New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-02-22
WARM TALK BY OFFICIALS.
CRITICAL STAGE IN CONFLICT BETWEEN
COLER AND WHALEN
CORPORATION COUNSEL SENDS BACK MANY
CLAIMS FOR INVESTIGATION
LETTER IN REPLY.


CLAIMS FOR INVESTIGATION
LETTER IN REPLY
The quarrel between Controller Coler and Cor
poration Counsel WhaIen reached an acute stage
yesterday when Mr. Whalen sent back Mr..
! Coler about four hundred of the claims against
the city by city employees under the prevailing
rate of wages" ruling Mr.. Whalen had
turned to the Controller other claims on Tues
day. Yesterday Mr.. Whalen made statement
for the newspapers. in part follows:
have returned the claims to the Controller be-
cause they were not accompanied by informa ton
6 Office om Se 6SuF1 nns tha he
states the ground upon which he refused payment.
ton must be filed with the Controller He has
| them He must have some reason for not paying
tnem. want to know that reason. am entitled
Controller sends all the papers and information in
is The TO tnf S wnfh high I poso9
tnat II is enough for him to know, and that we
Controller is aiming at have been unable to deter
mine; min He He has charged vaguely that there is mig;
to be made, without contradicting them, newspaper
His statements in the main. have been misleading.
SHOWS A FORMER LETTER
Mr.. Whalen showed letter which he had
written in May. 1898 to the Controller telling
him of actions brought by several employees of
the city for extra pay under.the prevailing rate
of wages rule, and requesting information
about the prevailing rate of wages in several
callings and trades. In reply the Controller
sent a statement which he had obtained from
the Central Labor Union as to the prevailing
rate of wages. Mr.. Whalen declares that there
is no defence against claims which are made by
city employees who have received less than the
prevailing rate of wages. All that be done
he asserts is to ascertain the real difference be-
tween what was paid by the city and what
the prevailing rate, and confess judgment to
that amount.
Claims to the amount of SAL 534 were filed
with the Controller yesterday. A representative
Of law firm went to Mr.. Coler's office and asked
permission to examine the payroIIs of the Fire
Department in Brooklyn since 1894 Mr.. Coler
refused permission In the afternoon the Con-
troller sent the following letter to Corporation
Counsel Whaen:
THE CONTROLLERS LETTER.
have received from you number of communi-
amounts alleged to be due certain Claimants for
Yailng rate of wages which claims had been sent
TO & your in the usual course of business
be detailed to conduct such an examination Of the
Chapter s8 of the laws of s s pnoer section 4' OF
In view of the return of these documents I have
to to inform you. that about sixteen years ago the
Gontroler received an urgent request from the Law
disputed claims
forwarded at upon receipt to the Law Depart
might not delayed in being put in possession Of
protect and defend the interests of the city This
practice has been followed without exception up
rigase note a5so that the germ rnv oontrelsrz
corrected and approved by the Corporation Counsel
afSme 6hat The the reasons for this request were:
claims could be paid. except from the Judgment
oe required in any event, and that prior examina-
ton by the Department Of Finance might consume
pracucally all the time the city would have prior to
oelng put in default after the service of summons
second-That the examination made by the De-
Partment OF Finance might not be such as the Law
and necessary facts after review Of the principles
aminations made by the Department of Finance
would be mere waste of time and abor.
| assume that you realize that your recent letters
on this subject reverse the practice of many
Is @ ae TaSled @ on oy y9ur predecessors but as it
reasonably be done to protect the city's interests
though the labor and expense thereby incurred may
be entirely wasted and nu1ed by the practice Of
usual extent in your Office.
sires, however, permit me to ask: o'i ue
First-Do you desire all claims to undergo exam
before being transmitted to the Law Department?
undertake in the Office of the sS9 to
Finance such necessary oral examinations of claim
ants as may be required under Section 149 of tha
charter in connection with the examinations under
taken by the examiners of my Department?
SENT TO ALBANY
The Controller yesterday sent to the Assembly
Committee on Cities argument regarding
some pending bills. In relation TO the bill to
prevent the Corporation Counsel from confess
ing to judgments against the city without the
consent of the Mayor and Controller Mr. Coer
declares that the Controller is the only official
to whom the law makes a special grant of
power to settle and adjust claims against the
city; that no attorney possesses power to confess
TO judgment without his clients permission:
that the Corporation Counsel assumes power to
adjust claims for and against the city; that the
Controller is elected by the people while the
Corporation Counsel is appointed official and
that the Controller gives a bond of $2OOOOO
while the Corporation Counsel gives bond of
So 900.
To newspaper men the Controller said:
The only thing necessary is to have q cIair, 60
high that this office Will decline to paw It. Then l.t
the claimant take his case TO the office of the Cor
poration Counsel, and upon his decision its da
termination rests. Tt will place the whole citv's
business in the hands of the Corporation Counsel
The fact is-and 1t is a matter of record-tbat The
this Office in several important suits notably In tbe
case of the Manhattan Elevated. He promised 10
let us have our own counsel to defend these suits
and that promise has not been kept.