The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-10-27
The city Budget.

Mayor Low and the other members of
the Board of Estimate and Apportion-
ment are working now. will be the first
real analysis of the expenses of the
municipal government under the Low
administration. The budget for 1902.
although revised by the present admins
tration, was worked out by Tammany's
government, and represented he Tam
many policies and purposes Although
tho whol" schedule of appropriations
was rearranged by the Low admnistra-
'lon, II was not them possible o make the
budget exactly what the officials wanted
il 10 be
That there should be friction among
the members of the board over the allot-
ment of the citys money was 10 be- ex-
pected. In the first place, each member
of the board is an elective officer. under
no obligation 10 any other member for
his seat. This has never been the case
in previous administrations. in which
the Mayor has controlled the board
through his appointees. Responsible TO
the voters of the communities which they
represent, the borough Presidents de-
sire To mako good showing: and they
appear tn be determined TO do This.
t.onlv this change Of responsibility,
due to the Charter amendments, but
the changes in the CITY itself make fric-
ton among the board members not only
probable. hut inevitable. More and
more the uudeveloped boroughs. and
especially Bronx and Queens horoughs.
are demanding a greater amount of
money for highways. sewers, lighting
and the Improvement Of their various
departments Increasing population
and greater voting strength will result
each wear in greater demands from
their representatives There is no reason
~ believe that these demands can he
ignored permanently. In time they
must be granted, though the budget in-
crease and the tax rate rise
With the completion of Tho Manhattan
and Bronx Rapid Transit subway The
BronNs population will grow. When
tho Pennsylvania Railroads tunnel 10
old Long Island CITY is in operation,
Queens borough's population will in
crease. The more people there are. the
greater the expense of maintaining the
municipal government will ho
Brooklyn has not reached the limit Of
its population Richmond may for a
time remain where il is: but soon il will
demand better transportation facilities
10 Manhattan, and these will be pro-
vided. Then Richmond will require
annually larger appropriations An an
nnal increase in tn" city budget seems
unavoidable for many years to come.
II l. the peculiar interest of two officers
of the municipality 10 keep the budget
down 10 the lowest possible amount
Tn" Mayor represents no borough,
The Comptroller is elected for the pur-
pose of saving money. They may he
expected 10 oppose any increases save
those which are popular throughout
the whole city. The President of the
Board Of Aldermen, associated on the
one hand intimately with the Mayor, and
on the other with the borough Presidents
and the Aldermen may be expected to
side first with the ono. then with the
With his three votes. the Mayor and the
Comptroller will have nine out of six
teen in the board Without his votes,
they will have but six against ton
The borough Presidents are likely to
develop reciprocal alliance. on tho
theory Of You scratch my back and I'll
scratch yours. In fact, President CAS-
SIDY of Queens has already laid the
foundation for such an alliance
The prospect is. therefore, that there
will be a fine fight FOR President FoRNEs's
allegiance. The Mayor aud the Comp
troller want him. The Borough presi-
dents want him. He will be a popular
man during the noxt few weeks
Then, too, personal ambition enters
the contest. Mayor Low. Comptroller
GROUT and President CANTOR are willing
to hold office again, President CASSIDY
wants to stay on top in Queens. Presi-
dent HArFEN secms content with his
status in The Bronx.