Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1909-12-23
OF WORKS
GETS ONLY $1,000
TO CLEAN STREETS
Members Are Scored for Ex-
travagance and Receive One
Third of Appropriation Asked.


Five thousand dollars to be expended
to keep the city streets clean from now
until the first of the yea was the best
the members of the Board of Works
could get from the Common Council
finance committee at its meeting last
night. Alderman Jerome 7. Congleton,
chairman of the committee, criticised
the board sharply for the way the
funds already appropriated for the
work. had been administered.
Il vote for this appropriation said
Mr.. Congleton, mot because l want to
relieve the nance committee of any
responsibility that the Board of Works
streets, not to get the Board of Works
out of the embarrassing situation in
which its expenditures for the yea has
placed that body, out because I want
to see the streets cleaned up as the
taxpayers nave a right to expect they
should be-"
The $4,000 is one-third Of What was
asked for by Commissioners Arthur X.
Denman on December 10, and one-half
Of what Mas asked for last night. Mr..
DenmaD said that $1,000 would be
necessary to keep the streets clean,
81, 500 for ordinary weather with $500
in reserve in case of snow. The in
creased mileage of paved streets, he
said, was responsible for the demands
for the increased appropriation.
I'VE will cut the cloth according to
what you give u.s." said City Engineer
Morris R. Sherrerd.
The trouble is that you have left
it to the last two weeks of the year to
cut the CLOTH" said Congleton. You've
had the cloth and ought to nave made
it meet your needs"
Engineer Sherrerd said he was sorry
there had been a dispute. The Board
of Works was charged with the respon-
sibility of cleaning and repairing the
city streets, he went on, II had or
ganized the work as it deemed best.
I'VE have obtained better results and
had cleaner streets III the last two
years han ever before Mr.. Sherrerd
continued, land we want TO keep up
Il organization. 1 regret that we
have had to ask for more money, but
the demands have beer greater because
there has been more work to do"
at may be true that the Board of
Works is charged with the RESPONSE
bility for the Streets said Congleton,
but as a member of the Council and
of the finance committee l lave a lot
to say about the judicious spending of
the money of the taxpayers. 1t is the
appropriations to o u department and
others that go to make the tax rates
what they are. You went right along
spending money until you used it UP,
supposing that you could come back
here for more whenever you wanted
it."
A motion by Alderman Cairns to
appropriate $4,000 was withdrawn, as
was one by Alderman MCGOWAN to
appropriate $500 Congleton said he
didn't propose to be bulldozed into vot-
ing for a cent more than 1000. The re-
sponsibillty for dirty streets, he insisted,
laid with the Board of Works. He said
thai men had been sent to his office for
the last ten days to place the blame Cor
dirty streets upon him. He assailed
expenditures of $58, 600 for wagon hire as
the biggest political pap" in the city,
and compared it to a total street labor
charge of S106, 900. The appropriation
of $1,000 was finally made unanimous,
subject to review before the final Coun>
Gil meeting of the ear Monday night.
Among those who We're heard las
night in the last appeals for funds Tor
1909 was Mayor Haussling. 1t is almost
unprecedented for the city's chief exec
utive to attend u committee meeting.
The Mayor was there, as the president
of the Board of City Home Trustees, to
ask for 81, 900 to be used in addition to
the $4,000 already appropriated for
erecting and furnishing a new school
building for the City Home at Verona.
II was planned originally to use S13, 900
for a new administration building and
superintendent home, and to use the
present home OF Superintendent Carl
Heller for a school building, but that
was abandoned, and bids opened las
week for a new school. The owest bid
for the building was $26, 900. After lis
tening to a letter from Superintendent
Heller, who Is i'll, and to appeals from
Trustee Louis ". Aronson, backing up
the Mayors contention, the committee
decided that the matter would have to
go to the Council of 1910, as funds would
be insufficient his year. The Mayor
said that boys were sleeping upon bare
floors, and that the crowded condition
should be relieved in the interest of the
boys physical, mental and moral well
fare.
1t was voted to give the City Has
pital $1,500 and give the Board of Health
$3.50 for an electrical thermostat appa-
ratus for treating nervous diseases at
the clinic. Other requests, including
that of Alderman Huegel for an auto
mobile fire engine for the Vailsburg dis
trict, were laid over to Monday.