New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-09-12
MR. MORGAN AND THE CANAL FRAUDS

The impossbty OF prosecuting the officials
resnonsible for the canal Improvement scandals
has not deferred Controller Morgan from his
dutv Of resisting the claims Of the benefciarles
of their malfcasance He evidently does not
look upon the Statute Of Limitations ms GER
ti6cate OF vindlcatlon for those whom II re-
leves from facing the bar Of criminal justice
He does not see in the management Of the
canal improvements merely an excessive
amount Of politics 10 be done away with as
an incident In the progress Of Civil Service
reform. but fraudulent attempt 10 despoil the
State Treasury. TO be resisted by state officers
with all their power. and to be surrendered to,
n at all ONLY under the cOmpulsiOn or me
highest courts. IT IS impossible to predict win
any degree Of confidence what court VIII Il"
with any case but certainly to the lay mlnu
the Controllers statement of the reasons
against the payment Of claims based on larger
quantities Of work than the contracts called TOT
is absolutely convincing both ms 10 law ana
morals His reasoning applies TO claims amount
ing 10 nearly 100000 for work ordered from
favored contractors by the former Superlntehn-
ent Of Public Works and the former state I'm
cIneer and Surveyor. Those Illegal orders may
not have been criminal II they were criminal
they are evidently outlawed; but nobody VINO
reads the Controllers statement Of the method
bv which these large bills for extras were run
M Will doubt that there was concerted AT
tempt TO defraud the State. nor deem himself
liar and sanderer for pushing home the respoh-
sibuty for II to the officials under whose pat
ronage It was made and holding them up MS
proper objects Of just public Indignation 10
use the words Of Messrs. Fox and Macfarane.
The Controllers function Is simply that OF a
financial officer. to scrutinze bills and REJECT
improper ones. not TO make himself an nstru-
ment of the criminal law. He started to find
out whether the contractors had as Governor
Roosevelt recently said. done their work III
certain cases with such slovenliness and with
"such Indifference 10 the terms Of the contract
cas- 10 warrant our refusing 10 pay them. lie
found ample warrant for refusal, and the facts
which warrant it signify far more than "sloven-
Illness" and Indifference to the terms Of con-
tracts They show distinct and purposeful work
10 mulct the State and official assistance which
was not merely negative neglect and ndiher-
ence. but positive action both in the ordering
Of the work and in the hiding Of II from the
scrutiny Of the Canal Board. II was more than
slovcnliness on the part Of contractor TO
tumble down n mile Of wall which no wanted
n chance 10 rebuild and more than slovenliness
on the part ~ officials to allow him for putting
back the wall he had destroyed the high price
agreed upon for a nero 1o0 feet called for IN
his contract # It was not deliberate fraud
II is difficult to say what It was.
No doubt the canal contractors will be en-
ragged nv Controller Morgan's refusal TO pay
their bills for work ordered by the officials
without the authority Of the Canal Board,
which under the law alone had power to an
thorize It. They have lately been much en-
couraged by the Interpretation they put on
Governor Roosevclt's declaration that tho
charges OF fraud were discreditabe to those
who made them Quoting the Governors Hor
nellsville speech, "The Syracuse Post7Standard'
recently said
Governor Roosevelt believes. by reason Of the
searching investigation he has caused to be
| made that there have been no public frauds In
connection with the canal contracts either on
the part OF State officers or State contractors
| He Is a man who has the courage OF his con
victiOns and dares To do right, and 10 require
| that right be done at any cost and at all cost
! 1t is going to he beyond measure interesting
/ therefore. to know just what Governor koose-
! welt will do in his handling OF the "mess'
Controller Morgan has made by substantially
repudiating in the name OF the State the audited
| and approved claims of canal contractors
amounting to hundreds Of thousands Of dollars
| on the ground that such claims are fraudulent
Either the Controller has done too much or the
! Governor has said too much, and We do not be
/ lieve, do many people In this State believe
that the Governor has said too much.
Nevertheless the Controller has gone on doing
more regardless Of whether the Governor has
said too much or not, and the contractors are
probably thinking that their jubllation was
premature. Mr.. Morgan has come forward in
good time 10 confound them and to assure the
voters Of this State that the Republican party
Is not yet to be blamed for sitting down utterly
helpless in the face Of the canal frauds. 1t re-
mains to he seen what they will now do with
his mess
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