New-York tribune., 1907-12-10

that administrative care which it was the plain
duty of the Borough President to exercise
The condition Of disrepair and neglect which
President Ahearn permitted to obtain in the
streets of Manhattan Borough. especially those
rayed with asphalt, is the principal ground upon
which Governor Hughes bases his action but ne
aIludes also to grave abuses in the adminlsta-
zion of the Bureau of Public Buildings and Of
6ces" one of the departments under AhearnS
jurisdiction.
NO PERSONAL CORRUPTION
The Governor takes pains to call attention to
the fact that personal corruption was hOt alie50u
or proved against the Borough President 4hdt
:; ba saws lit is not shown and it is not claimed
that he has converted public money or property
TO his own use or has personally prohted III an
unlawful manner by his official conduct
Justice to Mr. Ahearn requires" the Governor
,o,,t;r-as ..,rat this should be stated emphati-
caIIy and clearly he understood But that does not
ond ,he matter A borough president is renoV-
b1a unop charges and without attempting 10
,.te con,prehensiveIy what conduct bearing
,,ron character or fitness might be regarded as
a proper subject of charges IT Is Gear 'n"'
charge will lie for breach OF duty
There may be, of course. technlcal oreacieS
- 80 or omissions of such relative inconse-
ouence that although public obllgatlon may h'1
have been strictly it has been substantially per-
formed. and removal from office would not Dc
justified. The gravity and comparative impor-
tance of the breach of duty is a matter for the
consideration of the officer vested with the
power Of removal But if there has been NAL
administration in matters seriously affecting
the public welfare and gross breach of official
obligation the duty of removal Is clear albert
there is no proof of peculation or personal dis
honesty"
wRETCHED CONDITION OF STREETS
Taking up first the charges of maladministra-
ton in the Department of Highways. the Cow
ernor says. in part:
The evidence compeIs the conclusion that
Rorough President Ahearn has failed to perform
his duty with reference TO the streetS 70 d ue-
gree that is entirely inexcusable- Until re,
GENTLY when the sharpness OF complaints ana
investigation led to a reorganization OF the ue-
partment the streets of Manhattan were per-
mitted TO remain in a shocking condition of dis
ranair II is not a case of occasional neglect or
of lapses which might be overlooked On the
contrary it is case of continuous maladmlnls-
tration. relieved only by SpaSmOdIc efforts under
the pressure of criticism 1t is not necessary to
go back Mr.. Ahearn's first term. but IL is suf-
ficient TO consider the wretched condition or the
streets during the year 1906 and until the spring
of this year. the responsibility for which rests
upon the Borough President.
/ am not unmndful of the large amount OF
disturbance OF the streets. due 90 the multitude
of necessary openings, the damage by bon-fires.
or of the excuse based upon the confusion Of
authority due TO the defects in the charter. and
obvious as may be the Importance of remedytng
them in order to get the best results there is a
limit to the extent 10 which thew may serve as
an excuse for bad administra tion- And IN TINS
case. after making full allowance for any pos
sible embarrassment which they occdsi9ned 10
the Borough President, and for the extent OF IN
reference with the pavements by the causes
that in the main the bad condition OF the streets
has not been due to any other cause than the
raiI1 of yhp ".
MIR. AHEARN's ACTION.
This was practically conceded last spring
when the matter became exigent by reason OF
the public and official attention il was receiving
Then Mr. Ahearn called for reports and made
a personal inspection. lie testines tnat ne
.found the streets in A had condition and
made lid my C1is) mind th3t they had got
away from my (his) department or those con-
Jitions couId not have existed He saws .hlt
he sent for his engineers AMI asked them what
excuses they could give him Tor the "oHcitlon
of the streets and that rev told him, 1t was
due TO the fire burns. the MANY hre burns and
tho hard winter elements. and the wear and tear
throughout the winter months ThiS was not
accepted by the Borough PRESIDENT ne Sa-d
that he did not believe u
MIR Ahearn then asked for a report of all the
rspairs that had been made by the aSpndlt coIh-
nanies in the year 1906 He says that when ne
s,,-as informed by my (his) own department that
they kept no such records there or that ne
was "dumbfounded." Thereupon, and evidently
With the purpose of protecting himseif, from the
Using storm of censure Mr.. Ahearn removed
the commissioner OF Public Works The cher
engineer of highways was required TO resign
n is impossible. however. for the BorouSh
President to justify himself with respect 10
this matter upon the theory that ne nad prop
civ confded in subordinates and that. sur
,risad nv the discovery of their Incompetence,
he had promptly undertaken TO provide REM
edy The condition OF the streets was as Itoa no.
in 1904 and in 1905 He had promised that he
would give the matter his best attention. He
had, and he actually exercised full control OF