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INSIDE THE 
 MACHINE 
 
 TWO YEARS 
 
 IN THE 
 
 V' '1 
 
 BOARD of ALDERMEN 
 1898 - 1899 
 
 P. TECUMSEH SHERMAN 
 
 •MP*Ji*iap* 
 
 19 01 
 
 COOKER FRY 
 
 New York 
 
INSIDE THE MACHINE 
 
 TWO YEARS IN 
 THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN 
 
 1898 — 1899 
 
 A STUDY OF THE LEGISLATIVE FEATURES OF THE CITY GOVIRNMENT 
 
 OF NEW YORK CITY UNDER THE GREATER 
 
 NEW YORK CHARTER 
 
 P. TECUMSEH SHERMAN 
 
 COOKE & FRY 
 
 New Yo r k 
 
 I 9 o I 
 

 COPYRIGHT^ 1901. 
 COOKE & FRY. 
 
 SPRECKELS 
 
INTKODUCTORY. 
 
 In the early part of 1897 there was enacted by the 
 State of New York a law known as "The Greater 
 New York Charter." This statute was drawn by 
 a commission composed of such men as Gen. Benj. 
 F. Tracy, Judge John F. Dillon, Seth Low, Gen. 
 Stewart L. Woodford, Mayor William L. Strong, 
 and some ten others. And while it had been 
 severely condemned by the Bar Association of New 
 York City, and severely criticised at the public 
 hearings held before the Mayor of that city, and 
 only forced through the Legislature over his veto 
 under extreme pressure as a Republican party 
 measure, yet it was generally hoped that it would 
 greatly promote the welfare of all the municipal- 
 ities embraced in the new city, and mark a dis- 
 tinct advance in the science of city government 
 in America. By this Charter there were annexed 
 to the former City of New York, Brooklyn, Long 
 Island City, with the adjoining territory on Long 
 Island constituting the present County of Queens, 
 and all of Richmond County or Staten Island. 
 By this change, the population of the city was in- 
 creased from about 2,019,000 to about 3,393,000; 
 and its area was enlarged from 38,000 to 196,000 
 acres. For this new city was framed a system of 
 government based in its minor details on that of 
 the former city, but in its principles entirely dif- 
 
 Q 
 
ferent. And in its government were vested powers 
 far more extensive than those possessed by the 
 former city. The principal additional powers con- 
 ferred were: to establish ferries and bridges over 
 public waters within the city; to build docks and 
 to improve the harbor; to construct parks, school- 
 houses and public buildings; to open and extend 
 streets; to provide water; and to grant franchises. 
 These powers were conferred upon the city in re- 
 sponse to a general demand for a larger measure 
 of home rule, so that constant applications to the 
 State Legislature for the above enumerated pur- 
 poses would no longer be necessary. This new 
 government, by the terms of the Charter, went into 
 effect on January 1st, 1898, and the first election 
 for city officers under it was held in November, 
 1897. 
 
 That election was one of the most bitterly con- 
 tested in the history of the city. The Kepublicans 
 nominated General Tracy for Mayor upon the plat- 
 form that city governments should be administered 
 upon national party principles ; a new independent 
 organization, known as the Citizens' Union, nomi- 
 nated Seth Low, President of Columbia College, 
 upon the platform that national parties should take 
 no part in city politics; the Jeffersonian Democ- 
 racy nominated Henry George, who ran as the ad- 
 vocate of his well-known semi-socialistic prin- 
 ciples; and Tammany Hall nominated Eobert A. 
 Van Wyck, a judge of good reputation, but who 
 stood simply as the representative of Tammany 
 and all that it represents, and who personally took 
 no part in the campaign. A hot four-cornered 
 fight followed, with somewhat even chances, until 
 Henry George died, and his votes or possible 
 
 4 
 
votes slipped back by natural affiliations to Tam- 
 many. From that time on, the result was a fore- 
 gone conclusion, though the opponents of Van 
 Wyck tried hard to shut their eyes to a realization 
 of the fact. Tammany carried its ticket trium- 
 phantly, though it failed of a majority over Low 
 and Tracy combined; Low was second and Tracy, 
 in spite of his personal popularity, a poor third. 
 
 It was in this election that the writer was elected 
 a member of the first Board of Aldermen of the 
 City of New York, from the 25th District, in the 
 Borough of Manhattan. My experiences with the 
 Charter began immediately ; for I found that it re- 
 quired me to take an oath of office and file it within 
 five days with an official who did not exist, and 
 who could not exist until the new government was 
 Inaugurated, some two months later. After some 
 perturbation, I filed the oath with the official in the 
 then existing government most nearly resembling 
 that mentioned in the Charter. Subsequent ex- 
 periences demonstrated that the Charter was full 
 of such defects. 
 
