The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-06-30


business, called upon his honor, the
| mayor, and referring to the street
sprinkling assessments as published in
the journal asked the mayor whether
in his opinion it would be necessary to
advertise such assessments in the daily
papers. The mayor made no definite
| reply, but chose to ask the opinion of
the corporation counsel.
This opinion was immediately handed
to the city clerk by the mayor, and ac-
cepted by both officials as final. The
city clerk soon after proceeded to make
certain arrangements with Mr., Ryder,
the business manager of the Leader,
and with the Republikaner, for pub
| fishing the advertisement, as was sub
sequently done. The Morning News
| properly assumed from previous Gus
| tom and general order that it had the
| equivalent of an order to publish.
At this point in the transaction an
error in Judgment occurred; in view of
the unexpected combination of circum-
stances existing at this juncture some
| effort should have been made to allow
| the city to comply with the technical
| necessity of the law with the least pos
| sible expense. We are aware that the
force of rule and custom may be urged
| in favor of the contrary conclusion, and
we admit that it is difficult to point out
| just what if anything, could have been
| accomplished. Nevertheless, it is our
| Judgment that an attempt should have
| been made to minimize the cost The
| leverage of business competition and
rivalry is we'll understood, especially as
| to large contracts, and should have
| been applied. 1t should have been re-
membered that some rules are more
| honored in the breach, and the lengths
| to which the city was carried in rela-
ton to the cost and the appropriation
should have received more careful at
| tention. This lapse in Watchfulness
was not for many ulterior or improper
motive whatever. 1t was not colluson
or jobbery. 1t was simply and solely
mistake, owing in part to the wholly
! improper system in force regarding the
municipal advertising. While we do
not excuse it we temper our criticism
with that moderation which is becom-
| ing In every one--excepting in those
! who never have erred.
| The advertisements, however, were
published three times in each of the
three papers without any special ar
rangement as to price applying to this
particular instance, and without any
| specific order being given to the Morn
ing News by the city government, and
the following bills have been rendered
the city by the three papers which did
| the work:
From the Leader, dated April
26 1897 .......................$1.S9 81. 1896. 90
From the News dated April q.
loJi 1,ftu.Uu
From the Republikaner, dated
April 26, 1897 NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 1,996.O0
1882 90
We remind your honorable body that
these bills have never been acted upon
| by the board of finance as such in their
regular examination of charges against
the city, but have remained In abey-
ance subject to the results of the in
vestigation which are now placed be-
fore you.
1t was claimed by the business man
ayers of the three papers above named
that the total approximate cost to these
papers for publishing these advertise
ments was as follows:
| To the Leader. Observation-Disclosures. $500
To the Morning News. $500
To the Repubikaner. $225
| 1t will thus be seen that the total of
the bills sent to the city, as above quot
ed, is entirely out Of proportion to the
cost of the work done and If paid,
would bestow upon the newspapers an
excessive profit, which is not to be per-
| mitted, In view of the inherent i'm
| propriety of the amount of these bills,
! and Notwithstanding the near expira-
ton of our term of office, we place our
selves on record by saying that we
would never, as members of the board
of finance, approve their payment as
rendered, unless compelled to do so by
| superior authority. We are warranted
in adding that 1t Is not probable that
the full amount of these bills could be
| recovered from the city by suit. We
remark also that by provision in the
new city charter future advertisements
of street sprinkling assessments will be
unnecessary.
Gentlemen of the court of common
connective are aware that having
thus stated our conclusions upon the
facts, as called for by your resolution,
our duty is Finished yet in view Of
the unsual public interest excited by
this inquiry, we ask your indulgence in
few general observations in relation
thereto.
1t has been said that the board of
finance lis divided upon partisan lines,
and it is true. 1t was impossible to
take the first step in progress other
wise. Almost at the outset the major
ty met a riotous and senseless obstruc-
tion on the part of the minority, which
soon brought forth fruit after its kind.
and which seemed intended to discred-
it and destroy the very investigation
for which it had clamored so loudly.
Your signers-the republican majori-
ty--have not been insensible to the
criticism which has been directed upon
them. whether in the form of cheap
satire or wilful misrepresentation, but
earnestly submit that they have not
abused their power of numbers by US
ing it for the exclusion of any evidence
in the least pertinent to the question at
issue Condemned on the one hand for
establishing form of court procedure
to keep the inquiry within bounds, and
called to order on the other hand for
permitting a trivial deviation from the
strict rules of legal practice, we soon
concluded that the convictions of our
honorable censors depended less upon
their devotion to abstract law than up
on certain other circumstances.
la hno ,,,fr nfy