New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-04
Whitney Says
Craig astetl
Over 100000
Asserts S1,OOO.OOO Claim.
Engineers Set al $4,000,
Was Settled for 1920
''False,' Ayers Controller
Citizens Union Head Urges
Legislative Inquiry Into
Alleged Sums Paid Out

Public Service Commissioner Whit
ney yesterday charged Controller Craig
with secretly settling Il million dollar
claim of the Intercontinental Con
struction Corporation for $328,000, and
in a formal statement says that the
engineers of the commission estimate
$4,000 as the maximum of what tho
contractor would have obtained if he
lad sued
Controller Craig replied last night
10 Commissioner Whitney's statement
about the secrecy element of the trans
action. declaring the statement was
"unqualihedly false
William Jay Schieffelin, chairman Of
the Citizens Union. issued a statement
"a, ging a Legislative Investigation Of
The alleged secret settlements now
being conducted by the Controller with
contractors. whose aggregate claims
Zach about s12 100000.
Declares Proof Is Given
Commissioner Whitney said proof of
the secret settlemcnHo of the lnterconti-
GENITAL company's claim WAS revealed
Thursday before the Public Service
Commission in hearing upon the
question of forfeiting the Interconti-
rental contract Commissioner Whit
neg repeatedly has charged that the
Controller has encouraged the filing
of these claims. and through his desire
20 show the incompetency of the com
mission he is likely TO settle the
claims at extravagant figures.
At the hearing on Thursday Com
missioner Whitney asked F. c. L. Keat-
ing, counsel for the contractor, whether
a settlement had been reached with the
Controller. Heating furnished copy
&C the settlement agreement. As given
out at the office of the commission yes
terday. it shows that on December 10
the Controller wrote to the contractor
stating he had settled his claim for
S328, GOO, OF which apparently $4,000
already has been paid and $780, 500 APP
parently also has been paid. The let
ter from the Controller also indicates
that the contractor can reserve nearly
$50, 900 of claims under the contract, so
that if final decision is reached IN
favor of the contractor he will receive
about ,OOo.
S32O.5O0 Was Allowed
The letter from the Controller, as
given out by Mr.. Whitney, says:
Your claim, No. $3.50, filed IN this
department September 20. 1918, arls-
ing under the contract for the con-
struction of Section ?, Route II, East
ern Parkway Subway, has been allowed
after deducting the sum OF $1,000 paid
or December 10, 1918. viz, 0,5Oc, Is
to be paid as follows:
Cone hundred and twenty thousand
five hundred dollars (S120,50O) within
two DAYS from this day, and the re
manning 100000 in seven equal pay
ments, s2s.37l. five days after the filing
with the Controller OF the monthly es-
innate under the said contract for the
seven months beginning with January,
1919.
'You are to execute general release
O. ali claims for damages against the
city arising under the contract above
mentioned that have accrued, or that
hereafter YOU may suffer. or claim to
suffer. by reason Of anything that has
occurred to this day, except that there
may be reserved from said general re-
lease claims for an aggregate OF
s59OT9.5o.'
Secrat Agreements Altered
With reference to the matter Com
missioner Whitney said:
II have already referred TO secret
traction deals, and now Controller
Craig has shown that he is carrying out
he secret contractors deals.
In this case the ntercontinental
fled claims on September 20 for more
than 81 100000, alleging that the com
mission had not furnished plans on
time. Nearly 4 month later the com
mission heard OF the claim and was
then asked by the Controller to make
report. In this report the commits
zion pointed out that the damages arts
ing from any delay in claims could only
be nominal and the engineer stated
that it could not be over $4,000. In
my opinion. any settlement above SlO,-
coo Is . gift OF taxpayers money. As
an indication of this call attention TO
the fact that the Oscar Daniels Com
paay brought suit against the city
With respect TO work upon Lexington
Avenue, claiming $241 600. 1t went to
srial in the Supreme Court and on De-
cenber 10 the jury brought in a. YER
dict for the contractor amounting to
SLIT.
Commission Hampered
"A liberal settlement Of the con-
tractors claims is, however, not the
worst feature Of the situation. Con-
trolIer Craig secretly settled the claim
on December 10. On December 30, he
and the other members Of the Board
u Estimate reduced the appropriations
Of the commission for 1919 80 as TO
require the dismissal the next day Of
367 employees OF the ninission Two
classes Of employees were particularly
sacrificed.
"On the one hand, apparently the
Controller was displcased with the ac-
curacy ard thoroughncss Of the work
Of the engineers on contractors claims,
for almost all Of the men engaged upon
the examination Of contractors claims
have been eliminated by the Board Of
Estimate. The other class OF men are
the field men-thc engineers and in
spectors who supervised the actual
work done by the contractors. On the
Intercontinental job on Eastern Park
way, for example, the commission had
d field party Of eleven men. Seven of
them have been dismissed, so that
there are now only four men left TO
supervise this work. The annual saia-
rics Of these men who have been super
viging the lntercontinentai work and