New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-10-13
TAMNANY'S RECORD.

one Of the most colossal schemes IN the MS
tory OF municipal gratis" was the haInap0
,teal-. sn which. aided by a Tamnany Commits
sioner OF Water Supply. the ''grafters planneu
70 have the city pay IN forty years some S-oo'-
600 600 for mythical benefits. That the city was
mt handed over TO the spoilers IN that instance
vas not the fault OF it's officials. William DaI-
ton. the Water Commissioner. was hand IN glove
with the promoters Of the steal The storm OF
public protest headed by the newspapers, which
arose forced Dalton and the Tamnany heelers
somewhat into the background for a time. and
they lost their golden gains.
They were less unfortunate IN other cases.
however. and Under Tammany administration
the Water Department and its associated pu-
reau. the Lighting Department. were honey
oonnbed with "grafters." who sold the citys
property for vast sums which went to enrich the
heelers and political organizations. or Winkeo AT
the deliberate robbery Of the city 70 favor their
political friends Tammany contractors used
water from uumetered pipes. In one case on
record IN the Water Registers Office firm had
sts permits 10 use city water eNtenoea year
after year without payment. Written across the
face OF the permits IN red ink was the word
Extended" a violation OF the law which re-
ouired the issuance Of a new permit signed by
the Water Register. the chief engineer ana the
Commissioner.
Permits TO favored builders to use MIGRANTS
and place taps and connections were frequently
ISSUED without payment Meters would be put
into factory or stable and IN some convenient
way would be overlooked" For gears water
would be taken from the city mains with abso-
lufely no payment therefor. The plumbers &C
CURED a habit OF taking out meter TO make
repairs. then leaving Il out entirely, or insert
ing new pipes or disconnecting the old ones, so
that only a small portion OF the supply was
rnetered. The inspectors would never catch a
fraud OF this kind. Neither would they discover
when the teeth OF a meter had been fled on so
they would not register. in that way letting
much Of the water how through the pipes IN
Inetered. This. under Tammany, was a profta-
bic way Of grating" much in vogue with the
Hsloonkeepers.
Tugs were running under permits for low
pressure boats. which permits cost only $40 a
year. when they were really high pressure
boats, for a permit TO run which $50 was
charged In many cases they carried large
tanks from which they sold water thus getting
into the water boat class permit for which
costs $500 a year. Many boats. whose owners
were willing to pay more blackman 10 the IN
rpectors. or had stronger pull had been taking
their water without any permits.
In the Water Registers Office the books were
fun OF accounts which had been running for
several years-in some cases they were ten
years old-to collect which no attempt had been
made. These debts 10 the city represented hun
dreds Of thousands OF dollars. Close inspection
showed that behind most OF these unpaid bills
there lurked political influence, which made Il
'1nadvisable' ask for the money. Collision
on the part Of the city's employees was on
every hand. They would not try TO collect the
money due; they would not prevent their
FRIENDS from stealing more OF the city's prop
erty
The spirit OF graft" which pervaded the de-
psrtment left no time or inclination TO attend
20 the city's business properly. Everything was
neglected The Croton Basin was in a most
rnsanitarv condition. There was no regular
sanitary patrol of the watershed. consequently
sewage from all the villages in the basin found
its way into the river, which was. in fact. the
sewerage systern for that section In this city the
pumping stations IN Ninety-eigfth-st., one-hun-
dred-and- seventy ninth-st. and in High Bridge
were in a deplorable condition. The ten million
gallon pump IN the Ninety -eghth-st. station
was almost out II service. while the others were
weak ana shaky Valves were broken and
valve gear was out 81 order. In consequence
It took three times as much coal 30 run the
pumps as Il should have
The pumping station IN Long Island City was
practically useless The buildings were old.
rarnshaclle affairs. IN which were worn out
machinery and leaky boilers. Almost every
thing movable had been stolen. All this. how
ever mace rich feast for the Tammany ma
chine supply men. who chuckled IN their sleeves
and sent in bills for repairs never made.
These contractors and supply men, as In every
other department, were particular friends Of the
r,olftical chiefs. There opportunity for
cor,retffion because when. 10 comply with the
forms Of law competitive bids were sent in the
bidders we're Instructed 20 make their prices ia
q Iurnp sum not itemizing the quotations. Then,
Nv shifting the Tammany favorites would get
those contracts in which there was meat, while
the outsider could furnish the supplies IN the
selling Of which there was no profit
The lighting OF the city under Tammany was
almost . Joke Ancient methods prevailed,
open gas sets poor. weak affairs, were the
main dependence for public Light Most streets
were dark therefore, with an occasional splotch
OF light or. rather, less darkness than was IN
other places. Il was, too. an enormous expense
the city. or course part OF this was graft"
Ton the heelers. but a great part OF X went 10
the ironclad, hidebound monopoly which con-
trolled every lighting facility. That the city
should have cOile completely into the power
OF this octopus" due 20 neglect ana mis-
management on the part OF the officials. The
gas companies would not bid against the cleo
trio light concerns, neither would Independent
companies bid against each other. Therefore
the city being charged Just whatever the
officials of the monopoly felt like collecting
That this was with the consent ana aid OF the
Tamrnsny men who can doubt. srter the lam
entshle failure % the legislature last fall 10
psss the municipal lighting bill killed by the
sctive opposition OF Democratic Senators from
this city,