all that makes the surface
of the earth agreeable, and not an unnat-
ural, cavernous tunnel, with it's unwhole-
some, depressing, and repelling incidents.
We are not prepared to exchange the open
sky, the light of day, the genial sunshine,
and the living panorama for any subway
substitute. Moreover, the recent develop
ment of the city's financial condition has
awakened public alarm at the further prose-
cutlon of this wild and wasteful scheme
The controversy between Mayor STRONG and
Comptroller FITCH has resulted in demon
strGting the inability of the city to provide
the fifty millions involved.
But the Commissioners arc seeking to ey-
tend the limit of fifty millions by an ad-
dition of five millions. They now ask the
Legislature to remove the barrier of ex-
penditurc and to open the door, us we fore
told would be the case, to all future require
men:s of the wild undertaking. The city is
limited in its debt-crcating ability to ten
per cent. on the assessed valuation of its
real estate. This assessed valuation is ST.
613,O57,735, consequently the city cannot
incur an Indebtedness beyond Sl61 ,3O5, 735.
1t appears from both the Mayor and Comp
troiler's communications that the net
funded debt on Jan. /, 1895, was
S1O4 ,O7S, ,S2O.51. This left n margin for
further bonding Of about fifty-seven mil
lions Next we have to consider an ap-
proxinate statement of the city's liabilities
on Jan. l, 1895, for public works and i'm
provements, the expense of which is pay
able out of the proceeds of stock and
bonds, not yet issued, which was est-
mated at a further sum of S10,S79, $50
The improvements involved in these So
called liabilities are in round numbers
twenty millions. They are meritorious. and
have been authorized by the Legislature
with the approval of the authorities. The
Board of Estimate has already authorized
bonds tobe issued for 81, ,O2O, .sS thereof
No reason has been advanced why the whole
amount should not be put out AS speci-
men, there is included therein $1,000. 200
for the land required for the Jerome Park
reservoir. The Commissioners of Appraisal
were appointed some time ago, and their
duty only involves the estimate of the value
OF land held by few owners. The re-
port, therefore, may be presented any day,
and the amount adjUdged would be pay
able in four months thereafter. Heducting
the amount of these " liabilities" the net
amount of debt that can be created under
the constitutional limit would be about
thirty-seven millions. Where are the un-
derground fifty millions to come from?
But this does not tell the whole story.
The present Legislature has authorized i'm
provements which, when executed. will call
for ten millions additional, including five
millions for school improvements and three
millions for small parks, and it is not
through yet with its bountiful additions to
the debt. The boulevard on the side of the
Harlem River, for which plans are prepar-
ing, is estimated anywhere up to fifteen
millions. The money for the plans has
been voted by the Board OF Estimate
and Apportionment. We must also remem-
ber the edeyelopmen Mt and imDroyement of the