New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-02-22

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: Nv attention has been called TO a
letter published in the daily press and
signed by ". B. Osgood Field, president o.
the New York Training School for Boys.
Mr. Field says. relative TO the site Of that
institution at Yorktown Heights, that infor-
nation given was grossly misleading" and
has not "been accurate or justified"
The point of the letter is TO censure \
certain individual" connected with civic
Organization in this city. whom he accuses Of
stirring up trouble and Of being 4 dis
turbing influence"
The New York Training School Cor Boys Is
an adjunct Of Randai's Island To 1t are
to be sent defective, delinquent and incor-
rigiblc boys from the slums and criminal
quarters Of the city TO till and cultivate the
land. Eight hundred is the minimum ca
pacity, but there Is no limit to the maximum
Any one who has had experience with this
class OF youthful citizens can testify regard
ing their dirty habits and the difficulty Of
controlling them in the country on a farm
boys who. by their birth and environment,
are undesirable on a watershed supplying
/
As to the selection of the site, the COM
mission and its engineers who were asked 70
approve 1t deliberately stated that it was
undesirable to place the institution in the
Croton watershed, and such selection would
meet with great opposition. The city an
state health records show this site 10 have
been disapproved.
Mr. Fields letter states that the Governor
was thoroughly treasured OF the safety
Of the location. and the board Of managers
proceeded with their work" II Governor
Whitman was thoroughly treasured Of tn
safety Of the location" why did ne write a
letter to the Merchants Association in which
he stated that las there seems TO be =
strong feeling against the completion Of the
project, have decided it is hes. TO postpone
further action. a. you have requested until
the Legislature meets on January T.? Gov
ernor Whitman was not thoroughly as
sured' that it was safe TO locate large in
sti,utions on the watershed Of New York
City, especially after sanitary experts had
made aiiidayits that there was no method Of
making a sewage disposal plant absolutely
effective
Regarding llr Fields suggestion that wells
were dug because the managers were afraid
70 drink water from Lake Mohansic. into
fed sewage, they are not TO be blamed for
this wise precauton The alge taste, which
only lasts for short time, can be removed
and does rot warrant the expenditure in
cident TO digging six wells from 200 to 300
feet in depth seventy-hve feet from the
shores Of the lake. Dir. Field says that
they "have not adopted q scheme of allowing
the e.iuent from the sewage disposal sys-
TEN 10 90 directly into the ponds" This is
an error. The board OF managers accepted
the bids and awarded the contracts for the
disposal plant, and this plant surely provides
for the discharge of the eifluent into Mohansic
Lake. In fact, this is the very point of the
contention.
In regard TO work after the Governor had
written that he would order all work stopped
until after the question was settled in the
legislature was advised that the work was
still going on and in the week ending De
cember H. IN view Of the unusual proceed
irgs" connected with the management Of
this affair. visited the site with four com
petent witnesses and found from City to
seyenty-fve men at work on the cottages
In one cottage there were fourteen men
masons, carpenters and plumbers-and they
were not engaged in bringing to completion
the details of the work that would protect
""at mas "iieauS uech uoHe' Inc uhuer-
standing when the city suspended its injunc-
ton suit against the state on the Yorktown
Heights contract was that no work should
be done either at Yorktown Heights or a.
Mohanslc which would entail an additional
expense upon the state until the Legislature
had passed upon the question of removing
these Two institutions from the watershed.
This was condition precedent 20 the city's
agreement 10 suspend its legal action. The
criticism is made by Mr.. Field that the facts