 The Charter is a statute of some five hundred 
 and sixty pages. In a technical sense, it is not a 
 Charter, but merely a loose compilation of rules 
 and regulations relating to the city government 
 and its various officials, boards, departments and 
 bureaus, together with a few clauses containing 
 some additional grants of power to the corporation. 
 By itself, it is by no means complete as to any mat- 
 ter to which it or any part of it relates; but it 
 must be read in connection with the Consolidation 
 Act, which was the corresponding charter of the 
 former city, and itself a statute of some four hun- 
 dred pages, — none of which is specifically re- 
 
 5 
 
pealed, — and the various acts amending it, or re- 
 lating to the different municipalities and corpora- 
 tions annexed to the former city, which are dis- 
 tributed through some thirty volumes of New York 
 Session Laws. Thus the Charter was not even an 
 attempt at a codification or a revision of former 
 laws. And the government that has resulted from 
 the operation of this ill-digested mass of laws is 
 naturally not a logical system, but a complication 
 so intricate and involved that no idea as to how it 
 would work in practice could be obtained in ad- 
 vance of the practical experiment. 
 

 J 
 
 THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT OF THE 
 
 CITY. 
 
 Before attempting to recite or describe the pro- 
 ceedings of the Municipal Assembly, it will be nec- 
 essary to enumerate and briefly explain the con- 
 stitution and functions of the different boards, de- 
 partments and officials of the city government in 
 which its legislative powers are vested. For they 
 are widely distributed, and only a small part of 
 them is vested in the Assembly. 
 
 The Mayor is the chief executive officer of the 
 city. He is elected every four years, and is not 
 eligible for re-election at the next succeeding term. 
 He receives a salary of $15,000 a year. He may be 
 removed by the Governor, but only upon charges, 
 and after an opportunity to be heard in his own 
 defense. He appoints the heads of all the various 
 boards, and departments, except the Department 
 of Finance, whose head, the Comptroller, is 
 elected, and of the Departments of Health 
 and Education, which are governed by Boards 
 whose members are variously elected and 
 appointed. He also appoints the Chamberlain, 
 the President of the Board of Public Improvements, 
 the two Commissioners of Accounts, the three Civil 
 Service Commissioners, twenty-three Police Magis- 
 trates, the heads of the Bureau of Municipal Sta- 
 tistics, and various minor officials. All of these^ ex- 
 
 7 
 
cept the Magistrates, he can remove at pleasure dur- 
 ing the first six months of his term ; but thereafter, 
 with the exception of the Commissioners of Ac- 
 counts, only upon charges, and with the approval 
 of the Governor. He is ex-oflficio a member of 
 many important Boards, including the Board of 
 Estimate and Apportionment, the Board of Public 
 Improvements, and the Board of Sinking Fund 
 Commissioners, in which the most important leg- 
 islative as well as a large part of the administra- 
 tive powers of the city are vested. He is also armed 
 with the absolute power of appointment and of re- 
 moval over two Commissioners of Accounts, who 
 control a clerical force with a payroll of over |150,- 
 000 a year, through whom he can investigate any 
 department of the city government. He has also 
 a veto over all acts of the Municipal Assembly. 
 
 It was the declared purpose of those who drew 
 the Charter to confer upon the Mayor the greatest 
 possible power and consequent responsibility. And 
 upon reading the above recital of his powers, it 
 would perhaps seem that they had succeeded. But 
 unfortunately this impression is wrong. For after 
 the time within which the Mayor can remove at 
 pleasure has expired, his power over adminstration 
 practically ceases, for it then becomes firmly vested 
 in the heads of departments, and to remove them 
 upon charges is in the nature of a criminal pro- 
 ceeding and practically impossible save in case of 
 the most flagrant dereliction of duty. And with 
 the power passes the responsibility. It therefore 
 resolves itself to this, that the Mayor's respon- 
 sibility for administration ceases when he has exer- 
 cised due care and discretion in his selection of 
 the Commissioners and other heads of departments. 
 
 8 
 
And thereafter, all responsibility passes to those 
 practically irremovable officials. The Mayor's 
 power, as conferred by the Charter, is therefore 
 limited to his vote in the different Boards hereafter 
 described, and to his veto over the acts of the As- 
 sembly. In addition, he has the power conferred 
 upon him by general law to veto all special acts of 
 the Legislature relating to the city, subject to the 
 power of the Legislature to repass the same over his 
 veto. 
 
 The administrative departments of the City 
 Government are fixed and constituted by the 
 Charter. They are: 
 
 The Department of Finance. 
 
 The Departments represented in the Board of 
 Public Improvements : 
 Water Supply. 
 Streets and Highways. 
 Street Cleaning. 
 Sewers. 
 Bridges. 
 Public Buildings, Lighting and Supplies. 
 
 The Law Department. 
 
 The Police Department. 
 
 The Fire Department. 
 
 The Department of Taxes and Assessments. 
 
 The Department of Parks. 
 
 The Department of Docks and Ferries. 
 
 The Department of Buildings. 
 
 The Department of Public Charities. 
 
 The Department of Correction. 
 
 The Department of Education. 
 
