New-York tribune., 1907-06-09
Ill tE6IvG to get GOD SERVICE from mPuBLlC &ERyANrS

About 100000 year is being spent In New
~, N oust the Colossus of graft, dishonesty
- i,oouretency fr IN the administration of
,,,,ricfral affairs.
,,rerv renny Of this money is raised by yolun
go, contributions from public spirited citizens.
Tho IN addition, Of course. pay their due share
r. the city's taxes. 1t is expended by organiza-
.,ons composed of hundreds of the ablest bust
ress men in the city.
instinct in themselves, covering different fields
., work Yet banded together against the COM
-oon enemy. these organizations have become
definite and mighty power in the cause of honest
civic government within the last few years.
Hundreds Of millions of dollars have been
saved for the taxpayer by these voluntary eff
forts. Huge steals Of public money comprising
millions in the aggregate. have been stopped.
Wild and extravagant schemes Of various kinds,
hacked by powerful and wealthy corporations
anxious TO dip deeply into the city treasury.
have been successfully foiled, IN spite of the
strenuous efforts Of dishonest representatives
and officials who had q potential share I'm tbe
promised loot.
To evolve system out Of chaos IN the expend
tture Of the city's revenue is the latest hercu-
lean task undertaken by these enthusiastic
workers in the cause OF civic reform. The pro
posal is to reorganize the entire system bv which
the annual city expenditure Of some S15O 600 600
Is now made. The Board Of Estimate ard
portionment, which distributes this vast ar1oT1pt
Of money among the various city departments
has already adopted the new system in prepar-
ns 1-4S =. esS.Ilates Tor the Department of
Pubic Heath. Next year It is purposed that
The same reform shall be applied 10 the Wafer
Parks ana third department not yet fully de-
aaed upon. Inc various other spending depart-
nents Of the City's service will be taken nm and
dealt with in succeeding years
Under the new system the various functional
n IL "a ~ ants
ioBi appoTuonment of money is divided n he
Spilled specifically to the work for which n is
eIsAted- DePaTtlnents are required to keep rec
Gos OF COSTS ana results in each functional divis
0n' so that the annual reports will show the
exact amount OF money expended each wear and
The tangible results obtained I'm the Io-,o,,.
divisions Of departmental activity Tba -,
tHt system, or lack Of system by which enor
nous sums are yearly voted to be expended ss
ne commissioner may see fit, will be q abolished
an ounce OF prevention is worth a pound OF
cure, as the old adage has It this systenati1ine
o. the clty's expenditure VIII take away from
e!Aohest representatives and officials the means
o. covering up their stealings. II will serve a
means Ior Wen lntentioned commissioners 10
popeTiy supervise and keep track of the va
aeus branches Of work in their 6epartments
i VIII enable the Board Of Estimate and Amor
nolrnent quickly and accurately to decide The
so1i. 4i, OF money actually required TO carry on
elecuveIy the different divisions of work in
sach department, for the results and exnendI
iues n previous years will be conciseIy and
hlelAgently set forth In the annual reports
Win the city's house in order financialIy +I,s
opportunities for graft dishonesty and incor-
psleiCy winch have marked the administration
q cvlc aifaiTs in the past will be greatly mini
@ @nEea- The aggregation Of departmental ex-
sehaitures VIII enable the public TO place its
.l niger more easily upon the sore spots in the
-iy services and place the blame without delay
Were Il properly belongs
LONG LIST OF SERVICES.
9his reform. though the latest. is only one
'ae'en2ent IN a long list Of important services
isaaeFed the general public in the direction OF
more honest and efficient civic administration
" more than dozen different organizations
reported entirely by private contributions
IN selects its own field Of study and investi-
81 seIo1L n OItentmes they strike at the same
M .,l Hofn different directions. but the work of
t sas rarely overlaps or duplicates that of the
ssneIs, Formerly the efforts of these associa-
a aOAs were SpasmOdic and lacked direction and
iaotoughness i in covering the field During The
a% 49, te% years, however, a regular system Of CO.
pIoeioh mas remedied that defect, and to-day
IEglly machine has been created which is
'''11Ay and Systematically endeavoring TO re-