The evening times., 1898-10-04

Commissioner of Accounts Hertle, whom
i have known since | was boy and in
! whom | have absolute confidence. He has.
after months of diligent investigation and
! examination of tens of thousands of war
| rants, made a report TO me today, which
| leads me TO believe that the old DEPART
ment of public works was entirely honey
| combed with fraud, and, as the present
| mayor of the city of New York, ii is
my intention to break up this combina-
| ton if l drive guilty people to the peni-
tentiary to do it,
Gives Emphatic Orders.
II want you TO take this report and l
! want you TO pursue the matter TO the
end, and / think there is enough evil
| dence there to make some people VINO
now stand high in the community dis
appear behind the grated bars of the
| State penitentiary. / turn this report
| into your hands, and also the special re-
ports. and desire YOU TO investigate this
matter at once. and take such steps in
the matter as the evidence which may
| come TO you justifes. | want you to
pursue the guilty parties until justice is
meted out, and this you must do. wheth-
! er they We're a part Of the past adminiS-
! tration or are OF the present administra-
! ton"
| Col. Gardiner promptly assured the
! mayor that he would take action. He
said: when / was offered the nominal
tiOn of district attorney | pledged my
self to administer the office in the inter
est of the people, and in the interest Of
good government. | don't care who the
party may be, if | find he has defrauded
This beloved city of ours. his political
association will have nothing to do with
it, will pursue him to the grand jury.
/ The district attorneys office will do its
fun duty in the premises. / will care
fully examine these entire papers, and
give my undivided attention TO the
matter"
Books CarelessIy Kept.
The report starts with the administra-
tion of William BrookfieId and ends with
the regime of Gen. Charles II. T. Coils.
1t intimates that there We're large unex-
pended balances of appropriations for va
rious purposes, and while the books
showed the amount TO be Ss.577.3s3. the
actual sum was only S60SS.Si7 In other
words the department books showed So
2S9,04i more than they should. The com
misSioners of accounts state that the
books and records of the department dur
ing 1883, 1896 and 1891 were carelessly
kept, full of inaccuracies and omissions
many not fully written up: in fact, were
ia SlNll Il NDlid!liBll llldl Only DS the most
persistent scrutiny could any accurate
information be obtained from them
More serious, however. are the state
mentS in relation TO asphalt pavement
contracts. We will simply refer" the
accountants say, ITO the practice of let
ting these contracts in the past to a ia
vorite few by imposing such restrictions
into the specifications which make II i'm
possible for others than those connected
,l.1
and which we believe no one, unless he
were pecuniarily interested. would allow
TO exist in any legitimate business.
We have collected such evidence as
will. we believe, clearly show that New
York city has been paying in the past
three years about 81 per square yard more
than the same companies charged for the
same work for the same number of years
maintenance in several large adjacent
cities
Awful Prices for Asphalt.
"As in the past three years over LOJ0Ol0
square yards of sheet asphalt have been
laid, if the same amount were laid during
your administration reduction of 81 per
square yard would save for the city not
less than 81, 900, 600 as result of such rec
concentrations.
If as We claim, the city has been pay
ing about 81 per square yard more than
other adjacent large cities to some of the
same companies. We Calm that the past
Reform administration has paid out in
its three years not less than $1,000 00) Ito
put il mildly eXtrayagantly and waste
fully.
This also accounts for the conclusion
arrived at by Mayor Strong and Deputy
Commissioner OF Public Works Adelberl
II. Steele early in the year 1895. after a
discussion of The asphalt paving problem
between them and others at Mayor
Strong's residence. when they expressed
the final opinion that the city was pay
ing too much for asphalt paving. We
think it strange. having this knowledge.
that nothing was done to remedy this
condition, but that rather a higher aver
age price per square yard was paid in
1897
That part of the report which seemed
especially to arouse the Indignation of the
mayor related to the adroit manner in
which the Old public works officials choked
off competition. After referring to the
fact that one company had control it is
charged:
This company has allowed, from time
to time. according to the persistency of
the competition, other companies to come
in for a small share of the work, but MAX
ing them pay tribute, in compelling them
to purchase their crude asphalt from the
company which AmZi Barbour controls as
president of the Trinidad Asphalt Com
pany, and who succeeded in convincing
some of the officials of che department
of public works that Pitch Lake Trinidad
was the only standard of asphalt which
would secure good navements, and sue
ceeded. in 1892, in having the clause in
serted into the specifications
Other Shortcomings shown.
The remainder of the commissioners of
accounts report and criticisms of methods
had to do with coal supplied to and used
by the three pumping stations of the
Croton Aqueduct, under the bureau of the
chief engineer, Mr.. w. G.. Birdsall, during
the years 1895. 1886 and 1897, in which"
say the commissioners, I'VE show a short
age of about 3,iS2 tons, and amounting in
value to about $1,000 in the three years,
from which it is manifest that some sys.
tenn should at once be adopted whereby
a complete check can be kept of the coal
delivered and amount used by the CITY,"
John c. Graham, superintendent of re-
pairs and supplies, is blamed for permit
ting the delivery of 400 tons more coal
fra ~ tlaz1