New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-05-25
THE MERCHANTS SPECIFY.
Protest against Dropping Charges
Against 4queduct Commission.

The Merchants Association yesterday gave out
the specifications of the charges against the Aque-
Duct Commissioners which Mayor Low declined
some months ago TO entertain. at the same ume
this announcement was made:
1t is the determination Of the Merchants Asso-
ciatio TO press these charges to public near
ing
The Aqueduct Commissioners are accused by the
Merchants Association of 'malfeasanoe IN oihce
and neglect of duty" and the charges declare that
the commissioners have been guilty OF great
waste of public money. extreme ana ~i4a' ueih!
in construction of works whose speedy connpietV''
they have officially recognized as pressing puoHe
necessity and abandonment OF the public rights III
the matter Of certain claims iii connection Win
contracts" The specifications may be summarized
follows;
wastefuI outlay of SOD coo by reason of Of ch s4os
Park Reservoir. ,.r,.
Wastefu outlay of about SIS go IN rs and
the system Of pipe condutg leading from II. .or,o,r
Defective construction OF walls OF Tue Fes'i WI"
Wful delav in the SUSPENSION Of eonstrnGtti,y91
works in connection with the reservoir Among ire
essential oFk aFe th the Teservo the
gatehouse of that branch, clearing the oaslt oa
three mile section OF the old aausdgot and n far Ss
tons with the New-York CeRtrai hn Io If rail-
road. ..,,,. ,,n,,o al.
vertisement, Ao- the three mile secoon Oh '"e o'N
Faiure to assert the citys rights against the
claim of the contractors for the new Croton pam
for building eleven and one-half mics Oh rD1IS
about twice the current Market rates ilNeifA'o
a loss TO the city of about $sSe9q :, +,o 1erorna
Park Reservoir with a reasonable degree of expeat
ton.
7. ts declared by the Merchants Association that
It is the duty of the Mayor to take due cosn1A~o
OF all formal charges made against his suporuha'0s
on responsible authority, and these Statements al
made:
The Mayor has declined to recognize this az his
duty, and has dismissed grave charges OF tSon IN
ignorance of the proof which supports mem; aIo
without requiring or permitting snch PROOF =" NC
Against this conformation Of alleged oiesl m se
cause of GOOD government is not served by prevent
ing adequate efictal and Pubic e%hnar d ;r Eso
pacty of public officials when these grave Sl'Tses
ing made a searching examination into the facts:
declares itself prepared TO prove The truth OF us
charges by competent evidence
.erbis attack of the Merchants Association is
quite as much an attack Mayor Low and Con-
troIIer Grout as it is an attack upon the Aqueduct
Commissioners" sai1 member OF the commission
last evening The Mayor and Controller are both
ex of1cio members OF the AqUeduct Commission,
and thew have attended the meetings and have
made inquiries into the very things the Merchants
Association is complaining about Tho Merchants
Association Is proceeding on faulty information
charging things that cannot be proved and pro
ceeding on the suppostion that the Mayor knows
only what the association could tell him about tne
work Of the commission. 49,
Take. for instance the specification ao9Gt the
building of roads by the contractors OF the .FeW
Croton Dam The Aqueduct Commission denied the
right OF the contractors TO build those roads but
in the former administration Corporation Counsel
Whalen gave a decision that the original contract
for the dam contained stpulations that the roads
should be constructed by the contractors in con
nectiOn with the work the dam. and the com
mission had 70 give n. Mayor Low ref erred the
same question to Corporation Counsel Riyes, and
MIR Rives gave a decision which was exactly that
Mayor Low has sent his own engineers to in
vestigate the engineering questions raised by the
Merchants Association, and his. engineers hane
supported the engineers of the Aqueduct Cor1n1lS-
sion IN changes of plans. both at the Croton Dam
and at the Jerome Park Reservoir. The Merchants
Association has depended upon statements made
to ii by engineers whose services We're rejected by
the A0ueduct Commission and by other persons
whose Judgment and opinions not valuable. 1t
has gone by way Of the back door in seeking IN
formal ton on which to base charges. It's proper
course would have been to ask the Aquedu1ct Com,
mission for an explanation of alleged delays and
wastefuI OUTLAWS and then it would have received
Information that might have saved II from making
charges the Mayor could not entertain