New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-11-10
MAHONEY AND RICE
REPORT ON STEWARDSHIP
Accounts Commissioners Out
line Activities for Three and
a Half Years.
ECONOMY THE WATCHWORD
Every Detail of Vast Municipal
Machinery Under Scrutiny
of Board - Employees
Misconduct Punished.

Mayor Kline made public yesterday the
report of the Commissioners of Accounts.
giving an outline of the activities during
the last three and a half years of the
office, which has graduated John Purroy
Mitchell to the Mayoralty and made Ray
mond n. Fosdick possible choice Of the
Mayor elect for Police Commissioner. The
report was prepared by Commissioners
jeremiah T. Mahoney and Harry NJ. Rice
In the introduction the report says that
the office has been rightly called the eyes
OF the Mayor" and then goes on to show
what an argus-eyed adjunct It has been,
with its more than four hundred reports,
dealing searchingly with the workings Of
all the thirty-four departments of the city
government and involving the activities
Of $1,000 men and women and the yearly
expenditure of s25ooooOoo.
Among the concrete results accom-
plished by the studies and revelations OF
the commission was the abandonment Of
a plan TO erect, at cost of $500 a
"palatial residence for a gatekeeper," pro-
posed by the Aqueduct Commission.
The work Of the Board Of Aldermen also
came under the scrutiny OF the commits
sioners, one instance Of waste Of public
money being found in the award Of con-
tracts calling for s3l $50 for fireworks
worth only 1880 AS result the bills
we're held up, and finally settled for
s19.057 o.
Again, the commissioners investigated
the project TO build the Sea View Hos
pital and by directing attention TO the
extravagant plans notifications were
made which resulted In a saving Of at
least $4,000 without in any degree les
SEEMING the ultimate relief TO be given
through such a plant"
These instances are typical OF the salu-
tary influence the commission has had
over the expenditure OF public funds. I'm
addition to this type Of work there was
the detailed supervision maintained over
every department or tne CITY government
resulting I'm the finding Of abuses In ac-
counting and many Instances Of payroll
Irregularities. and the proposing Of RENE
dies and corrections to be adopted. with
increased economy TO the city and Inn
proved efficiency in the work turned out.
Numerous Instances are also cited both
OF city employees discharged from their
positions as result Of misconduct and
of others sent TO Jail for criminal derc-
ictions
mo man" the report says in part. :'oc-
cupying the position OF Chief Executive
Of this great city can be expected person
ally to look into every detail Of this vast
municipal machinery, vet the public holds
him responsible and acclaims him a good
or a bad Mayor just as i'm their opinion
the city government Is good or bad
Having 10 shoulder the responsibility.
the Mayor must direct the policies. and
10 direct with intelligence he must have
accurate as well as disintercstcd infor-
nation. To a large extent this Is OBJ
tained through the instrumeutality Of the
Office OF the Commissioners Of Accounts,
which. through long service in municipal
affairs has been developed into a force Of
municipal experts.