New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-12-03
IS THIS THE SCHEMEf

An explonation is in order from Mayor Van
Wick His sudden zeal for new bridges, par
t;culary for q new bridge between the Navy
Yard and the present Brooklyn Bridge was at
first attributed merely TO his desire to anticipate
nnv legislative movement for brldge-bulding
secure work for Tammany contractors and leave
no money for library or any other enterprise
rot under Tammany control. But II appears.
according to The New-York Mail and E1-
press" that there Is another African hicoen IN
the woodpile. and It would be interesting 70
learn how much about him Mr.. Van Wyck
Lnew when he planned his fourth bridge. Bad
as the Tammany government Is, we hesitate 10
believe that our Mayor would deliberately plan
10 help a lot Of Tammany ranchlse-grabbers
bleed the city but If he Is not arranging 10
throw away the peoples money by locating
bridge so that the city will be compelled 10 pay
,oundIy 10 his political friends for the privilege.
then there Is reason To fear that he Is an I'M
commonly easy victim Of some financial sharp
ers Mayor Van Wycll should come to the de-
fence of his business capacity or of his honesty
with some explanation Of the location Of his
proposed bridge As to enable corporation 10
play holdup game on the city treasury.
II Will be remembered that The stolen Demo
cratic Legislature Of 1892 gave away some
bridge franchises 10 company which pretended
that II wanted TO spend money for bridges over
which the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad should
have access 20 Manhattan. But the Brooklyn
Elevated Railroad never gained access to Man
haitian in that way. Instead. 1t gObbled up the
present Bridge. which was built with the peO-
pies money, and at the same time took tribute
from the people when they wanted to build the
bridge TO Williamsburg which the company
promised TO construct. but did not.
This infamous scheme of giving away n fran
chise for the sake of buying it back involved
two distinct clutches at the public purse. One
has already been made with success. The bill
Of 1892 gave a franchise from Broadway,
Brooklyn. and another from between the Navy
Yard and Brdge-st. near the present Bridge
Neither franchise has been made use OF by the
company When the East River Bridge Com
mission started to build the second bridge II
found the franchise grabbers blocking its way
and mad 10 pay 100000 to the owners Of the
Broadway franchise 10 remove the dog in thu
mangcr which would not Use It's right to build I
bridge nor let the city build one. Now the same
game is apparently to be worked by the same
company which owns franchise for bridge
where the Mayor proposes that the city shal
erect one. II might be thought. inasmuch as
bridge at this point was planned by the Brook
Iyp Elevated Railroad for It's own purposes an(
would benefit Il exclusively, that the railroad OF
the allied bridge company might build 1t. OF
that II the city was going to spend It's money tc
benefit the railroad the gift might be thank
fully accepted, but people who think SO do mo-
understand franchise grabbing or Tammany
science Of government. The approved plan II
TO make the city pay for bridge for the bene
At Of private parties, and then pay the private
parties for the privilege Of benefting them.
But who arc the private parties to whom thu