New-York tribune., 1908-03-05
EQUALIZING CHARGES.
RRONX BUREAU SYSTEM.
Bookkeeping IN Assessment Proceed
ings Under Hafen.

Tbere WAS brought out yesterday by J. p. Nit
cbeII. Commissioner of Accounts. in a continual
tion of the investigation of the office or bor-
ough President Haffen OF The Bronx, the system
by which work was charged against assess
ment proceedings iE the bureau or highways HI
that borough for many years After Henry L.
Bridges who kept the assessment proceeuine'
books in the Department of Highways hao peeh
on the stand almost continuously from = o cioch
in the afternoon until after o'clock last night
and il had been shown. from computations ne
was directed to make by Commissioner Mitchell
from the figures in his own books. that Sl9I 90
more had been charged to the grading ana
regulating of Creston avenue than should have
been charged according to the time actuaiy put
in by engineers and inspectors Samuel C.
Thompson, principal engineer OF the oepai 'i''
was put the stand.
Mr.. Bridges had said he had charged time 10
proceedings, which had actually been spent on
other proceedings according to the directions OF
Mr. THOMPSON After Mr.. Mitchell had reviewed
the testimony Of MIR. Bridges he pointed to GER
tain items and asked: Are they truthful or
are they false. as representing the actual time
put in by 1ner that particular proceeding IN
that month";?
We'll. they are false, il you put it in that
way" replied the engineer, after some hesita-
ton He argued, however. that the system was
one that had been in use in the department for
many years.
1t seems that in the ledgers. opposite the times
actually spent by engineers and inspectors on
the work. were placed red or blue figures show
ing the amount Of time that was actually
charged up to them, according to a system in
vogue not TO allow the fees for engineering and
inspection work to run above IS per cent on
icr1Ior =
rule was one established by President Haffen,
it was said by Mr.. Thompson.
According to the charter only such work as
has been actually done on assessment pro-
ceeding may be charged against it, Commits
sioner Mitchell who has examined assessment
proceedings in the bureau of highways from
1902 to the present time, says that all so exam
ined have been figured in this manner. Whether
citizens. who have paid such assessments, would
have any suit against the city for recovery of
such assessments would be a question for the
Corporation Counsel to determine, he said.
Mr. Thompson said that certain blue pencilled
eQualizat tions, they were called. in an old
ledger had been made by him personally. He
contradicted Mr.. Bridges in some particulars,
saying he had never instructed Mr.. Bridges to
charge work done one proceeding to an
other. but that the practice had been TO trans
the letting of a contract to the cost of the as
sessment proceeding when it got under way. It
had to be distributed over the entire time of the
work. as the figures for one month could not go
beyond the estimated percentage set at the be-
ginning.
President Haffen was not the stand yester
day, but will be recalled Monday. The first
witness was Josiah A. Briggs, the chief engineer
OF the office. Mr. Van Doren. counsel for the
Borough President, objected several times to
the way in which Mr.. Briggs was being ex-
amined. causing Commissioner Mitchell to ask
in some heat: rs 1t the purpose of counsel to
provoke the commissioners to exclude him from
the room. and thus create the specious appear
ance that did not allow President Haffen to
be represented by counsel?"
Isn't 1t a fact" Mr. Briggs was asked that
for ten years there has been regular system
OF equali2ing charges for engineering work done
by the transferring of men nominalIy from one
job TO another, when their services were not
needed?"
Il don't know OF it, replied Mr.. Briggs. He
said, however, that in one case where charges
were preferred men had been transferred from
the typographical bureau to the Washington
avenue assessment proceeding.
Ernest H. Rondell who kept the assessment
books for some time but is employed in the
Health Department. when asked If it was not
the practice to charge up engineering and in
spection expenses in excess of 10 per cent to
other proceedings, replied that he believed it
was. He had heard Mr.. Thompson directing
distribution of expenses, he said.
TROUBLE IN KINGS