The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-10-03
IWOUDTOVANWYCK ONPRICES
,oLLIs INFORMS MS HONOR or
HIS ExTRAvAGANCE.
u.,er Bob Once Declared the Generais
p.ymcnts for Asphalt Psvemen's Fs-
cesa,e. but the General q Where
ua,er hob Has Fried Real Pat

Week Yesterday what nay lie descr1bed
an anniversary letter. full Of timely
,,,.r.s,. The letter was delivered by special
u..s.nser. II began In this way;
Three years ago to-day. on the event Of
an ii, ct,on. you summoned the newsPsper
AZ. bird Gardiner. then District Attorney
a. ~. county. with som. OF your close poli'-
10 sros.. and With dramatic elaboration.
.osmnlty and emphasis, delivered q pre-
pared statement In which you accused me
; = : a ND pn .Sind /. tss city 1 In The matter Of
asphalt pavemenu. and a party TO an ~,
famous continuation to muict the 0ty ou'
Of ~ then ordered The District, Attorney
Of the county 20 pursue the guilty. paruee,
90. ana elected by. the people. oonfessins
ss:a.s wits 49, ssf, ot 81: g.Isyy;. q ID; Th's =,
Snsim. ah aO sss ssssn be was ofisred the noml-
De DECLARATION. viii pursue him meaning
ne " tho Grand Jury
HAvmx Furnished the OF the press
Nth cppies Of the commissioner report,
and Of your speech. you and Asa Bird Gardiner
Ipa, sob4Is trnfruml went uptown 70 receive
ne O0 %e. ~ then been only ; few month.
40 once there we're many people u thls copn-
munity who believed your statements 10 be
Withiu a week thereafter your .ubservisnt
District Attorney. In the heat OF an eiciuns
political campaign sppsered with hs Wit
bss y sYcicS body did I then know personally,
but those .gcntlemcn Indignantly refused
s,a3e.. la other words. they wrote lsnora-
aus over the name Of Asa BIRD Gardiner
Il 4. now ply turn TO arralsn you about
the prices OF asphalt pavencnts. not ma
lco1sly or thoushues-ly. as you DID me.
bg, with an array OF fact. ana nsgr.s 80
let can comprehend them
Gen Coils then says that when he and
Mr. Brookaeld came into Office under
Mayor Strong's appointment they found
tina, there was much dissatisfaction over
asphalt contracts and work. and that they
threw open the door for active comTs-
,ition. lie cites the Comptroller's Office
records az proof that this action resulted
IN a saving OF from IS per cent to IS per
cant In the laying OF asphalt pavements
end be then declares that under Van WICK
higher prices have been paid even than
those prevailing prior TO the Strong ad-
ministration. The General says that he
fore and during the Strong administra ton
the contractors we're required TO keep
the pavement in good repair for Fifteen
years. whereas under Mayor Van Wyck
they have been compelled TO gu srantee
IL only for ten years.
1T u well known TO every man In the
busin~ss.' the General ssys. hat the last
Eve years are the severest In the life OF
an asphalt pavement. and that where the
tranic " great the pavement has TO be
nearly all relaid during that period. In
o,hsr words. a well laid pavement will
remain intact for five years. during the
nert Ave years Il will require a good deal
Of repair. and during the third period 81
Eve years 1t will bc necessary to lay almost
an entire new pavement.
Ocn. Coils instances West End avenue,
between Seventy ninth and Ninety first
su.ets, which Van wyck has recently con-
tractsd to pave at - - per yard. the pave
ment 10 10 kept In order for ten years. W
paved the same street between Seventy
sirth and Seventy-n'nth streets for - %
Per yard and required the contractor TO
keep IL In repair for fifteen years, say-
Gen. Colts, and he also contrasts Van
Wyok's paving Of l<0th s'rst from FIFTH
10 LenoI avenus AZ tSol per yard with his
own paving of l<2d street, from Convent 20
Amsterdam avenues, for Ge6 per yard.
Gan. Coils calls the Mayors attention TO
many other instances. % which the following
are examples:
University place from Fourteenth street TO
waverley place cost under yovt {" per yard,
the w snns yo5Ss .,pee,, cost Thder ~ p asIS
pS Der yard. and ! made the contract for
nre~n years main,enance, while you re-
ouir~d only ten. Had your contract been
Tor fifteen years like mine. your price would
have been y 81 e, again, ny -
We pavsd f,tty,tonr,h s,set' n-tr,sn
s s ps,ssn S y % on iffiity'sRSS' -tTcrt' S SS' ,SS
n" sane T PSin,s, sno . HT f' SnIy 50 o cent, .
psr square yard for the additional Ave years
guarantee. your price would 10 81 20. a. against
How can you possibly explain this dif.
ference Of =. cents per sguAr" Yard -
Lot me say hero hat under my -ysfeIn
curb. whereas under your administration
YOU ray him an average of 80 cents per lineal
foo. on each side Of the street. which would
make an ADDITIONAL charge Of 50 cents per
square yard OF asphalt on = thirty-foot vide
street..
Gen. Colla passes 10 the central thorough
farce, Broadway and Fifth avenue. and saws
10 the Mayor:
You are laying thi. asphalt I'm Broadway
P"f yard from Canal to Fourteenth street.
and az a cost Of B ~ from Fourteenth 10
rsSr gssron,ee Set ddairrmnr" MAYOR strons.
administration We Gsphal'ed Firth avenue
over q new foundation OF -tt Inches Of con
gvaran,"e. from Ninth to fny-ninth street.
where tho 'faniC teaches 5000 vehicles, per
fhN. AZ n Nr~f ~ ~ To. rom flfg-nlNtN 10
Hrh'ioth street a. ~ per yard. and from
nEhtcth 20 Ninet"th street al o. ~ per
yard
cur highes, price on Fifth avenue. includ-
ms a siN-lnch concrete foundation. war ~ IS.
as AGAINST your average Of - 10 on Broad
vay. where Won are laying the spinal over
'hr old pavement. onc-half VI N being on a
tep-y-aT guarantee instead Of fifteen
The dIFtfrf r" "a ~" Cp-f ~ pawn Z BROAD
SHv and seventh avenue alone during your
administration, and what 10 would have cost
20 nave them during Mayor Strons's. as
shown nv he foregoing figures, ~ tase.ss7
THIS In part represents The difference bet we~n
administering the municipal government on
business methods and running ~ by n politi-
al ~ gar cation for what there IL In ~
You ant a. Chairman % tho BOARD Of Fsti-
mate and ApIorttonm~nt and voted for the
appropriation tor all Of thls work n you
lad done vout duty a stngl" Inquiry would
have led 70 MOTTO" ~ all that wHs going on
Moreover. the Comptroller IL required by
nW 20 be present a. ~ Jpculug Of buds either
10 usrson or hv deputy II rrrius eNtraordi-
.ary n this condition ~ things escaped the
srcvledre ~ both Of you
To ave YOU fh" trouble ~ char ging that
irls letter I- written ~ You on the eve ~ an
election Tor poliictl effect. I admit that I write
v a. this I'm" hat the taxpayer may realizs
why hs burden f. annually Increasing
'iHim for stti.'.1 p~ssrow~d.
NsSHISUrpN. Cot decision la.
t--u rrudor-l hv the Comptroller 81 the