Evening star., 1898-10-04
GROSS FRAUDS CHARGED
Report to Mayor of New York's Commission.
ers of Accounts
Taxpayers Muicted $1,OO0,OOO b.
Asphalt Paving COmpany-RepOrt
Said to BE a Bid for Votes.

John c. Hertle and James Owen, commits
soners of accounts of the city of New
York, made a report to Mayor Van Wyck
yesterday charging carelessuess, eXtrava
gance and fraud in the department of pub
lie works during the administration of
Mayor Strong.
The Tribune characterizes the report and
the subsequent order Of the present mayor
to run down the pei petrators of the frauds
and to prosecute them as "a Tammany bid
for votes"
The World Of today SAYS:
The general report of the commissioners
of accounts is very voluminous and more or
less general in its character. The specific
detailed charges are in the special reports
upon which District Attorney Gardiner will
seek to have former officials indicted. The
latter were not made public.
Attacks StrOnE's Administration.
In the beginning the commlss: :oners call
attention to the fact that during the three
years of the Strong administration, 1895.
1886 and 1897, the department of public
works expended 0,401 $3.50. SO. The report
says that the books and records of the de-
partment of public works during these
three Years were Carelessly kept full of
A'dccul dcieS ana many omissions and many
not fully written up.
Another subject of which Won are fully
aware, say the commissioners to Mayor
Van Wyck, lis the attempt made to con
ceai violations of the law by making out
vouchers and entries in books more than n
year after the work was completed. a re-
port Of which We send to you under a sep
arate cover"
After reviewing the difficulties encounter
ed and shortness of the time at their dis
posal, which the commissioners saw pre-
vented them from correcting and eliminat-
ing all of the abuses which the former ad-
mlhlstratlon allowed to creep into the de-
partment, they take up the evil of purchas-
ing, without public letting, of supplies
costing less than $1,000.
Cost of Supplies Exorbitant.
Former Deputy Commissioner Adelbert II
Steele, who served under Commissioner
Cclhs, testified that the seven bureaus
bcught supplies and that the prices for
identical articles varied greatly The re-
pert continues:
1t has been tie custom in MANY in
starces, for the official head of the depart
n,ent wanting supplies for less than $1,000
to suggest in writing on the requisition or
by pinning thereon a slip of paper contain
ing the name of the party from whom to
purchase the same.
In nearly all cases where invitations
ny icttef 70 quote prices on supplies in
quantities OF less than 81, $50 were made
the practice prevailed of usually selecting
the same person. and as many instances
nave come 10 our notice during our in
Vestlgauon OF exorbitant prices having
been paid ii would, to be mild appear as
If great favoritism was shown. and we in
tend later On to make q special report on
this subject
The same practice of evading the law
also prevailed by giving out reuufsitions
n hn n~fS,v
after it was done, in amounts of less than
$1,000 instead of making them one contract
Of over $1,000, which would necessitate ad-
vertising for bids
Stupendous Asphalt Frauds.
The subject of asphalt paving is then
taken up. The commissioners say:
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 main
tenance in several large adjacent cities"
The commissioners say they can show
the existence of a combine beyond all
doubt, as the entire work has been con-
trolled by one company. From time to
time it has permitted other companies to
come In for share of work. but making
them pay tribute in compelling them to
purchase crude asphalt of the concern
which Amzi Barber controls as president
of the Trinidad Asphalt Company. The re-
port goes on.
He succeeded in convincing some of the
officials of the department of public works
that Pitch Lake Trinidad was the only
standard of asphalt which would insure
&c cd pavements, and succeeded in 1892 in
having this clause inserted in the specifica-
ticnS, which read as follows.
The asphalt to be equal in quality to
that mined from Pitch Lake, in the Island
of Trinidad and later, evidently finding
other companies who were able to furnish
from other localities ON asphalt as good in
quality as that mined from the Pitch Lake
Of Trinidad, the clause was again changed
to read: The asphalt must be that mined
frcm the Pitch Lake OF Trinidad thus as
sisting the Trinidad Asphalt Company and
the Barber Asphalt Paving Company to
absolutely stifie competition.
Pitch Lake Asphalt the Standard.
This clause was allowed to remain TIL
about the time the California Asphalt Com
psny, which claims to obtain its asphalt
from the Alcatrax mines of California, came
into existence, of which Henry B. Towle
was treasurer and who is the son of the
then chief engineer Of the department of
public works, and from whose office all
changes in specifications emanated, when
the clause in the specifications was again
changed to must be equal to that mined
from the Pitch Lake on the Island of Trim
idad.'
Another clause in the specifications
which has excluded all competition is the
one which reads, and exacts from the bid
der, as follows:
"A statement of the location and the
capacity On square yards per day) OF the
works or factory where the paving material
is to be prepared"
The report points out that this would
require an intending bidder to expend, be-
fore he had any assurance Of being able
to get work. at least $4,000. and 1t says
the intent of the clause is SO plain that 1t
needs no further comment.