 The Department of Health. 
 
 The heads of all these departments, except those 
 of Finance, Health, and Education, are appointed 
 
 9 
 
directly by the Mayor, and receive salaries on the 
 average of $7,500 a year each. They have control 
 over the appointment, promotion, transfer and dis- 
 charge of all subordinates, subject only to the civil 
 service laws; and fix their salaries. While these 
 departments are described as administrative, yet 
 they include two Boards which possess very large 
 legislative powers. They are the Board of Esti- 
 mate and Apportionment, which is included in the 
 Department of Finance, and the Board of Public 
 Improvements. 
 
 The Department of Finance consists of five 
 bureaus and two boards. The bureaus are for the 
 collection of revenues, for the collection of taxes, 
 for the collection of assessments and arrears of 
 taxes, for auditing, and for the safe keeping and 
 payment of money. The Comptroller is the head 
 of this department. He is elected at large for the 
 same term as the Mayor, and receives a salary of 
 |10,000 a year, besides very lucrative fees. He ap- 
 points the heads of the first three enumerated 
 bureaus and all the subordinates in the department, 
 except those in the last bureau mentioned, and is 
 himself the head of the auditing bureau. The 
 bureau for the safe keeping and payment of money 
 is in charge of the Chamberlain, who is appointed 
 by the Mayor for a term of four years and receives 
 a salary of |12,000 a year, besides large fees. In 
 general, payments by the city are made by the 
 Comptroller, upon vouchers filed in his department, 
 by warrants drawn on the Chamberlain. No valid 
 contract can be made unless the Comptroller certify 
 that there remains unexpended and unapplied a 
 sufficient balance of the appropriation or fund ap- 
 plicable thereto. He is the proper officer to enter 
 
 10 
 
into any lease of property to the city; and his 
 assent is necessary to all purchases of real estate. 
 
 This department issues the "city stock." The 
 bonds of the city issued after January 1st, 1898, 
 with the exception of certain issues known as 
 *^Kevenue Bonds" and "Assessment Bonds," are 
 known as "The Corporate Stock of the City of New 
 York." It may be in coupon form for not less than 
 $500 a share, or in registered form for not less than 
 $10 a share, or any multiple thereof. It must be 
 payable "in gold or in legal currency of the United 
 States at the option of the Commissioners of the 
 Sinking Fund," — it is now payable in gold, — w^ith 
 interest at not to exceed four and one-half per cent., 
 and is free from taxation except for State purposes. 
 With a few specific exceptions, it may only be issued 
 to the extent and for the purposes authorized by 
 the Municipal Assembly and the Board of Estimate 
 and Apportionment. 
 
 The Board of Sinhing Fund Commissioners is 
 included in the Finance Department. It is com- 
 posed of the Mayor, Comptroller, Chamberlain, 
 President of the Council and Chairman of the 
 Finance Committee of the Board of Aldermen. 
 They have charge of the sinking funds. "The Sink- 
 ing Fund of the City of New York" is provided for 
 the purpose of securing and paying the principal 
 of the debt of the corporation. It is obtained by 
 including in the amount raised by the annual taxes 
 for each year successively until the principal is 
 paid an amount which, with the interest and ac- 
 cumulations thereon, will be sufficient to pay the 
 debt at maturity. There are also a few other 
 sources of income to this fund outside of the taxes. 
 The sinking funds of the former corporate bodies 
 
 11 
 
now united in the city, are continued and the whole 
 city is taxed to supply them. There are also several 
 other sinking funds for special purposes. The 
 Commissioners of the Sinking Fund also have au- 
 thority to lease city property (with the exception 
 of parks, docks and schools), subject to certain re- 
 strictions and limitations. And all leases to the 
 city must have their approval. 
 
 The Board of Estimate and Apportionment is 
 also included in the Department of Finance, and 
 is probably the most important body in the City 
 Government, for it prepares and, with the concur- 
 rence of the Municipal Assembly, adopts the budget, 
 which is the general appropriation bill authorizing 
 the payment of the current expenses of the city. 
 It also has an equal control with the Assembly 
 over all bond issues. This Board is composed of 
 the Mayor, Comptroller, President of the Council, 
 Corporation Counsel and President of the Depart- 
 ment of Taxes and Assessments. In relation to the 
 budget, it is their duty annually in the month of 
 October by the affirmative votes of all of them, to 
 prepare a budget setting forth the amounts esti- 
 mated to be required for conducting the city's busi- 
 ness for the next ensuing year, specifying the items 
 for each department, bureau, etc., as fully as possi- 
 ble. All the amounts included in the budget as 
 finally approved, may be spent by the department 
 or bureau designated during the current year to 
 which the budget applies in the manner and for the 
 purposes therein provided, without any further 
 authorization. There must be included in the 
 budget sums sufficient to meet the city's accruing 
 obligations, and to supply the sinking funds. This 
 Board is also authorized, — formerly directed — to 
 
