New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-10-31
Merchants Association Al
legeS Part of ,6O9,276
Also Went for Salaries.
APPROPRIATION MADE
FOR NEW SYSTEM
Money Frittered Away While
City Faces Fire Peril, Says
President Marble.

W. \. Marble, president of the Mer-
chants Association, has asked Mayor
Mitchell 20 have the Commissioner OF
Accounts find out what has happened
to the Sl,609,276 appropriated to give
New York new fire alarm system, ana
why it happened. Mr.. Marble says
that after repeated requests made oy
his association 20 the Fire Department
in eighteen months he has discovered
that good part of the money mas
been spent for automobiles, salaries
and overhead expenses. none of whicn
will be Of the slightest use 20 the cIt'-
zen whose house catches fire.
As far back as 1906, he says. tho
Board Of Fire Underwriters reported
that the fire alarm system was IN a
precarious condition and LAID the city
open to danger Of conhagration. u
was estimated that a new system would
cost $4,000 900. OF this amount more
than half has been appropriated, but
in most cases so isolated as TO be o.
no present use. Even II completed
Mr.. Marble says, the work already be
gun will not fit into any adequate fiah
for new system. Overhead charges,
usually estimated at 5 per cent, on
these contracts have already amounted
to II per cent.
Through the efforts Of Commissioner
Adamson Mr.. Marble learned at last
that apparently funds had been di-
verified from their intended purpose. A
considerable portion, he says. of the
money obtained through fifty-year
bonds for the erection of permanent
structures has been frittered away.
Commissioner Adamson reported TO
the Mayor that little had been done 10
carry out broad plans prepared by J. j.
Carty and X. b. Miller, engineers, al
though about 81 100000 had been spent.
Mr.. Marbles assertions. the Commits
sioner said. were based upon figures
furnished by the Fire Department, and
were true. Nearly half Of the money
spent went to pay salaries and TO buy
automobiles. Of report made by
Putnam A. Bates, chief engineer of the
fire alarm telegraph bureau, Commits
sioner Adamson has this to say:
"While Mr.. Bates estimates that. OF
the work done under these appropria-
lions. that amounting to S6s9,95O Il
may be incorporated into the new sys
TEN when built, il consists Of such
isolated pieces of construction that 10
link them together would make the
final cost of the new system unneces-
sarily wasteful.'
Commissioner Adamson attributed
the waste to attacking a big problem
Mr.. Bates. he said. had
been at work for some time on compre-
hensivc plans for new FIRE alarm sys-
ten. The Commi ssioner doubted If the
of Accounts could dig
any further into the matter than the
Fire Department already had. He in
closed the following table showing the
of twenty-seven appropria-
tons. aggregating S1,609,276 50, made
since August 10, 1903, for the lnstalla-
ton of a new fire alarm system:
Expended for maintenance. sal
aries automobiles. miscellanC-
Gus contracts for patching old
system .................. .S357. $50 20
For construction which may be
utilized in the new system. GO. GSo,9IO y
For apparatus which probably
can hc used iu the new system J'."1l -
r-,.,.. t.r-.1.ae. NJ fro .pua-afue g.. No 81 .