The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-08-22
ny ROOD.


TIME taxpayers of Greater New
Yorl; have been getting more
i and more FESTIVE for ON
years as they have seen g
budgets for government rising with
oteadincsa. and nany have been
the protes SITS uttered against what
has seemed to tNcm an urpardnnlblc
Increase in the cost of administering
affairs OF local Tove:rrlrnt. 1t Is hardly
TO he wondered 1T. therefore, that these
same o"acis e property, large ami
small, should hive rubbed thc!r eyes
pretty hard whcn th7y rae = day or
W ago. the statement from Henry
Bruere, City Chamberlain. AMI Leon
ard NJ. Wallstein, Comml sloner OF
Accounts. that Il IL entirely feasible To
ave Father knickerro"k2r about
$4,000. 900 annually in the cost of rum
ming his municipal household.
Nor is this all. according II the two
officials named; for with a r~Corganiza-
ton Of county government, which they
have worked out To the last detail, the
work of government would not he
hampered in the least. An enormous
amount Of II, now spread throughout
forty county departments within the
city of New York, could easily be done
by six. they allege, and the other
thirty-four could BE- abolished without
detriment 10 anybody concerned eX-
cepting to a number of thoSc now
drawing salaries. Mr.. Bruere and Mr..
Wallstein have completed their exam
ination of conditions of county govern
ment, II is all tabulatcd, arranSed IN
orderly fashion and Is ready for con-
sideration by the Constitutional Com
vention, should that body sitting NJ
Albany desire to take II up. And as "A
whole it makes mighty good reading
for the nan and the woman who have
a financial stake in the city, whether
such stake be large or small.
To begin with, it should he remem-
bered hat within the confines OF the
greater city there are five Counties
New York, Kings. Queens, Richmond
and Bronx. Year by year county posi-
tons, with salaries ana expenses
have mutt piled without "A halt, with
out so much as a tremor. This incrcaS-
ing draft on Father knickerhockers
purse eliminated in the creation oil
Bronx county with an additional
burden of 800, 900 every year. Nc
wonder Father knickerbocker looks
blue at times; that he wonder
whether the world is running aloha
smoothly or whether everything Is
going topsyturvy. The whole trouble
seems to he that he and his numerous
family of several m lion sons AM
daughters have been so busily engaged
In material fairs, in charitable, edu'
Cational and philanthropic enterprises
that they lost sight of the fact tina
hedged about them still exists tina
form of county government devised
In early ~Colonia. times before the eN'
istence of large cites. II still exists
but now II is entirely unsuitcd to tn
needs OF large cities, say Mr.. wall
stein and Mr.. Brucre. For example. II
the forty separate county department.
within the city of New York twenty
seven are headed by independent
elective county officers, Furthermore
they add, there is no adequate centra
and responsible authority to exercis'
control over these officials or to en-
force cooperation among them.
The plan, as proposed now Is 4
simp.y put "A whole lot OF these man.
departments and many officials ont o
existence and TO conduct the bushes
on a business basis. Take the Sherif
for instance, and his deputies n as
sistants Of all kinds. The Sheriff o
Kings county receives II salary o
$4,000 per year; the Sheriff Of Queen
and the Sheriff Of Bronx are paid cacI
a salary OF 10000, IN lieu Of all fee
received by their offices, which mus
be paid over to the City Chamberlain