 12 
 
inaike appropriations for certain charitable institu- 
 tions in the city. When the budget is prepared, 
 and before it is finally adopted, public hearings 
 must be had at which the general public may ap- 
 pear and present objections to the proposed budget. 
 It is then reduced to its final form and adopted, 
 and submitted to the Municipal Assembly for con- 
 sideration in joint meeting of both houses. The 
 Assembly may reduce or strike out any item, but 
 may not increase the budget, or any item in it. And 
 should it vote to reduce the budget in any way, the 
 Mayor may veto its action, and it can only enforce 
 it over his veto by a five-sixths vote. Inasmuch as 
 the budget can only be prepared with the Mayor's 
 full approval, all this circumlocution means that 
 the Assembly may reduce the budget by a five-sixths 
 vote, but cannot increase it. After its adoption, 
 the Board of Estimate and Apportionment may 
 transfer any appropriation or excess of appropria- 
 tion which is found to be unnecessary for the pur- 
 pose intended to such other purpose or object as 
 may require it ; and this power is freely used. Any 
 balance unexpended at the end of the year goes 
 into a general fund for the reduction of the taxes of 
 the next ensuing year. This Board also has control 
 over the city's share of the State Excise taxes, which 
 it may appropriate to such charitable institutions 
 in the city that gratuitiously assist the poor as 
 seem to it most deserving. 
 
 The Board of Public Improvements follows in 
 importance the Department of Finance. Its legis- 
 lative powers are large, and in addition it has the 
 exclusive administrative control over all public 
 improvements, general and local. And through 
 this latter power it has a strong coercive influence 
 
 13 
 
over the Assembly. This Board is a novelty, 
 created by the Charter. 
 
 The head of this Board is the "President of the 
 Board of Public Improvements," who is appointed 
 by the Mayor for a term of four years, and receives 
 a salary of |8,000 a year ; and its other members are 
 the Mayor, Comptroller, Corporation Counsel, the 
 President of the five Boroughs, and the Commis- 
 sioners of the following departments, which are 
 included in this Board: 
 
 The Department of Streets and Highways. 
 
 The Department of Water Supply. 
 
 The Department of Sewers. 
 
 The Department of Bridges. 
 
 The Department of Street Cleaning. 
 
 The Department of Public Buildings, Lighting 
 and Supplies. 
 
 The President presides at all the meetings, and 
 has a vote, but no veto. In cases of difference of 
 opinion, he decides disputes and assigns work with- 
 in the general province of the Board to one or more 
 of its departments. In his absence or disability, 
 the Mayor succeeds to his powers. Each depart- 
 ment has jurisdiction over the matters indicated 
 by its title, and the Commissioner of each has in- 
 dependent charge of it. In addition to the separate 
 departments, the President has an office force of 
 his own with a salary list of |239,000 a year, en- 
 gaged in general map making and in centralized 
 supervision over the departments included in the 
 Board. 
 
 The Presidents of the Boroughs before referred 
 to as members of this Board, are ele4fted by the 
 Boroughs, which are new subdivisions of the city 
 created by the Charter. Each Borough elects its 
 
 U 
 
President at the same time and for the same term 
 as the Mayor. The Presidents are ex-officio mem- 
 bers of the Board of Public Improvements, but they 
 have a vote only in matters affecting solely their re- 
 spective boroughs. As they have no combined vote 
 they are practically without influence when com- 
 pared with the seven appointive members of the 
 Board. They are also the presiding officers of the 
 local boards, but their duties in that capacity and 
 the functions of those boards will be described 
 later. 
 
 There are five Boroughs. The Borough of Man- 
 hattan consists of Manhattan Island and the ad- 
 jacent smaller islands, that is, all of the former 
 city lying south of the Harlem River, and all of 
 which is within the County of New York. It has 
 a population of about 1,850,000, and an area of 
 13,487 acres. The Borough of the Bronx consists 
 of the remainder of the former City and present 
 County of New York, all of which lies north of the 
 Harlem Hiver. It has a population of about 200,- 
 000, and an area of 25,270 acres. The Borough of 
 Brooklyn consists of the former City of Brooklyn, 
 and is coterminous with Kings County. It has a 
 population of about 1,166,000, and an area of 42,- 
 000 acres. The Borough of Queens embraces the 
 same territory as the present County of Queens, 
 and includes Long Island City, and the former 
 towns of Flushing, Jamaica and Newtown, and a 
 part of Hempstead. It has a population of about 
 153,000 and an area of 79,347 acres. The Borough 
 of Richmond consists of all of Staten Island and 
 includes the same territory as the County of Rich- 
 mond. It has a population of about 67,000, and an 
 area of 36,600 acres. The Boroughs are not in 
 
 15 
 
any sense corporate entities, but are only sub- 
 divisions for descriptive and administrative pur- 
 poses. 
 
