Year: 1875

Comprr oIler-The Exterminable Scan


dal.


NEW YORK, May 10, 1875.


We have been getting on rather smoothly for
a few weeks past in municipal matters The
Mayor seemed disposed to accept with good ma
ture the delay of Gov. Tilden in acting upon
his PROPOSE ton to remove for cause the Corpo-
ration Counsel and the Fire Commissioners,
The charter amendments pending in the legis-
lature were quietly dropped. The famous Cos
tigan bill," which under the guise of more eff
fectualy establishing home rule" was simply
and solely devised for the purpose of getting Mr..
Green out of the office of Comptroller was not
very strongly pressed when it was discovered
that its adoption would raise an issue between
the Executive of the state and the Executive OF
the city. 1t was not in human nature to SUI
pose the Governor would permit the sacrifice Of
his lifelong friend and former partner, whom
be was largely instrumental in placing at the
head of the Finance Department. There is no
man IN the state who knows Mr.. Green more
thoroughly and intimately than Gov. Tilden.
He is perfectly aware that he is dogmatic and
unsusceptible, sometimes brusque in shis man
ner ard always tenacious of his opinions. But
these are precisely the qualities which when
united with the infiexble honesty which every
body comedies to the Comptroller, fit him to
guard a treasury, which is a perpetual object Of
assault from all quarters. nybody who knew
the parties and the facts might have readily
comprehended the futility of any effort to ere
ate vacancy in this particular office so long as
xuas tod in, tha
Governor.


This was reason enough, independently of
any bias ON the subject, for deprecating an ag-
gressive policy toward Mr.. Green, between
whose department and all the others, whether
superior, coordinate or subordinate, it was de-
srable there should be pleasant relations and
hearty accord.


However, one of the earliest developments of
the new regime, inaugurated on the 1st Janu-
airy, was spirit of hostility to the guardian of
the exchequer. 1t cropped out in the proceedings
of the Board of Apportionment and the Com
missioners of the Sinking Fund of both which
bodies the Mayor, Comptroller and President
of the Board of Aldermen are members. And
it was vigorously encouraged by the newspaper
enemies of Mr.. Green, whose bitterness is pop
ulary supposed to be largely attributable to
their disgust at the impartial vigor with which
he scrutinizes their bills. For there is one
thing to be said to the credit of the Comptroller.
He is no respecter of persons. When it would
be so easy to ward off a violent philippe by
paying printers bill, he treats his creditor Of
the types precisely as he does every other. THIS
is not polite, certainly-but it cannot be denied
that it is manly. The result OF it has been to
bring down upon him such torrents of abuse as
only stole could bear with the apparent indif-
ference he manifested. There is this to be
said however about these journalistic Trades,
The most violent of them emanate from press
es that were connected with the "Ring" dynas-
ty to the very hour of ITS fall. and bewailed its
fate with grief that possessed the single mer-
it of sincerity. Very likely that circumstance
goes good ways in accounting for the equa
nimity with which our imperturbable minister
of finance accepts their embellishments of GEN.
sure. He is really fortunate in being abused
rather than praised by such organs Of public
opinion.


= Still, it is misfortune, that there should be
alienation or GOODNESS between city officials and
it is undeniable that Mr.. Green's amiability is
in inverse proportion to his firmness. A little
civility of manner goes great ways at times,
and never comes amiss.


Among the multifarious and exactng duties
devolving upon the Mayor is that of counter
signing all the drafts drawn upon the Cham
berlain. The number of these is unavoidaby
large, but the caprice of the Comptroller may
increase them to such an extent as to impose
wearisome burden of clerical labor on the Mayor
and at the same time deprive his signature OF
any validity as check upon improper disburse-
ments. Take a department which has thou
sand employees, for example, and if the Comp
troller draws a warrant to the order of each in
dividual in the service once in month, and
takes note of what he is signing, he will not be
able with all the Interruptions he is sure to en-
counter to get through with his work during two
or three days unless he stays beyond Office hours.
Well then apply the rule to all the departments
and there would be nothing else for the Mayor
to do but simply to sign his name, in the most
mechanical way possible, without the time or
opportunity to inquire whether he was author
izing payment that was actually due or en-
dorsing fraud. The common sense way
would seem to be to entrust to the heads of each
branch of the city government, the aggregate
amount of their monthly pay rolls in single
warrant, leaving them to distribute it to the Of
ficers under their control. There can ba no
objection to this plan that is not based on the
assumption that the money would not be hon.
estly disbursed. And if we are to act upon the
theory that there is only one honest man or one
honest department in the city, we may as well
give up the principle of self-goverDment alto
gether.


While Mayor Havemeyer was alive he did
very little else but sign warrants. If a gentle
man called to see him, he never stopped writ


ing longer than was necessary to growl out
show dye do He appeared to like the work.
And perhaps it was the best thing he could
have been engaged in, for it kept him TO a GER
tain extent out of mischief. But when Mr..
Wickham came in, one of the first things he
made up his mind to was that it was no part
of his official obligation to constitute himself
J human machine to make hieroglyphicS by the