New-York tribune., 1908-02-19

ter accompanied by a subpoena requiring his at
tendance in person, yesterday served upon
President Haffen:
Office OF the Commissioners of Accounts.
New York. February Is, 1908
The Hon. Louis f Eaffen. Borough President,
The Bronx. City;
Dear Sr-F'or some time past we have been
engaged upon an examination of the accounts
and methods of your department We have now
reached a point in our examination where We
are of the opinion that the examination OF VII
nesses under oath is d necessity. We have ac-
cOrdngly. in the exercise OF the discretionary
power vested in us by law. determined TO hold
public hearings, and have ordered such hearings
{ TO be held in the Mayors reception room in the
/ City Hall. and to begin on Monday, February "a
/ 1908. 10: 30 O'Clock in the forenoon. We re-
quest that you attend at that time and place, az
desire TO place you on the stand as the nrSt
witness
We are informed that of the officers of
your department. are absent from the city upon
leave As it will be necessary TO place upon the
stand a of the principal officers of the various
divisions of your Office, we request that until the
conclusion of our hearings YOU refrain from
granting leaves of absence or vacations to any
! officers members of the bureaus or other sub
divisions Of your department Yours respect
fullT. JOHN PURROY mitchell.
L. Y. GALLAGHER,
Commissioners of Accounts
The case prepared by the Commissioners of
Accounts according to Albert E Davis. presi-
dent of the Civic League Of The Bronx the or
ganization that formulated the charges which
Z
following counts:
That an army of political appOntees has beer
maintained upon the payrols in every bureau,
and that nearly 40 per cent of those payroils
are padded with the names Of men who do
little if any. work for the city
That funds created by the sale Of assessment
bonds have been misused. and inspectors dis
missed from the city's service who reported vio-
Iations of contract specifications
That funds created by the sale Of corporate
stock of the city Of New York have been used
for the repaving of streets when such streets
were in d perfectly good condition before the
work Of repaving began.
That funds created by the sale OF corporate
stock Of the city OF New York have been used
for purposes other than those specified in the
city charter.
That the engineering staff generally has been
overmanned. with the result that excessive
charges have been made for engineering super
vision of work carried on by the various bu-
reaus of the Borough Presidents office
That unfair and illegal concessions have been
granted to contractors doing work for the city.
These include the allowing Of time to
contractors for the completion of work in
cess OF the time limit specified in the contracts
without the specified penalties being exacted.
and the existence of q system of unbalanced
bidding in the awarding of contracts with the
city, What Is known unbalanced bidding is
where engineers in preparing specifications un-
derestimate quantities, thereby giving the low
est bidder a larger monetary return for the work
done than the estimated gross total figured upon
by the engineers in the specifications upon which
tenders were asked. In this way the price for
work done under contract, at much a stated
quantity, may be increased TO figure larger
than that contained in the tenders of unsuccess-
fu higher bidders for the work.
That in connection with the administration
of the bureau of buildings, which grants per-
rnits and ratiffes plans for the construction of
buildings in the borough. notifications have
been allowed in contravention of law from which
favored persons erecting buildings in The Bronx
have received advantages.
That the office of the property clerk who is
responsible for materials purchased for the use
Of the various bureaus of the Borough Presi
dents office is in a state of absolute chaos with
respect both 10 records and transactions having
to do with city property
That exaggerated favoritism has been shown
to contractors engaged in the erection of the
new courthouse
That there is e crying abuse Of the system OF
appointing inspectors to supervise work done
upon city streets and property by public service
corporations Under the law the Borough Pres
ident has the power to appoint inspectors to
I
kind done by public service corporations. These
inspectors are paid by the corporations doing
The work That inspectors appointed by Mr.
T4affen 10 supervise work OF this sort are II
responsible and under proper supervision;
that they make meaningless reports and do
not protect the city's interests; that they are
appointed without regard to their fitness for
the work and merely to provide well paid
places for political friends of the Borough Presi-
dent.
7, order 10 save time and carry on in
vestiga tons simultaneously the Commissioners
| Of Accounts it is understood. propose to adopt
| an alternative plan Of holding public hearings
Two weeks will be devoted to the Bronx in
| ouiry- and the following TWO weeks q con-
+tnua1ion of the investigation already begun
/ oF the Fire Department The intention is TO
/ follow this plan until both inquiries are con-
/ cIuded.
| When asked last night about the investigation
Commissioner Mitchell said:
| We sent a letter to-day TO President Haffen
| announcing that public hearings in the investi-
| cation OF his department would begin on Mon
day next al 10: 80 o'clock in the morning. PreSi-
dent Hafen is be the first witness In the
/ course of our investigation we will put on the
! stand all the heads OF the bureaus or the BOr-
! ough President and will also call great many
citizens AS we have been informed that some
! of the borough officials contemplated the selec-
ton Of this season of the year for vacations, We
/ have requested the Borough President TO refuse
! leaves of absence until the conclusion OF our
/ public hearings.
/ The request OF the Commissioners Of Accounts
| that Borough President Haffen refrain from Civ
! ing leaves of absence to his subordinates until
| after the end of the investigation is understood
| To have been prompted by the absence in Flor
| ida of at least needed witnesses.
| one of these is Martin Geisze-. superintendent
| of Highways under Mr.. Haffen. He is supposed
| to be the head of the Geszler Realty Company,
| doing an extensive business in The Bronx. The
| other is Henry Bruckner. former Commissioned