The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-11-24
MUNICIPAL RESEARCH.

mONlIIFAI nEoGSAnS0s
Last week DIR. Albert Shaw of the
Review of Reviews adore ssed the
New York Chamber of Commerce and
discussed the work of the New York
City branch OF the Bureau of Munich
pal Research, which is composed Of
business and professional men. This
IL all the more interesting to Indiana
business men In view of the great en-
thusiasm which they have displayed
in bringing into the lime-light the
country business in this state.
The bureau in New York does not
deal in glittering generalities nor
sounding brass. 1t goes into details
and very minute ones at that, which
have shown up that great organization
OF Tammany AS an instance of that
work 1t is well to recall a small ex-
ample.
In one Of the New York City offices
1t was necessary to have some coat
hooks installed. The number required
was 165 and the quality was Of the
ordinary wire variety which are re-
garded as expensive when the retail
dealer asks you five cents for them.
The inve ntor and manufacturer OF
these articles advertises them as be-
ing easily put up on account Of the
gimlet screws attached.
For these the citizens of New York
were forced to pay $117.10-notwith-
standing the fact that the whole lot
could have been purchased by any one
of the tax payers for considerably less
than ten dollars.
This was not all. OF course these
useful articles had to be put into
place. This extraordinary labor took
two slSil1ful Tammany carpenters the
slight period of thirty-one days to put
them into place and for their services
they were only allowed the ridiculous
~ INV dllOuuI VI 16fo.
A business house in that city would
have paid SIS for the hooks and the
work OF putting the minto place, the
city paid only $365.10.
There are many instances Of this
sort OF thing all over the country.
When man gets into office he loses
all the knowledge which once was mis-.
on such small trifles as wire hooks
and cost of labor. The enormous
pressure of business is of course re-
sponsible for 1t. Therefore it is well
to have bureau of lazy business men
who are wofully ignorant on such lit
tie details to look over the budget and
go to the trouble of finding out Just
how much things really cost. It some
times happens that as In the above
case the Incompetent business men
have found that things can be done a
trifle cheaper than the ordinary Off
cial had dreamed was possible.
Like every disease the way to start
the cure for graft is to find out what
is the matter. The bureau therefore
has skilled accountants and special
lists. These men enable the bureau
to make plain to any citizen when he
is being done. 1t enables any one in
terested to keep tab on the city and
county governments.
The bureau however does not stop
with merely pointing out that certain
things are wrong-that is only the be-
ginning of its labors. Just now it hap
pens to be engaged in the revision of
the charter of the city of New York.
1t is an organization of suggestion and
construction as we'll as criticism. Val
liable as criticism is in arousing the
public conscience it is not effective
unless backed up by the suggestion
OF practical remedy.
1t is to be hoped that the movement
undertaken in this state by the bust
ness men will be along the lines and
the ideals of the New York Bureau of
Municipal Research. If so. the COM
munities affected will owe them a