New-York tribune., 1905-06-13
FEAR OAKLEY'S REMOVAL.
SUBWAY. TRAFFIC WATTS.
Mauors Wrath Disturbs Water De-
partment's Friends. =,

.s,yo- Mcclellan is thoroughIy incensed at
The palpabIe fncompetency OF the Water De-
nsrtrnent officials, as shown by the flooding of
the subway on Sunday afternoon. Some Tam
many politicians are so disturbed by the Mayor s
tnd,snation that they fear he will remove Com
,n,setoner John T. Oakley from office before Sat
urdsy night
As q result of the blockade Of the subway
traffic for more than thirty hours the city VIII
n. sued for loss OF traffic by the Belmont inter
ssts and &c also will be sued for food damages
by nrnnerty owners Damages from overflow
Of sewers or breaking Of water mains are the
easiest OF any sort to collect The city con-
sesses Judgment, and that is all there is to It.
Not only wa. there no Water Department Of
ecieI on duty ready to shut off the water on
Sunday afternoon, but Commissioner Oakley
was away from his office all day yesterday He
is said to have been with Charles F. Murphy at
Good Ground on Saturday night
Three Tau,uaany district leaders are placed"
g., tbs water Department 1t is called tbs dis
ftrtct leaders paradise. The leaders. with their
salaries, are as follows:
John T. Oakley coHissOaer I4sh pstrts, o
frank Goodin Deputy ss sts sn 90
A SIGNIFICANT INCIDENT.
The 1905 appropriation for maintaining the de-
partment was S4.97S.75
trated By the following incident Manager He'd
Low ~ the Iuterborough company was desper-
ately telephoning on Sunday afternoon to the
various repair stations of the Water Depart
raeut for man to turn off the water or tell him
where the shut-off could be found.
rs that one OF the repair stations? he ASKED
over the telephone after getting the right num-
ber.
Yes" said the voice from the other end
'.yyhat repatr district Is that?" asked Mr..
Redley
I'm from Dan McMahon's district" promptly
responded the faithful hustler for the leader OF
the 18th District.
Mavor Mcclellan called up Commissioner Oak
ley's Office early In the forenoon yesterday ana
requested report on the accident Joseph F.
Pren6ereast. secretary Of the department. hur-
ried over to the Mayors office and asked the
Mayor IL he was going to send over formal
complaint or a request for report.
'I requested you to report on the accident
That is formal enough as a request. but L want
an answer from Commissioner Oakley, and
want il right away, too" said the Mayor.
A SUGGESTION BY THE MAYOR
Shortly after this the Mayor sent the follow
ing letter to Commissioner Oakley:
raouest that YOU will confer with the Fire
Commissioners with a view to the establishment
of an understanding with your department In
order that the commanders OF hre companies
NAV sarniliarize themselves with the plan OF
the supplv pipes Of the city, so that In case OF
emergency they may by prompt action shut on
the flow of water in the mains arld mus prevent
damage. ,
As these officers are available for such service
st ali times and can be readily communicated
with think fr would be advantageous 70 nave
them AZ command in case of need for such pur-
pose.
A SUGGESTION FROM THE CITY CLUB.
Lawrence veiler. secretary Of the. City Club.
yesterday sent a letter TO Mayor Mcclellan sug-
gesting a method by which serious damages
resulting from a break in the water mains might
be avoided In future. His letter said IN part:
It IS obvious that the city Of New-York should
not again find itself in such situaIion, nor
make itself liable for the large pecuniary ma
bilitfeS which are likely TO result from such an
accident. if by proper foresight this can De
avoided While the duties OF the employees OF
the Water Department are ordinarily such as
not to warrant their being called upon Tor ser
vice on Sundays HOLIDAYS and at nlsht sIti IL
ts imperative that proper provision pe thaue W
which I'm the event of a similar occurrence ~
the future, prompt and immediate action can De
taken.
I would suggest therefore, that the city ad-
sninistration take such action will result IN
having placed on fe in a prominent place IA
each station house in every ponce preclnct
map or diagram with a sufficient explanatory
statement, showing the location OF the Wa,ei
gates IN that neighborhood with stsch other M M
formation as may be necessary; ana thstt eFeLs
police captain and his subordinates be instruct
ed TO faniliarize themselves with this subJect.
so that IN the event Of a future accident OF this
kind the police of the reighborhood in which
the accident occurs will be ia q position 10 I'M
mediately turn off the water. and thus prevent
great deal of the damage which has been un-
necessarily caused in these recent cases.
WATER DEPARTMENTS EXCUSES.
In the absence of Commissioner oakley from
the Offices of the Department of Water Supply.
Gas and Electricity yesterday. Deputy Comnlis-
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