 The Board of Public Improvements is authorized 
 to direct the acquisition by the city for the public 
 use of the ownership of land for streets, parks and 
 approaches, and of approaches to bridges and 
 tunnels "whenever and as often as it shall deem 
 it for the public interests so to do." And any 
 "public work,'' — what constitutes a public work 
 is not defined, — in one or more of these departments 
 must be authorized by this Board. Where the cost 
 of the same is payable out of funds available, no 
 approval by the Municipal Assembly may be re- 
 quired ; but otherwise, as for instance where a bond 
 issue is necessary, the consent of the Assembly is 
 required. All ordinances of the Municipal As- 
 sembly modifying any of the existing rules, regula- 
 tions or ordinances affecting any of the depart- 
 ments, and all ordinances to govern this Board or 
 any of its departments must originate with the 
 department concerned or with this Board, and must 
 be adopted or rejected by the Assembly tcdthout 
 amendment. The Assembly may originate ordi- 
 nances providing for a public improvement, but 
 only after a report thereon is obtained from the 
 Board of Public Improvements — no method of com- 
 pelling such a report is provided — and if that be un- 
 favorable it can only pass such ordinances 
 by a five-sixths vote of each house and 
 with the Mayor's approval. This Board is, 
 by the Charter, given power "to prescribe 
 rules for regulating, grading, curbing and paving 
 streets and laying crosswalks"; and in general is 
 given jurisdiction over the following subjects: the 
 
 16 
 
adoption of a land map (which determines the 
 exact location and boundaries of streets, etc.)? the 
 acquisition of land for streets, and of rights in land 
 to lay sewers, etc., the laying of sewers, the repair- 
 ing of street pavements and the adjustment of 
 grades, all matters relating to the water supply, 
 and all "public work" for which money has been 
 provided either by taxes, bonds or otherwise. It is 
 the duty of this Board to prepare and recommend 
 to the Municipal Assembly ordinances regulating 
 the laying of water pipes and all underground 
 pipes, and the construction of water works; the 
 grading, paving and cleaning of streets, and their 
 use for signs, posts, etc., and temporarily for build- 
 ing purposes, and for the exhibition of handbills, 
 posters, etc.; the construction of vaults, the rates 
 of railways on public bridges ; the construction and 
 repair of public markets and of public buildings 
 (except schoolhouses, almshouses, penitentiaries 
 and police and fire stations) ; and the making of 
 public contracts requiring the payment of money. 
 And all such ordinances when submitted to the As- 
 sembly, must be passed by it without amendment, 
 or be rejected. It is also provided that all work 
 undertaken by this Board exceeding |1,000 in cost 
 must be by contract by the Commissioner of the 
 contracting department with the lowest bidder 
 after public advertisement for bids, unless it is 
 otherwise ordered by the Municipal Assembly by 
 a three-quarters vote of all the members elected to 
 each House, or unless this Board, by a majority 
 vote, including the votes of the Mayor and Comp- 
 troller, decide to pass the lowest and accept a 
 higher bid. And, practically the same regulations 
 apply to all the departments, except the Dock De- 
 
 17 
 
partment. The Charter also provides that the 
 Municipal Assembly cannot release a contractor 
 or extend his time for performance except upon 
 the unanimous recommendation of the Board of 
 Public Improvements. 
 
 The Mmiicipal Assembly is the last and least 
 of the repositories of legislative power under the 
 Charter. It is composed of the Council and the 
 Board of Aldermen. They have co-ordinate pow- 
 ers, except that the Aldermen alone appoint Com- 
 missioners of Deeds. The Council is the higher 
 body, and is composed of the President of the Coun- 
 cil and twenty-eight Councilmen. The President 
 is an important ofdcial, is a member of many 
 Boards and succeeds to the powers and duties of 
 the Mayor upon his absence or disability. He is 
 elected by the City at large for a term of four years, 
 and receives a salary of $7,000 a year. The Coun- 
 cilmen are also elected for terms of four years and 
 they receive salaries of $1,500 a year. They are 
 elected from Council districts, three each from 
 eight of such districts and two each from two. 
 These districts are new and unfamiliar, and are 
 not apportioned according to population, one dis- 
 trict with two Councilmen representing it having 
 a population of only about 60,000, while several 
 of the districts with three Councilmen have a popu- 
 lation of over 500,000. The disproportion is in 
 favor of the recently annexed districts, and for 
 this small mess of pottage they have given up all 
 control over their local affairs and improvements. 
 The present Council w^hich went into office with 
 the new government on January 1st, 1898, con- 
 tains twenty-six Democrats and three Citizens'- 
 Union Kepublicans. 
 
 - 18 
 
The Board of Aldermen is composed of sixty 
 members, elected for two years, each from an 
 Aiaermanic district. Tliey receive salaries of 
 $1,UU0 a year. The districts are generally identi- 
 cal with the Assembly districts, and are appor- 
 tioned according to the population. Tnere are on 
 an average about G,OUO votes in a district. This 
 Board elects its President from among its own 
 members, but its clerk is appointed by the City 
 Clerk, who is elected by the Council and is its 
 clerk. The Chairman of the Finance Committee 
 of the Board of Aldermen is a member of the 
 Board of {Sinking Fund Commissioners, but w^ith 
 this exception none of its members have any con- 
 nection or are in any way in touch with any of the 
 great boards or departments in which all of the 
 administrative and much of the legislative power 
 of the city is vested. 
 
