New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-03-19
COLER IS WRONG,
SAYS PRENDERCAST
Controller Answers State
ment Attacking Debt
Limit Figures.

"The debt limit statement issued by
this department is absolutely and I'M
qualifedly correct. The integrity OF
| the figures contained in it or the con-
illusions arrived at are not susceptible
Of successful attack"
This was the declaration last night
of Controller Prendergast in reply TO
| Bird s. Coler, former Controller, who
at a dinner on Wednesday night as
serted that the administration is con-
sealing the real facts as regards the
city's financial condition"
Mr.. Prendergast said he regarded il
as an extremely unfortunate state
ment, first, because a former Con-
troller should have a higher respect
! for the integrity of the city's credit
| than to make an unwarranted state
ment of this kind. and second, because
there is not a single fact in Mr.. Coler's
possession TO sustain the charge"
When Controller Prendergast tele-
phoned to Mr.. Coler yesterday and
asked him TO explain his assertion that
the last debt statement was S35,000,00
out of the way the former Controller
| complied with the request to visit the
Finance Department.
AT the interview that followed Mr..
Coler said he thought two things were
wrong with the debt statement. The
first was that the old authorization of
Sl3,000,000 to refund uncollectible
taxes arising prior to January ! 1905,
should be included as debt; second, he
thought that outside of this there was
a large amount of uncolectible taxes
dating back beyond five years that
should be included as debt. His theory
was that if these two elements were
combined they would more than wipe
out the debt margin
This theory is interesting, but it is
absolutely fallacious." said the Con-
troller after his talk with Mr.. Coler.
Mr.. Prendergast then went on with
this explanations
The facts are that the Legislature
Of New York authorized the city, in
1906, to fund uncolectible taxes
amounting TO $36,000,O0O arising prior
to January /, 1905, through the issu-
ance of corporate stock.
"Mr. Metz in the first year of his
administration paid off 100000 of
this total. In the four years of the
present administration we have paid
off S20,000,000.
"At the time the noted debt limit
case, started by jefferson NJ. Levy, was
before the Court of Appeals, the court
was asked, SHOULD bonds authorized
| by Chapter 208 of the Laws of 1906, to
be issued to provide for deficiencies
in taxes of the year 1904 and prior
thereto, deemed uncollectble on Janu-
airy !, 1905, but not actually issued, be
considered as Indebtedness under the
I constitutional provision?"
The court said: "No bond no mat
ter for what purpose authorized to be
/ issued, can ever become Indebtedness
until actually issued" and the court
/ further said that Question 20 should
| be answered in the negative.
"In the face of this decision. how
/ can any one now claim that these I'M
| collectible taxes of the period prior
to January 1, 1905, should be consid-
cred as debt chargeable against the
| debt limit?
! "Mr Coler's second point, that there
/ is a further large amount of uncol-
/ lectible taxes which should be consid-
cred as debt, we proved TO him was
not so. We submitted to Mr.. Coler
the figures showing the amounts that
/ have been included each year to liqul-
/ date uncollectible taxes, which show
that, outside of this separate element
of S13,0O0,000 which | have already
/ discussed, we have now brought the
/ liquidation of our uncollectible taxes
| down to the year 1918, so that by no
stretch of the imagination can there
] be any uncollected taxes which should
now be regarded as indebtedness
| chargeable against the debt limit"