The New York herald., 1921-09-12


about his job before no soes to work at
t. It's an expensive proposition for the
city 70 educate a Mayor.
Since January i. 1920, ] have been
President OF the Borough OF Manhattan.
department that takes care OF the
streets. sidewalks and sewers OF Man
haitian, and has jurisdiction over the
city's office buildings in that borough
/ would like TO talk over with you one
or two OF the problems We have faced
during the last year and half. They
are matters Of humdrum economy, but
they run into thousands Of dollars. They
will help you 10 appreciate why | nave
insisted that the needs of the city fui-
nish enough issues for us TO discuss dur
Ing this campaign without going further
afield.
Those of you who have to buy your
own coal will no doubt remember that
during the winter OF 1890 the price of
this fuel was almost beyond the ken OF
the man of ordinary means. You had
hard time TO get IL. and it was just
as hard to pay for 1t after you got It.
Well. the President of the Borough of
Manhattan needs annually more than
100000 worth of coal for the forty-six
buildings he Is required to heat. Our
first contract was advertised and there
was only one bidder. This bid was
S343.595 for $4,000 tons of coal. We
felt that IL was exorbitant and that we
should be betraying our trust to the tax
payer If we did not make a strenuous
effort 10 get our coal cheaper
Therefore, the bid was rejected and
the department went TO the Board of
Aldermen for consent to make an open
market purchase. 1t was given us and
we bought o few thousand tons of coal
TO carry us a while. When that was
consumed we did the same thing again
and again. To make long story short.
instead of accepting one big bid and
thereby leaving to the contractor and
the taxpayer our trouble about fuel for
the year. we continued to shop around
for coal, trying to save money for the
city.
Sometimes 1 was pretty worried as
TO where our next ton of coal was COM
ing from, but we struggled through.
because we believed we were right, and
at the end of the year the audit showed
that by our efforts and worry we had
saved the city nearly $4,000 on the
purchase of coal.
And right here. l should not be
square with you unless I gave the credit
for this whole transaction to Clarence
Fl. Fay. the Commissioner of Public
Works of the Borough of Manhattan
His shrewdness and his ability netted
the city. on this item, alone, nearly four
times his salary. He was responsible.
and I can only claim credit in having
appointed such a man an official.
Let me give you another instance,
another little inside story of the last
eighteen months over there in the Num-
cipal Building. In 1917 the construc-
ton of a sewer in East Twenty-sixth
street was authorized. At that time
engineers of the department estimated
the cost at approximately 100000, and
the taxpayers were SO Informed. On
account of war, the work was post
poned, and when l took office the mat
ter was laid before me. Bids submit
ted indicated that the Improvement
would cost more than 100000. an in
crease OF zoo per cent. over the original
estimate.
"Now, the work had been authorized
and i could have let the contracts at
any time, but 7 believed that the tax
payers, whose money I was going to
spend, were entitled to sit in with me
when I made tho decision. and y-rote
to every one in that locality. about
1900, as remember, advising them OF
the changed conditions and asking for
opinions regarding the advisability OF
going ahead with the work. I got
practically unanimous response in the
negative, and as surveys made by my
office indicated that the work could
be postponed without detriment TO the
city I decided to postpone It.
II believed l was right, AMI events
have justified me in that belief. Con-
ditions are changing now. Prices are
returning TO normal, and that particular
sewer is going tc be built. in the very
near future, for something nearer the
original estimate. We have saved the
taxpayers at least quarter Of a million
dollars, and the construction of that
sewer at this time win help TO relieve
the unemployment distress"