The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-06-06
The MayOr and Ice,

The proceedings by which it is sought to
remove the Mayor Of this city from his
office are based upon Section 1888 Of the
city Charter. which is this:
N member OF the Municipal Assembly. head OF
department, thief Of bureau, deputy thereof or
clerk therein. or other officer Of the corporation. shall
be or become. directly or indirectly interested in or In
the performance Of any contract, work or business. or
the sale OF any article. the expense. price or consider.
alton OF which is payable from the city treasury. or
BY any assessment levied by an act or ordinance Of
the Municipal Assembly; nor In the purchase or lease
Of any resi- estate or other property belonging TO or
taken by the corporation, or which shall be sold for
taxes or assessments, OF by virtue OF legal process at
the suit Of the said corporation.
III any person In this section mentioned shall. dur.
ing the time for which he was elected or appointed.
knowingly acquire an Interest In any contract or work
with the city. or any department or ofhcer thereof.
unless the same shall be devolved upon him by law.
he shall. on con viction thereof. forfeit his once and
be punished for a misdemeanor,
IAN such contracts In which any such person iSor
becomes interested shall. at the option Of the Comp
tIoller be forfeited and void"
This legal provision IL not peculiar to the
Charter Of our city. Similar restrictions. in
substance. are common and have been, from
time immemorial, to all municipal laws or
Charters In civilized countries. Nothing Is
better settled than that a public officer
cannot be interested In public work Of
which he has the g%overnance. The simple
question In the present case is: Does the
fact that Mayor VAN WICK Is a stakeholder
In the American Ice Company. not being an
officer or director Of the company nor exer-
cising a controlling interest in 1t. bring him
within the purview either OF the specific
wording OF this clause in the Charter or OF
the well established legal principle in which
1t originated
II IL declared that a precedent for the
application TO the Governor for the removal
OF Mayor VAN WICK is the proceeding in
1850. under which Gen. SHALEa, the Presi-
dent Of the Health Board. was removed from
his ONCE by the Mayor upon the charge Of
being interested In the sale of land to the
city. The section Of the Charter under
which the action was taken was practically
the same In wording as that In the Charter
Of to-day. The Board OF Health, with which
Gen. SMALLER was connected, was not at
III CUHCcI Hcu III tnc tTdIlsdCtlOH, Dut t1r
courts, nevertheless. held Gen. SHALER's
removal to be legal. Another precedent Is
afforded. II IL said. by the decision Of Judge
DEMO OF the Court Of Appeals. one Of the
most famous Judges in our State, in 1861,
In the case Of ROOSEVELT against DRAPER.
The Common Council OF New York passed
Q resolution authorizing the sale of certain
land to one JOSEPH b. VARNUM and directed
that the Commission Of the Sinking Fund
FIX a price at which the land should
be sold. This commission, it was declared,
fixed a price that was much too low, and
against the wishes Of the city Comptroller.
who wanted the property sold at public
auction. The allegation was made that Mr..
DRAPER. who was one Of the governors OF
the city almshouse. and in no way directly
Interested in the proposed sale. yet infu-
enced the Sinking Fund Commissioners to
Ok a price and sell the property IA they did.
An action was brought to set aside the deed
OF the land which had been executed, and
Judge DEMO held that inasmuch as Mr..
DRAPER had made himself interested in the
contract and was n cir official. the convey
ance must be voided.
IL Ia obvious that the general 'la theory
upon which a put lie officirl Is debarred
from interest in public work came into