New-York tribune., 1908-10-08
SAYS SING SING STOLE
CITY ASKS STATE TO PAY.
gVauts $50, 900 for Half Century OF
Water Pilfer1ng.

y ,-oiarysl Michael Clarence Padden. water 'es.s
.a-. saws ;hat Sing Sing prison owes uio 80
isIho noo for water which for the last hi's 90
5,as been sto-er-er-sufreptitsons '"'
:tbe city-s aoueduct in Ossining and USED ior ta
-3ons nurnoses by the state in its penal instltu-
zion. 1900,
After a painstaking Investigation CoIoiie
l,,eaden sent last week TO c. Y. Collins, state
suner,ntendent of Prisons, the Attorney Genera
an6 the Corporation Counsel data covering t1e
Sase. and the city has begun the necessary Pi0-
keedings to recover from the state
Aside from the somewhat novel proPosi'ioi
THAT a state prison, which houses men coH'ie,e0
sof burglary has been stealing water from $,io
CITY there seems TO be q serious size 10 'Iie
.ontro,,ers, hetNreen the state and city over the
water taken.
From the investigation made Register Padoen
has q suspicion that employees of the prison. d.
some unknown date within the last hfty year s.
without letting the city know what was gums
hon made extensive alterations TO the pipes
sconnectiug the prison with the city S nalh' III
htalled new. unmetered pipes which have fur
i,,,.t,e5 a., ar,ount Of water equal to the amount
khat the state paid for. and, in addition con-
Eected 3 private factory near the prison WIN
sha prison supply and then sold the water at
= commercial rates
); DETERMINED TO COLLECT.
r.
sne11t is acting on the assumption that the stat
Aute of limitations does not hold in case be-
rween the state and the city, and he Is deter
mined TO collect for the unknown period
/ superintendent Collins sent Warden Frost 10
Register Padden's Office last week IN an eIioI'
10 adjust the controversy, but the interview was
ksntirely fruitless Superintendent Cohlns anu
sWarden Frost take the ground that they are
hot responsible for a pipe connection which, SO
Mar as they know was put in by the city a gen
eration ago, and they do not treat seriously the
kity-s claim for arrearages
/ Requested yesterday for statement Register
Eadden said:
we have amply proved that the prison at
Sing Sing is taking water from the citys man
without paying for it. that it has been DONG II
sor an unknown period, probably reaching back
sortv or fifty years; that because Of the fact
that II had the extra water for which it was
g,7ot having the prison caused, or allowed, TO be
made a Pinch connection running from the
horison TO a private factory adjoining the prison.
kand that the factory until stopped it, was
s,sing this water wholly without pay to the
kity.
TIE city began furnishing water to the prison
lsbout 1857. The connection is made about
atorty feet under the surface of Spring street, in
iossining. through 6-inch pipe. The laws OF
lls62 compelled the city TO furnish this water
10 the prison at the rate of 246 cents per thou
kand cubic feet of water. metered. The COM
lmerciaI rate il this city is 81 a thousand feet
The local water company in Ossining charges
iprivate consumers 90 cents. This 6-inch con-
inection is capable of delivering to the prison
about $4,000 worth Of water yea1
CITY AND PRISON IN DISPUTE.
In 1882 the city got into a dispute with the
warden of the prison over terms and quantity
Of water used, the city contending that the
prison was using more and more water without
paying fair price. I should have said that the
agreement provides that where the prison uses
mora than 500 worth of water year it shall
nav the usual commercial rate the idea being
that the city did not wish TO furnish more water
than was necessary at the reduced rate.
Following the controversy in 1892 the city
installed two 6-fnch meters in the Spring street
vault in order TO determine the flow. Without
authority from the city, and absolutely without
its knowledge these two meters were removed
TO point alongside the prison wall There is
fno record in the department Of this important
transaction 1t doubtless done at the in
tztance Of the prison officials.
Tn addition TO the e-inch service there was
installed. without the knowledge of the city so
far as official records show, an S-inch bypass
pipe and an S-1nch unmetered service running
ltnto the prison. and also S-inch pipe running
Ito an ice pond at an elevation and just below
THE level Of the prison reservoir
SUPPLYING PIANO FACTORY.
This discovery was made this year by our
..nspectors and within the last two weeks the
further discovery was made that running from
the prison 70 a piano factory alongside the
iorsson walls is a 2-inch service pipe supply
ling the factory plant This metered with
"a worthngton meter, not owned or controlled
by the city.
THE meter number destroyed, and the
-company was not able to tell US when the meter
was sold or by whom bought The factory
koriginally was a shoe factory, in which the con-
Eyicts worked but the plant is occupied by
George Slecher. who has a piano wareroom at
mo. 81 West 14th street.
when We called the attention of Warden
Frost 10 these mysterious connections. whereby
the city losing thousands Of dollars worth
OF water a year he disclained knowledge of
them. Superintendent Collins sent Warden
Frost here a few days ago in company with a
Deputy Attorney General and 1 confronted them
with the facts. as narrated.
LOOKS LIKE A STEAL"
Mr., Frost disputed the facts, and said that
we didn't know what we were talking about