The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-05-20
REVISING THE CHARTER.
IX.MAYOR GILROY DESCRIBES THE
CHANGES DESIRABLE ~ OUR CITY
GOVERNMENT,

Every Borough and Their Useless once
Only One Legislative Chamber Necessar
Mayors Term should lie Two Year
with Possibility Of Reelection woni,
Abolish the Board Of Education and Hav
City Department with a single Head In
stead-separate Department for Election
and a single Headed Police Commission
some Other Alterations Suggested
Interest in the work to be done by the Charte
Revision Commission Ia widespread, The tasI
Of this commission. Of which George l.. Rives L
the chairman, will be 10 correct the faults of th'
Charter under which the city AT present Is gov
erned. Most Of those who take an especial in
forest In civic affairs have opinions IA TO how
and why the Charter should be revised. Some
Of these opinions are valuable. There Is, per
hape, no man in town whose views Of Charter
revision are more worthy OF consideration by
citizens in general and blythe Revision Commits
sion than those Of the Hon. ThomasF. Gilroy.
Mr.. Gilroy Is not only a former Mayor. but he
wa one Of the trainers Of the present Charter.
Nobody knows any better than he the needs Of
the city. He has watched carefully the work.
tngs of the Charter. from tho standpoint Of n
shrewd business man, who once managed this
municipality rs a great business corporation is
managed. He has noted the Charters defects
and, as he has done so. remedies for these de-
fects have suggested themselves TO him. re-
portsr for THE SuN called upon Mr.. Gilroy at
bis country place at Far Rockaway on Thurs
DAY last and asked him 10 answer for publlca-
ton these questions:
i-what may tho Charter Revision Com
mission accomplish?
a-What will II accomplish?
S-What should II accomplish
well, !" said the ex-NIayor. I'm quite will
ing to give you my views In answer 10 the last
question. but for answers to the other two you'd
better ask the Revision Commission. Briefly
and generally speaking. II the revision Of tho
Charter were delegated TO me, | would change.
abolish and consolidate. | would 40 revise L that
living In New York would not be the expensive
luxury II IL to-day. feel very strongly on this
point and | may tell you that, had the trainers of
the present Charter ever imagined that IL would
cost nearly 500, 600, 900 to run tho city under IL,
II would never have been framed. The cost of
carrying on the city government has become
simply a burden on the people. with no adequate
benefit for the Increased cost. In my iudg-
ment. the slogan Of the next municipal cam
paign will be 'RetrcnChment and Reform The
people will demand both and. more than all
that, they will have both. Before Consolida-
ton, when | was Mayor, for instance. it cost
about $50. 900. 900 a year to run the city. 1t costs
now 500, 600, 900. What more do the people get
for the money than they did then? Taxpayers
know that they don't get any more. and that's
why they ara going 10 demand that the cx-
penses shall be cut down.
"Now TO particularize; The first thing I
would do would be to abolish every borough and
avery borough office, The boroughs are abso-
I,,.,,, =, ~ rso ord ,ho horo,,b oo1oors ar,
Iu'eiy OF no use anu 'no oo'ousn piHo'ls a''
fsureheads. All on earth they do is to draw
their salaries and appoint secretaries. and door
49, - ua.sonr,rs o,1 ,ho, 90, ,oarou
heepeis, anu ihen9'hS'I9' nv "hn' H''' 'o"l'"
more salaries. II we are going to have n greater
city. let's have IL. under a strong central gov
..nnnn ~ ,o,', ho,, on,. ooncarios p,
Don iets nave any cohg'ries OF
ouph names might be retained and, indeed. with
u-a,u.,aa.n $50 ouo 10 ,ho 1iror
many Su'eos u acoiliioh haihe III u u'ier-
ent borouGhs, the borough names should be re-
-" 80. 1880 &, proodmar ~.
man ava certah hunioel " n'o"'"ay' NeW
might never reach its destination. For this
,.ason "a wall no for othor si,ni,r ro,so,s
ieaeon' ~ "e d" W Wv III. ','',t''
the borough names should he retained, but.
emphatically. the borough government should
n. .holiohod
'o oo"'''
- iH"F Wv IN W ." 'h'''N f'' NV
the borough system was Incorporated
In Tho cb or,ar 10 eoti.Sv o,o ron,hor ~ ,ba
~ u 'na'"' " s''1'' vi" '"'""e, VI '"e
Charter commission who was opposed to con-
eolidatioh. venture TO say that now even
th., W., would ho oui,o sotsaod - boro ,ho
10" "'"' w f'', "'' ~
borough governments abolished, You recall
that the present borough Of Manhattan was
onca dIydad into sooti,rs Thoro w. VII
via and Greenwich and Chelsea ana hWN
All ,hasa "m' r -" ,.sDnn,iran III rn'rIi'
N.nant -raan,chb az rEbonInaao "a,aI ~,
Usmep S va waIIc M ~ r "mr o ih = anu u'Se
nsad occa ionnll" ara retajnad for ~" nrt f,"o W
riii ha rotai,od f nnrpnn"hbr ,d T MN Hnnrs n'I,HNn
t ~ ~ ~ NJ ,ha, ~ a. 'nIs NIT pna u,
sr;;i, ~ oa ords wv ~ u III a - VIZ ~ haihie
or rsrn,ansviifa and Ttbo NV wv ySnnrr ~ ,,bbnn,,
xn ~ end ~ n nns"s bsr "n wh'rn hr""k,
~ renaii ,ba IA Iimn3,s 80 VI % "om 1mhhNI"
so 'ev T ,me pro- tlniH VI nWhnal' or i, nal-
swav with tho horouybs for ,nynr n,no, r ~
n"sas and la, ms have ana ernnt nv t,,nn,
oS N.su az AZ " W. nav o"' S''a' wy III id''
10 wrn = ~ naur r., 81, chor,ou u,i.h
4, AnJthe, bLHN'S."n .nn 'hnrter Whtcn
= munianai Iagisiot,ra If twn booeeeu onna
~ ,ha nr"nina1 ran.nrs rb, a. 49,, 'ns
" ~ tHe p,Inc,pdl rIaIoHS why 'ne lraii'"rH OF
fhs Charter prQyided for a el,cameral Legs
Ia'uIe Was Inat y WIS .lpuGhL u superior nnnN
Y meh "ou,u pe s,,r',"u to ~ IN me Noulcu'
.hSsnonm ~ III reltVlLS'tI upHu tne u3eIlDer-
pup y el.hel u, dllCn ol lHe Muhlclphl Legs
- tnusr iranulrS hr' nov ~1onsulu,rd
no.m .Me nnuncim"n ana N" Nln.rlnen are
Nery ekcelirit men put harulE uihhk ihat
" Unt s. ~ pe WHY - aIS'Il 'ill lhere
- a,hhy msirL Ht,iuaIu "t apI5y oI 'H",9Ilor
~ u Souh'n ,ndn lnr boHru ol, Nilpr-
nen. II thls pc true' theh me prlnclpal reason
~ ctea,lNs u HlInlClpal h'elN!alVr' ol Two
vnanorIs pe','n,'H u" r'lN"l NJ aI 'Il mo
omer nanu, nav" mrTphln CONVINCED tnht