The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-01-29
OVERRIDING THE CHARTER
NO PRINTED LISTS or DEPARTMENT
EMPLOYEES Al RE0UIRED BY Law.

Ntntut0ry BrovtBtOne COmnlctcly Sol ASIA
There IL No Why of Finding III
Changes In Pc sons or In Sniaries-Tan
many District Lenders Don't Liko II
Section 1923 Of the. New York city char,e
explicitly provides that there shall he pub
lished in the ON Record. in the month Of Jan
uAry OF each year. n list OF all suburdinates EN-
ployed In any department teSceat laboreral
with their salaries and residences 10y stree
numbers" and that all changes in such sub
ordinntes or salaries shall be published with.
IN one week after they are made. II is the
duty Of all heads OF dopn rtments TO furnish &c
the person appointed 90 supervise the pnbli-
cation OF the Citv RerOrl everything required
20 be published therein. This is not a new
law, but In other form has been mon tho stat
ute books for many years AMI its adoption
was intended TO put an end TO the practice OF
maintaining sinecurcs of which the general
public had no knowledge and 10 prevent the
employment in the official service OF individ-
uals disqualified by non-residencc. by tho
holding OF some other post or by a criminal
conviction in New York courts from securing
che salary surreptitiously. It was designed.
too. to enable every taxpaver TO know what
persons were on the list Of officials in New
York. how much was paid as compcnsation to
each, and what was the character OF the ser
vice supposed to he rendered.
Every year IN JanuarT-usually on the last
day OF January. unless II fell on a Sunday
this list was published. but since the present
city administration has been In Office the law
has been evaded for reasons which will APP
pear later on.
On the 18th OF january. 1893. a partial list
OF city employees made its appearance In the
Otv Record. ACCOMPANIED with the ~explana-
zion following:
Schedules of all persons not within q department.
employed under the city Government. tho designa-
ton OF their Offices and cmployments respectively.
and tho salaries and compensation fixed for each as
required by section 8. chapter 52l, of the Laws OF
1880.
This was not a list OF all subordlnates en-
ploYed in any department Except laborersr'
and u was only a partial list OF some en- ployees.
chiefly teachers In the grammar schools. and.
moreover. 1t gave in no case the address of
nny.one all addresses by street numbers' or
otherwise being omitted. But such as 1t was.
it was the only list of the kind which appeared
in 1893 In even part conformity with the stat
ute. and the explanation given for its made
Quacy was that in consequence Of the changes
inciden: to the consolidation OF other boroughs
with New YORK. the subdivision Of duties in
newly created departments. and the partial
organization OF some bureaus. it was imprac-
ticable at that ii mo to publish n complete list.
In the year intervening various city DEPART.
employees has be- fixed and graded, the APP
propriations for such payment have, been
without amendment. but on Saturday last the
Citu. Record contained, again only n partial list
Of city employees. with the following eXplana-
ton:
Schedule OF names OF persons not in a department
employed under the city Government. printed as ro-
ouired by tho charter.
The list began with the name Of the Mayor
OF New York; who is not "a subordinate in any
department. and 1t containeJ some OF the city |
employees. but only n small fraction Of the |
humber. and in no case did it give, as the char
ployee. 1t was defective and misleading in
other RESPECTS. too. containing, for instance.
Of Augustus W. Peters. who died some weeks
ago ;nmitting from the list of, Municipal Courts
I stine nis9 Ghsir rns S" "f the S' B %siSh o IL Ip1sFh III
tricts tho names Of Mr.. Hart and Nj" Scott.
men has recently been asked to audit. and ig-
noripg. BY y OMISSION the chief public depart
fbs s5srsm snt the %; RWg nter g"ntrv Of tb MiFbh SSa the
Departmen1t OF sewers. and those d RraafTs; Ths
generally In which political appointments are.
Some e~xplana tions OF the apparent diare-
ea Std Of the charter provision have been made
ton 1873 Of the charter, wa, not, known to
those having charge, Of the official list. An
SthSr Vas ,os t Tia f i; you'd Gald,l be an eSG,G1siys under,
full. But such e ;planation i without force in
linz q bt the so6 51Ss thf tb, th ss GjtE E b,s ba is pub b
year. and tina. To " space y ta Ike "F by such a ill., TG,s
cured by the omis sion Of other department re-
ports. The real explanation OF the matter.
sideliGht on 2 phase OF CITY politics
which is not universally ~kpowp.,.
For many years in New York It has been an
political law that where a vacancy
erises In any subordinate position not filed
GFiCt TO which the TeBiRnpI or rnmnVal official
was credited" IN other words. II three in
SpeItnrS in thu D,snaptment of Public Works.
ment of Highways, MS il now is, died. We're re-
moved we're proI' otsd. resiEned. or BECAME
1lled from the Assembly districts in which
the former inrum hents claimed residence.
by street numiher;' made it easy for any APP
plicant for q political Job TO possess himself
The Responsibility Of the district leaders for
Rostins 1t was Glep Gha liked uun ,..,..
In New York and Brooklyn have been
generally with posts Of political Inn
OF bureaus, nd. in many cases. in very
many cases, accord ne to political gossip. they
SoId t tRe @n al aes' IF D asan @s er in th.ir to T I1ras
subordinates OF, 10 make such changes
Tor personal rather than political reasons, oTto
mands Of other district leaders.
By not publishing the residences OF the in
eumbents. a year ago in the Nty Record OF
Jan. 10, the Ta'aIo!5s made by. removal dur
Ing tho whole OF last wear could not be appor-
tioned to districts. and the omission OF tho
pames OF addresses this year, in Saturdays
OttU HecOrd makes mpracticahle the e~nfOrc4-
ment OF any CLAIM. for recognition based upon
divisions, 1t serves, moreover, to dis !
Eulse the extent TO which since Jan the sal-
aries have been raised in the various city de-
partments. the process 81 such increase going
By stead ". and entailing now obligations
which will not appear in complete form until
he making up Of The next budget. ~ many
assertion Is freely made that this or thnt dis
lFinG 'la dIaprimlnAlal nUaiDgt' In favor NJ
districts in the matter OF appointments
md In the character Of the places to which
Iuch appointments have been made. but hereto
IL has not been possible to substantiate
Iuch a claim in the absence Of the publication
Df a list conforming to the requirements Of the {
..tatute. a part, of. the New York charter. A
|urther ground of grievance among many To- I
pal aspirants for political office in New York, I
Brooklyn, Queens and Richmond Is based
Der OF "hold-overs." political responsibility for 4
whose retention. on grounds ether than noli-
hes. II Is impossible 10 fix in default Of a list '
no w the districts to which they are cred J
Tho question OF patronage" seems INK civ