New-York tribune., 1921-12-10
Craig Loses to
La Cuardia i'm
Estimate Bout
Comptroller Full of Verbal
Action, but Board Gives
Decision to Opponent at
End of Spirited Battle
Fails to Hold Up Minutes
Cannot Tell Truth for 30
Seconds Gets Rise From
Aldermanic President

Aldermanic President
Inc Board of Estimate put on it's
usual vaudeville act yeste rday, witr
Comptroller Charles L. Craig and f
ii. La Guardia, President of the Boarc
OF Aldermen, in the leading parts. II
was the first time since Election Dav
November 8, that the Comptroller anc
the Aldermanic President had ccn.
ironted each other at a board meeting
NO neads we're broken. but the chambe
echoed with the crack OF high calibel
verbal ammunition.
Comptroller Craig charged the sec
retary of the board with suppressinp
part OF the minutes of previous meet
ings which were up for adoption. Ir
another instance the Comptroller
thought certain items should be sup.
pressed. In one of the items for ap.
proval the Comptroller said:
would like to have this put ovei
for one week. | have written a lette,
to every member of the board settinc
forth my reasons for the disapproval OF
the minutes. The secretary has de
llberately suppressed material fact:
regarding La Guardia's action in thi:
board, and the minutes illegally at
tempt to do certain matters"
La Guardia Hits Back
The remarks of the Comptroller at
tracted the attention of the Aldermanis
President.
The Comptroller is mad because
caught him with the goods in the
courthouse scandal said Mr.. La Guar
dia. "Why. it was through me that the
city saved $l5000,000 on the lime estont
contract. The Comptroller knows thai
we showed he was closely allied witt
the limestone ring. He went before the
Meyer committee and turned state's
evidence.
That's laughable," retorted the
Comptroller. This man wanted to be
Mayor and a lot of other things anc
was turned down, and now the obse
quies are about ready to be performed
They will be concluded very shortly
You cannot tell the truth thirty sec
onds in succession, and I do not believe
the members of this board will vote
with such a man.
The board adopted the minutes a:
reported by the secretary, with the
Comptroller voting in the negative.
The other item which the Comp
troller thought should be suppressed
was the report of the secretary OF
charges he preferred against James c
years. The charges were heard by the
board and on motion of Mr.. La Guards
the clerk was reprimanded. Deerine
formerly acted as reading clerk for the
board.
For over ten years the secretar.
and this clerk have had trouble, ans
in mis- report the secretary attacks him
the membe of his family and hi
physician said the Comptroller. III,
attacks this man just because o
spleen"
"The employee the Comptroller i
talking about was reprimanded on m.
motion by this board said Mr.. Ii
Guardia, "and I resent the attacks. o
the Comptroller on Secretary Haag
who is not here to defend himself
why, you cannot tell the trNth fo
thirty seconds" retorted the Comp
troller. 81 insist that there has heel
deliberate suppression of the minute
and that the members of this boar'
should not approve of them. This i
simply an effort to glaze over the act
of the late lamented La Guardia."
Comptroller Defeated Again
The board proceeded again to adop
the minutes as reported by the secre
tary, with the Comptroller once NOR
voting in the negative.
The board discussed the proposed
Brookly freight and pas
senger tunnel project and took issue
with the Port Authority on its plan
for a similar tunnel.
When the report of the committed
appointed to negotiate with the trunl
line railroads as to the terms and con
dtions to be imposed in connection
with the utilization of the tunnel wa
under ccnsiderat ton, Comptroller Graf.
said that he had laid down an ulti
matum to the Charter Revision Com
mission in respect to the matter.
81 have proposed to the commission,
said the Comptroller, that it recon
mend vesting in the city authority t.
own, control and operate any public
utility over which it now has authorit,
to grant franchises. On that PROPOSE
ton the commission is either going t.
sink or SWIM
There is a difference between tn,
city officials and the Port Authority a
to where the tunnel should be con
structed. The city plans call for
smart extending from brooklyn tnrougl
St George. Staten Island. and on t.
New Jersey, while the Port Authority
proposal provides Tor tunnel from
Greenville, N. j., to Brooklyn, crossing
under New York Bay mile north o
Staten Island.
In the discussion the Mayor declare
that the railroads were for the Por
Authority plan "for their own seltisl
DuruySeS" " (,cmDtrOller Craio de
clared that the Port Authority plal
was "a dream of the dreamiest kind,
as it lacked authority to raise th
money.
som mebody is stringing the Port Au
thority,' said the Comptroller.
The board referred the report to tn
Corporation Counsel and directed hin
to prepare amendments for its con
sideration, which may be submitted t.
the next Legislature SO that the power
of the city may be broadened.