The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-02
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The rptnmttias ernssnfrfi 10 frcrive a
statement. That statement Commissioner
Woodbury. sent lat night ~ tho %ooinuittre
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hagen
IN tho cour.s II the inquiry complaint
was made agaln-i thu bookkeeping system
In vogue In 'he department Commenting
on ,hia phase O. tho Investigation Major
Woodbury., WIN has always devoted him.
aelf 10 the practical rather than the routine
afairn ~ his department said
Do no, profess and never have PROGRESSED
800
or no expert The accounts and records ~
The department. during nay administration
have been intris'ed 10 employees found hr
mo In possession Of their various Offices upon
my assuming the duties Of commissioner
and protected from removal bv III" Civil
service Law IN these employees ! have re-
posed the most implicit trust and confidence
which | wish 20 aIy has never, to my knowl-
edge. been abused. aud which have no o.
casion TO regret.
No special method Of bookkeeping IL pre-
scribed by the Charter for the department
Ry section 10 Of the Charter Of the city ~
New York IL IN made the duty Of the Conn
mlssioners Of Accounts TO make such eN-
animation as they may deem for the best
interests Of the city of the accounts OF the
different departments OF the city govern
ment.
The Commissioner OF Accounts have from
time to time and at frequent intervals ex-
aminAd the books Of the department. and
these accounts as well as my accounts, filed
with the Comptroller and with the city Cham
berlain. both OF receipts and disbursements,
have been at all times subject to their in
| spection and control. Every suggestion
made by them with reference 10 Che keeping
Of books and accounts has been at once com-
piled with.
Commissioners Woodbury. answers the
charge that the contractors for the picking
and trimming of the soo VS. made large
profits out of the job by showing that the
contract was awarded to the highest bid
der after offers had been advertised for
and that in letting such a contract he had
followed the system adopted by the hte
Col. Waring, who had been advised by The
then Corporation Counsel, Francis Nj, Scott,
that il was entirely within the province OF
arrangements with the contractor for the
pickings to trim -the 'scows. On this Sub
ject Major Woodbury. wrote: -
1t has been found by experience to be
wholly impracticable for two gangs of men
under different bosses. one employed by a
contractor In picking the rubbish and the
other employed by the city in dwelling or
trimming II, to work alongside of each other.
and il il this consideration which, in my
Judgment, justified and confirmed the plan
OF having the rubbish at the scows or. as the
case may be. at the incinerators. both picked
and trimmed by one gang Of men under a
singl employer.
My predecessor. Commissioner Waring. in
this matter of picking the rubbish went 80
far as not only to grant rebates and to have
the la Dor OF trimming performed by the con-
tractor. but instead of turning over the bal
ance paid TO the city to the Sinking Fund
Commission, 10 Use it in Investigating the
question Of incineration. and to construct
a crematory and its appurtenances. and for
the rent OF a lot at Flfty-third street and
Twelfth avenue upon which the crematory
stood. He also used this balance for the
hire Of carts and trucks varying in lumber
from forty-one to seventy-nine and avera ging
ffty-four per day, which he used In the COLI
lection OF garbage and rubbish.
Major Woodbury. gives up a large part
of his brief to the contract made for the
final disposition Of the garbage in Brooklyn.
Much OF the time Of the committee was
centred upon this, matter H, Milton
ing away the refuse Of the borough on
fiat cars operated over the Brooklyn Rapid
Transit lines, testified that after he had
made a contract with the city to carry out
his plan he had been squeezed out OF the
was something with which Commissioner
Woodbury. or his department had not the
least concern, the committee dwelt upon 1t
for several days. Upon this phase OF The
inquiry, COMMISSIONER NOOuDuly sdiu.
1t may well be that Kennedy and others In
the Borough Of Brooklyn combined and con-
spired TO do away with competition In the
bidding for this contract. but this is a matter
OF which | never heard prior to the investiga-
ton by your committee. In spite of the tes-
timony adduced before you. ! am still Of the
opinion that the contract when made was for
the best interests of the city.
There has undoubtedly in the last four years
been a great increase in the cost Of the final
disposition Of ashes and rubbish in Brooklyn
and the reason is plain. Before the city
entered into the present contract with Ken
~nedy-which has been approved by the Cor
poration Counsel. by the Comptroller, by a
special committee Of the Board Of Estimate and
Apportionment and by the full board and then
has been let at public oompetition-the method
O final disposition Of the rubbish and ashes in
Brooklyn was to place the same upon land
dumps or vacant spaces which the owners
wished to have filled in; but as time went
on these open spaces were filed In. and
to-day there are hardly any available for
this purpose In the whole borough.
Moreover. this system OF dumping the
rubbish and ashes on vacant lots In the city
Of BrookIyfsis unsanitary and an imposition