New-York tribune., 1903-06-11
REsEPVoIR AND COMMISSION.

The net result Of the important hearing De-
fore the Auueduct Commission on Iuesuay LIZ
relation to recent uDfavorabie crluclsfhs oi tie
,,o-l, going ON under its supervision was the
roferanca of the matter to the Mayors comms-
clio, of exnert engineers. When they report the
nuhlic NAV hope to learn just what the conui-
ton of things is especially ID respect u "ie
Jerome Park Reservoir, which was Deguh III
1895 and may perhaps, be finished by the hrst
of next January. This submission OF the ques-
tions in DISPUTE to Messrs. Burr, Herring and
Freeman was presumably not htehued DIS an
official acknowledgment that the Aqueduct
Commission has shown itself to be lncohlpe-
tent and neglectful, but it is somewhat difficult
TO see why that is not fair deducuon. Ihe
commission has ample powers employs large
staff of expensive engineers, and yet is pracu-
callv declared to be incapable Of furnishing
nv means of its own resources, a trustworthy
decision on one or more plain but vital points.
We are not at all disposed to doubt the WIS
dom of the action taken. The hearing dld not
leave the Aqueduct Commission in credltable
position, but on the contrary, tended strongly
TO confirm the general opinion in which 1t mas
long been held. 1t would be foolish to deny the
prevalence of a belief that the commission,
having outlived its usefulness many years ago,
has been kept in existence chiefly for the sake
of enabling four men to draw yearly 5000
apiece from the public treasury in return for ex-
ceedingly slight services rendered by them to
the city We are aware that as often as the
value of their lahors has been called IN ques-
ton successive members of the commission,
following the familiar custom in such cases,
have usually hastened to aver that they were
really sacrificing themselves for the public
benefit. the salary being a trivial considera-
ctol-n ir1S ay--
ing that the community has never been per
suaded TO adopt that view of the matter.
man may be busy with his own affairs. and
fairly prosperous without despising a chance
10 make an easy addition of $1,000 to his an
nual income At all events, it is not clear why
the regular municipal machinery. organized on
an Ella borate scale, should be incompetent to
perform in satisfactory manner the duties
which the Aqueduct Commission rs strongly
suspected Of neglecting ineficently per-
forming.
We have said that the commission did not
emerge with credit from Tuesdays hearing.
If. for example. as Mayor Low declares, the
New-York Central Railroad Company agreed to
accent a certain sum in consideration of the
removal Of branch tracks At the upper end of
the new Croton dam site. why was the agree
ment not put into the form of a written con-
tract which could be enforced. was thar not
a matter in which the commission might prop
erly have taken interest? We hold no brief
for Mr.. Mcdonald, contractor for the Jerome
Park Reservoir. but feel bound TO say that
he has made a strong statement Of the causes
which have delayed the completion of that
work, and that the Aqueduct Commission would
be fortunate IL 1t should be able TO furnish
convincing an answer to current complaints.
AS to the particular question of whether the
reservoir would leak with n concrete flooring
only three inches thick, If may possibly be
safe to anticipate the report of the Mayors
perts. Nevertheless. we will venture TO say
that when Mr. Mcdonald describes the bottom
of the reservoir as consisting of lodges of
seamy rock, Joined by irregular areas of soft
marsh land. he makes il difficult To believe that
three inches of concrete enough The i'm
peratiye necessity of settling the question be-
yond dispute is universally admitted and there
fore it is referred, at this late day, over the
heads of the Aqueduct Commission and its
gineers TO the Mayors committee, with the full
approval of all intelligent citizens. II the men