 All the city's legislative powers, not otherwise 
 delegated, are declared to be vested in the Assem- 
 bly. It is expressly given power to establish ordi- 
 nances for some 31 enumerated purposes, such as 
 to regulate the inspection and sealing of weights 
 and measures, the numbering of houses, the use of 
 the streets by passengers and vehicles, the deposit- 
 ing of ashes, garbage, etc., therein, the paving and 
 grading of streets, and their use for signs, awn- 
 ings, horse-troughs, etc., the control of public cries 
 and noises, and the licensing of truckmen, news- 
 stands, etc. Some of its powders are so similar to 
 those delegated to the Board of Public Improve- 
 ments that it is almost impossible to draw the line 
 between them. The Assembly is also given power 
 to adopt a code of building laws, to fix the salaries 
 of officials not in any department, unless their sal- 
 
 19 
 
aries are fixed by the Charter, and to grant fran- 
 chises upon terms to be approved by the Board of 
 Estimate and Apportionment. But no franchise 
 to use the city's streets can be granted for a period 
 to exceed twenty-five years, except that a right of 
 renewal for a further term of twenty-five years on 
 a fair revaluation may be included in the franchise. 
 It is also in terms granted the power to investigate 
 all the departments of the City Government, but 
 practically it is impossible for it to do so without 
 the co-operation of the Corporation Counsel. It 
 has also jurisdiction over matters relating to public 
 improvements and finances in conjunction with the 
 Board of Estimate and Apportionment, or the 
 Board of Public Improvements. The extent of the 
 Assembly's power in such matters will hereafter be 
 fully illustrated, and as will be shown, it is really 
 more in the nature of a veto over the actions of 
 those Boards than of an ordinary legislative char- 
 acter. It is provided in the Charter that no ordi- 
 nance granting a franchise, or alienating any city 
 property, or terminating a lease, or appropriating 
 public moneys, or incurring any expense, or laying 
 any assessment, can be passed in either branch of 
 the Assembly until five days after the publication 
 of an abstract of its provisions; nor at a meeting 
 at which it is introduced except by unanimous con- 
 sent; nor unless it secures a three-quarters vote 
 of all the members elected to each House. And no 
 moneys can be expended for a celebration or a sim- 
 ilar function except by a four-fifths vote; and no 
 additional allowance can be granted to any party 
 to a contract beyond his strict legal claims except 
 by unanimous consent. The rule requiring a three- 
 quarters vote is the cause of great delay and conse- 
 
 20 
 
quent bad results. It applies to all financial meas- 
 ures however small, and of whatever character, and 
 such measures are very numerous and require con- 
 stant action and frequently immediate action. 
 And yet for reasons hereafter explained long and 
 vexatious delays in the Assembly necessarily re- 
 sult. And this requirement in many such mat- 
 ters is absolutely without reason or any beneficial 
 effect. For it has been held by the courts that in 
 all cases where the ordinances are to authorize 
 bond issues already directed by the Legislature or 
 for the purpose of paying indebtedness already 
 due, the Assembly can exercise no discretion but 
 must immediately authorize the bonds. This duty 
 is therefore purely perfunctory and ministerial 
 and should not have been imposed upon a legisla- 
 tive body. 
 
 An enumeration of the legislative bodies of the 
 city would be incomplete without some reference 
 to the Lmv Department^ whose head is the Corpora- 
 tion Counsel. He is appointed by the Mayor for 
 a term of four years and receives a salary of $15,000 
 a year. He is the legal adviser, counsel and attor- 
 ney of all the departments, boards, bureaus and 
 officials of the city, including the Municipal As- 
 sembly; and they, and their members, are all for- 
 bidden to employ or to appear by other or special 
 attorneys. This is a change from the former sys- 
 tem, and as it enables the Corporation Counsel to 
 appear as attorney for and to bind all the other 
 officials by his acts, and yet to act in entire disre- 
 gard of their wishes and in hostility to their rights 
 and interests, it enables him to exercise a strong 
 coercive power over them. A striking instance pf 
 his use or abuse of this power will be related here- 
 after. 
 
 3J 
 
MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARD OF ALDER- 
 MEN. 
 
