The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-03-23
VAN WICK MAKES CHARGES.
CIV -ork's Mayer Censures His Pre-
deccssuTS.

New York, March 22.-Mayor Van Wyck
declared to a visiting delegation yester-
day that Mayor Strong's administration
had wasted the city's money in eXtrava-
CANT improvements. and that Mayor
Wurster's administration in Brooklyn
had been corrupt.
Former Mayor Strong in reply charged
that he had been forced to provide for
years of Tammany neglect. He justified
his expenditures and asserted thai the
city. instead of being near the debt limit,
was not within $1G0,0O0G00 of it on 'he
basis of an assessment on the actual
value OF property. He said that the cry
of economy had been raised by Mayor
Van Wyck purely for political effect.
Former Mayor Wurster would not be
lieve that Mayor Van Wyck had made a
wholesale charge of corruption against
his administration, and promised to reply
If he found that the mayor had done so.
Mayor Van Wyck's arraignment of his
predecessors was delivered to commit
tee from the Seventh District Tammany
organization and the West Side Public
Improvement Association which called
upon him to urge provision for a new
park and more Fairgrounds for children
of the west side below Fifty-ninth street.
In reply, the Mayor told them to go 20
L
. his appointees to do their duty, he said,
/ and he refused to ask them to do any.
thing, as he might want to remove them
and did not desire to place himself under
any obligation to them.
Il do not see what we can do without
money" he continued, and l do not see
where we are going to get the money.
We have just had an administration in
| this city which was extrayagant, and one
! in Brooklyn which was absolutely cor
| rupt. The city has almost reached its
debt limit, and things viii have to re-
main as they are for some time, until we
get Strengthened out.
Now take the act of the last admin
istration in deciding to tear down the res
ervoir at Forty-second Street and giving
the site for library purposes. I am op.
posed TO that kind Of policy. While
would raze the reservoir. l would leve
the site from Sixth Avenue to Fifth Ave
nue. and turn 1t all into a park.
Col. Strong said when told of Mayor
. Van Wyck's last attack: THAT we spent
more money than should have been re
quired, is true. Large expenditure!
were made necessary by years of neg
| lect. Everything in the city which WI.
under the care of the city's officers haC
been permitted to go to rack and ruin
Grand juries had declared month afte
month that the Tombs prison and tn
buildings on the islands were a disgrace
to civilization. They were, and we ar
: ranged for new buildings and improve
ments in old ones.
Il found on January l. 1895 that ther
were 81, 600 children in the city for WHOM
! there we're no school accommodations
e and that the normal annual increase .
f children of school age was 16 900. W
were required to assume the responsible
ity of compelling an army of children I
/, grow up in ignorance. or that of eXpend
n ing Si2,O000O0 for new schoolhouses. w
did not dodge the responsibility of spend
o ing the money.
e This talk about having reached tn
n debt limit is all poppycock. The city
not within gunshot of its debt limit. An
+: one who can read figures knows that
T is not. We are not within $lO0 900 {
our debt limit, on real valuation of re;
. and personal property. 1t is kind of III
@ mayor to charge me with extravagano
D only. while he charges my friend. Wur:
: ter. of Brooklyn with corruption