The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-19
truth ABOUT SPEEDWAY.
wuom BELONG TEE ORRp1F AND
~ BLAME ron r.

,.,r Commissioner HcNNttlaus AftsP tho
LEV or streus-s Cehsmissionerr, OIstwn
~ A.. C-rsdt-Recerds show that Ne De-
.,,s. most or the Biaras ara ne Creait.
=, Vas something like two months ago that
Ls a great flourish Of trumpets. the then
WIN ssronc's Park Board, Of which the Hon.
r~ns, Mcmillan was the President, made
t~aoismo,ion that tho Harlem River Speed
" was practically completed. Some few
~. NJ horses, fast and otherwise. actually
80. oyer II on q certain day, appointed for
A., nurpose. That day the Hon Mr.. MoMil-
~ had himself interviewed. He wanted 10 Be
tain that tho public should have . proper ap-
e..CIation of the good points Of the drive, and
!. ,noupht that no one could tell about them
Ds,,o so well as himself. But . further and
roro particular reason why Mr.. MCMILLAN
-sr,.d himself interviewed was TO make GER
,.,n that the public should know that the work
,hch had dragged along through the admins
cations of two previous Park Boards, had real
r. been completed only through the. horcu-
Ian efforts OF the reform board.
This was quite like q member Of ex-Mayor
stronc's Cabinet. There are few Of the public
improvements for which the city has paid or
riI nay, no matter whom they were begun or
,hen they will be completed. all the credit for
~hicb has not been claimed by the Strong
standardization. OF course, everybody who
tnows ANYTHING about municipal affairs knows
,ha. IL was in ex-Mayor Gilroy's administrat
Nan that the Speedway, whose legal name is the
public Driveway. was begun and that the Park
Board which he appointed was entirely re-
.nonsible for tho beginning Of the work and for
occurring such Legislation rs was necessary TO
make q beginning possible. Mr.. Mcmillan.
IN his interviews, didn't say much abont the
herinning of the work. What he wal ~partiou-
1.t r,a to rArrnIattnn Thn
rstorm Park Board, he insisted, had taken up
and finished q work with which their predeces-
scrs had only dallied. Now. as q matter Of
fact. the Mcmillan board did not complete the
Speedway at all. The Hon. Samuel may have
thought 1t did. but that was only because his
natural stubbornness OF disposition makes him
intellectt ally cross-eyed.
The fact is that Mr.. Mcmillan happened to
be President of the Park Board when tho upper
have BEEN Completed by the Hon. samuel him.
from, High Bridge north to pykeman street.
street on the south to High Bridge. The work
on this section has not been completed. and
m ment n Of tho he Sonsaitins engineer, Prot. William
SE.Ss5 u Su n cf TSs9sis.. U1 @Ssn n; H RssIi 5 ss5.
because use what little work, yet remained to b
COulpltttu Ou thO hIb "ouid " lAhibhgu
In o week. or two, he really meant that the
work was half done, and that the remainder
Wf But for Ss tS@c compie Gonn Of half "a tho d",e work Mr..
Mcmillan was not in the least to blame. He
thinks he is, which may be comforting to him.
Is not entitled to even that distinction. Col.
+. ". R. Cruger is the man to whom that credit
s RslGHf Board rhs wa sr Col. t Genser. Shorty saS a aseGf he
became q Park Commissioners he concluded that
the best way in which to find out in what oondi;
ft0n thA Snanhvynv thnn was vnQ tn On nm and
look at it; He did SO. He found that in the
roadbed Of the upper section there were many
found that . part Of tho retaining wan on the
. nIumbseGpio Of other defects: After his inspec.
tion Col; Cruger recommended to his colleagues
IN tho board boz onn that 2 GO aInmins G tbs expert Iers EN-:
condition Of things which he found, and who
why Col. Cruser asked for the appointment Of
this commission was because. the contractors,
SssuiSdilnHsS,s G nesp saa Sa%'' tho 4; upper aenss' ana %do lover over
%sections, were clamoring for their money, which
tho Comptroller had refused to pay over to
!; !: +; CToss and REoi: Bur; was sppoinssaI a
and dD rspor,ea Il IN the the T ioile% %hgsn FFe Sb%nsr!.' hoy ThsS;
focts and also told the board that, while the
contractors might be morally responsible for
. sPSu sS5ss': sin sa'E yhs s0 %oll NOT %hi be p SaS o .sss.,Y f. e,
defects had been done with the permission Of
T. the board which preceded the Csugsr board;
mot legally withhold tho contractors pay.
After that report Prof. Burr, at the request
sulting engineer Of the work and eomplete It as
It should be completed. Prof. Burr went to
"a x,. II II FsSsSp ~ ,I 1Se ssorI The M.a fr e. thing ! las.I he
Ing wallo the river side of the first section, and
Thieh hsd given way, to DO torn out altogether;
as the original plans specified, the notifications
Of the plans, according to Prof. Burr, having
s sssp 4 sSsssssid By py th Nj F.r hsf bSar sh' fo pIsss 81
l86 feet south Of High Bridge and running 500
rect further south, was put up.
Tho roedbed at the southern end Of tho nrst
: :tsts1 . Of az The drive was changed; From l65th
The original plans called for q roadbed with q
SdrS , surface which was not gravel. Il was
t tSse Of t snsh h e roSsd fsin' P Ppof, su sTs sss shs s tRo
tioG to B put in and that covered with gravel.
are two subways, through which persons may
pass from one side OF the drive 10 the other.
was badly cracked in the root, the cracks result.
Ing because the foundations OF the subway were
unstable, This was fixed as i should be.
lions for the " subwways we're changed, be.
cause they called for the same kind OF founda-
lion: Then to I make ' sar su tSne t be see sR hosi sf Be-
DO more ~csyeins along the upper section, the
sntfe roodbed was marked off into squares, 2
teet b inches on q side, and In these squares
iron RODS were sunk as far as possible. Wherever
weakhesses in the foundation Of the roadbed
m wsGs found, excavation within the square was
made down TO rock bottom and the road built
up IN such, a manncr that there can be no more
e"Tsiihs along the second section.
clns Is, briefly stated, the work that Col.
.Iuger cnu'ed TO he done on the Speedway and
viii winch the Hon. Samuel Mcmillan had no
WMyreto 40 Than somebody In the Fiji Islands.
mhe9 me history Of the Drive is looked up It
tTnn pc seen, therefore, that the reform Park
H. Is not emitted to the credit Of completing
III SosE, and. further, that tho only thing for
t ,bo, H2n' Samuel Mcmillan Is for the statement
was only half done.
vI in connection with tho history Of the Speed
ny some facts and figures recently furnished to
me- ~ present Park Board by Prof. Burr, will DO
m nu, man named Sawards recently
unt letter OF inquiry to the board in reference
il w n i"tal cost Of tho work and the time when
".rrpl. H,lrr, and he sent the following reply:
soc,u WONG shy that tho total cost of the second
ttbbe ~ OF the Harlem River Driveway, added to
~ ~ totai progress Inmates to date on the work