 The Board of Aldermen, of which I had been 
 elected a member, met first at noon on January 
 1st, 1898, as prescribed by the Charter. There was 
 some delay in organizing, as we had to wait until 
 the Council had first organized and elected the 
 City Clerk, and he had appointed the Clerk of the 
 Board of Aldermen, whose duty it was to call the 
 Board to order. Our first action was to choose a 
 President, and we elected Thomas F. Woods, a 
 Tammany Hall Democrat of Manhattan, to that 
 office by a party vote, and his election was there- 
 upon promptly made unanimous. Mr. Woods was 
 a horseshoer by profession, and his knowledge of 
 parliamentary law was not large, but he was ably 
 coached by the Clerk, Mr. Blake, who had been 
 clerk and deputy clerk of many preceding Boards, 
 and thus assisted, he made on the whole a fair and 
 efficient presiding officer. 
 
 The members of the Board were a rather miscel- 
 laneous assortment of humanity, and represented 
 all shades of intelligence, ability and education. 
 As a whole, their ability was beyond their educa- 
 tion ; but few of them represented any great experi- 
 ence either in politics or affairs. Eight of them 
 had no other business than politics, eight were ac- 
 knowledged liquor dealers, eight professed to be 
 
real estate dealers, but some of them did little act- 
 ive business, and devoted themselves principally 
 to politics; four were manufacturers, three were 
 lawyers, and one a law student; three were truck- 
 men, two plumbers, two machinists, and there was 
 a painter, horseshoer, grocer, undertaker and car- 
 penter, besides fourteen others of miscellaneous 
 occupations. Nearly one-half were of Irish birth 
 or parentage, and the remainder were about equally 
 divided between Germans and Americans. 
 
 In politics, there were at first forty-seven Demo- 
 crats, two "straight'^ Republicans, three "straight^' 
 Citizens'-Union members, and eight Citizens'- 
 Union Republicans. In practice, however, the 
 thirteen of the minority always acted as one 
 party and in time came to call themselves Re- 
 publicans. Within the first few monihs, one Dem- 
 ocrat was unseated by the courts in favor of a Citi- 
 zens'-Union candidate; and during the two years 
 of office three Democrats and one Republican died, 
 and one Republican (Citizens'-Union) resigned. 
 In each case, the Board elected a Democrat to fill 
 the vacancy, so that the final party vote stood forty- 
 eight to twelve. There were two members each of 
 the majority and minority who had sat in the pre- 
 ceding Board of the former city; and four mem- 
 bers of the majority and one of the minority who 
 had been members of the last Brooklyn Board. 
 These latter, I heard, had been of the "cold thir- 
 teen" of that Board, but as I do not know the exact 
 record of the "cold thirteen," or whether the state- 
 ment is true, anyhow, any explanations on that 
 point would be improper. The thirty (afterward 
 thirty-one) of the majority from Manhattan were 
 all members of Tammany Hall, and always voted 
 
 23 
 
as a unit on important measures. The one member 
 from Kichmond, a Democrat, and the Democratic 
 member from Queens, although not themselves 
 members of Tammany, always voted in entire sub- 
 servience to its dictations. But the fourteen Dem- 
 ocratic Aldermen from Brooklyn belonged to a dif- 
 ferent organization, were often rebellious against 
 Tammany, sometimes combined with the Republi- 
 cans, and occasionally acted by themselves. In the 
 end, however, Tammany always whipped them into 
 line by its control over patronage and local im- 
 provements. And even the members of the minor- 
 ity were sometimes forced to buy local improve- 
 ments for their respective districts by abandoning 
 their party and their principles on important meas- 
 ures. 
 
 Among the members, in spite of differences of 
 politics, race, education and environment, there 
 generally prevailed the most harmonious personal 
 relations. But this only came with time. At first 
 a bear pit was harmonious and orderly in compari- 
 son. Ill feeling was started at the first meeting, 
 for after its adjournment when the minority had 
 generally left the chamber, the majority recon- 
 vened and allotted seats, thus securing the better 
 places for themselves. And this ill feeling was in- 
 creased shortly after by the President's "railroad- 
 ing" through, in violation of the rules, an ordinance 
 creating a commission to revise the building code. 
 It was in this period of disorder that one member 
 of the majority called an opponent "an academic 
 pintod,'' and advised him "to sit on his point of 
 order"; and that another alderman in opposing a 
 motion for a special meeting, declared that "the 
 less frequently this lawless body meets, the better 
 
 24 
 
for the City of New York." However, in time 
 things quieted down and no amount of abuse and de- 
 nunciation served to phaze the good temper of the 
 majority, or lead to any personal ill feeling. And 
 the President avoided a repetition of his first error 
 by thereafter always deputing the duty of presiding 
 when any matter was to be "jammed through" to a 
 member whose unfailing equanimity and good hu- 
 mor under attack combined with his absolute dis- 
 regard for parliamentary law and minority rights 
 rendered such action no less effective while much 
 less ill-natured. The roll call, when ordered, was 
 always scrupulously fair and the vote correctly re- 
 corded. But in other respects, the minutes were 
 sometimes incorrect and unfair. 
 
