New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-08-21
Mr. KEARNY'S PERMITS.

Commissioner Kearny does not seem to be SO
well satisfied with those electric conduit per-
mits of his as he professed TO be few days
ago before the Mazet Committee. In answer to
the questions of Mr. Moss Mr.. Kearny accept
ed the responsibility for permitting the Metro
potan and Third Avenue street railway com
panes to build through the streets passages
for some three or four hundred electric wires
on the pretence that they were needed for
electric cars, when everybody knows that the
merest fraction of that number would be sufii-
cent to feed power to all the cars that could
possibly be moved along their tracks. Mr..
Kearny was entirely satisfied with this per-
Torrance and convinced that the companies
would not misuse their privileges, though he
had no reason to offer why they should not
accept his faith in human and corporation
nature. He had taken no precautions to pre-
vent the abuse of the privileges granted, and
did not mean TO take any II there should be
any abuse, he would look about TO see II he
could find some legal lock to put on the barn
after the horse had been stolen. Meanwhile
he had turned lock and key over to the cor
porations.
But IT begins to look as If Mr.. Kearny was
not so well satisfied with his work as he APP
peared to be. There are signs that he fears
the corporations have not safely secured the
privileges he meant to give them. They have
indeed possession of the streets, but perhaps
as mere trespassers, owing to the worthlessness
of Mr. Kearny's permits. At least Mr. Kearny
is seeking specific authority to issue such per-
mits as he has hitherto presumed TO give, and
that looks like a confession Of having over
stepped his powers. He has caused to be in
troduced In the Municipal Council an ordinance
giving him exclusive Jurisdiction over permits
TO lay electrical and other conduts in the
streets of this city. What does he want Of
such an ordinance? If he could give the Metro
politan aud Third Avenue companies permits
for conduits vastly larger than are required for
their legitimate business. he already has I'M
limited authority in the matter. II he Is in
need OF n delegation Of power from the Munic-
ipal Assembly then he must have been
usurper. He must have stood by and permit
ted these corporations to do what he knew they
had no right 10 do under cover OF permission
from him which he knew he had no right to
give. The power TO confer franchises belongs
10 the Municipal Assembly. It Is carefully
guarded by the charter, 80 as TO secure Tor
the people adequate compensation for the priv
ileges granted. The right to carry vast num-
Der OF electric wires under the streets is highly
valuable II Is Just such O franchise as the
law forbds TO be given for more than twenty
five years or without compensation. Yet we
find Mr.. Kearny has been granting. without
any return TO the city, privileges unlimited
as TO time or extent for the construction Of
electric conduts He admits that he made
no effort 20 ascertain the number OF wires
properly required for the business which the
companies lawfully TO carry on. He
says he would have allowed the laying OF
any number Of ducts the corporations want
ed and he does not even know II they
have not as 1t is, put down larger conduits
than even his liberal permits allowed. He
takes refuge In the plea that this was not an
Independent franchise, but merely grant in
cldental and necessary TO the change OF motive
power which the railroads were legally making.
Nevertheless, he does not seem satisfied with
this pretence, to Judge from the proposed or
dinance under which he could legalize the con-
duits which have been already laid and exist
under a questionable title.
Mr.. Kearny's proceeding IS one which most
emphatlcally should not be legalized. 1t might
much better be contested. and IT is astonishing
that nobody brought proceedings TO test the
legality Of the grab at the time the companies
were laying the conduits and their extrava-
giant proportions was a matter Of public COM
ment. II under pretence Of building an electric