 The majority was ably led by Alderman John T. 
 McCall, a newspaper man by profession, but with 
 the exception of those from Brooklyn, its members 
 seldom spoke or defended its measures in any way. 
 The minoritv was led bv Alderman Collin H. Wood- 
 ward with much parliamentary skill. The mem- 
 bers of the minority spoke frequently, but seldom 
 at any length, and never indulged in dilatory de- 
 bate. The orator of the Board was Alderman 
 
 B , of Brooklyn, a Democrat of considerable 
 
 common sense, but absolutely without education. 
 He had two failings, an inability to stop when he 
 once got started, and a consummate ability to mur- 
 der the Queen's English. He generally spoke out 
 of order and to a previous question, that is, to a 
 question that had been disposed of. Once, in ex- 
 plaining a resolution to provide a court room for 
 the judges of a minor court in Brooklyn, he said: 
 "The law says that they must set on the 15th; 
 theyVe no place to set now, and they've just got to 
 
 25 
 
set." In answer to an inquiry as to whether or 
 not they were then laying, he vouchsafed no reply. 
 On another occasion he thus retorted to a rather 
 jeering interruption: 
 
 "I don't want to he stopped by no song-and- 
 dance man. It has been broadcasted in the papers 
 that this Board has been holding up bond issues. 
 If that company are getting water from the city, it 
 is because there are not been no rains. There are 
 members of this Board that is a-skeered of the 
 press. I for one cares little about what the press 
 says about me. I ain't no coward. I ain't a- 
 skeered of the press. I'll vote according to my con- 
 science and my dictations." 
 
 And at yet another time he opposed a certain 
 ordinance because, as he expressed it, "it would 
 destruct the property of the people of my district, 
 and I won't stand here on my feet on this floor 
 and see no property of theirs destructed, no I 
 won't!" And it may be truthfully said of this 
 representative that, in spite of his deficiencies, he 
 did carefully guard the welfare of the people of his 
 district. 
 
 But it must not be thought that all the illiteracy 
 
 of the Board was monopolized by Alderman B , 
 
 although he alone conspicuously aired it in oratory. 
 The others ran more to resolutions expressing sym- 
 pathy, admiration, congratulations, etc., in regard 
 to current matters and events lying far beyond the 
 sphere of city government and politics. Many such 
 resolutions of great length and abounding in ful- 
 some rhetoric were regularly introduced and care- 
 lessly passed. The writer once brought down upon 
 his head some little wrath by introducing a resolu- 
 tion to amend the rules so as to send all such reso- 
 
 26 
 
lutions as of course to a special committee to be re- 
 vised as to grammar and historical statements. It 
 is needless to state that it was not passed. 
 
 Among the resolutions which came before the 
 Board there were many amusing mistakes. One 
 ordinance, for instance, aimed at a street railway 
 that did not run its cars frequently enough, pro- 
 vided that thereafter the cars should be run "not 
 less than five minutes apart." Another provided 
 that the paintings formerly hung in a certain room 
 in the City Hall and then temporarily stored, "be 
 and they hereby are hung in the Committee Room." 
 Sometimes, however, mistakes were due to the fact 
 that the resolutions were drawn by outsiders and 
 handed to members who complaisantly endorsed 
 and introduced them, without reading, upon the 
 assurance that they were "all right." Thus one 
 Alderman was induced to nominate Noah Webster 
 and Lindley Murray for Commissioners of Deeds. 
 
 And some reporters betrayed Alderman H , an 
 
 aggressive Irishman, into fathering a resolution 
 which provided that the City Hall and other public 
 buildings should be decorated on the Queen's birth- 
 day. This was a rather serious matter, for, although 
 the resolution was promptly laid on the table, yet 
 the newspaper men, in order to carry out the joke, 
 reported it as having passed. And as a result, 
 communications poured in from all parts of the 
 
 world denouncing us, and particularly poor H . 
 
 And the next meeting of the Board was devoted 
 entirely to his explanations and vindication. For 
 delegations from Irish societies from all over the 
 country east of the Mississippi River filled the 
 chamber and the galleries to overflowing and de- 
 manded satisfaction. Long and elaborate speeches 
 
 27 
 
were made by the majority leader and by Alder- 
 man B , above mentioned, in vindication and 
 
 praise of Alderman H , and the latter excused 
 
 himself at length. In the course of his remarks he 
 said : "I was only a boy when I was evicted from 
 my home in Ireland. I came at once to this coun- 
 try, and less than ten days after landing joined 
 Tammany Hall. Does any one here think that I 
 would introduce such a resolution if I knew what 
 was in it?'' And no one there did. The faux pas 
 was, however, fatal to H , who was not renomi- 
 nated. 
 
 As regards their personal honesty, the members 
 of this Board were not open to unusual criticism. 
 It is true that there were quite a number of meas- 
 ures that were long ^'hung up" in committees and 
 suddenly reported with unexplained change of 
 heart. But it is probable that only a little influ- 
 ence or some small "tips" were all that was neces- 
 sary to make the machinery move. There were also 
 ugly accusations that some of the members required 
 gratuities for their approval of local permits; and 
 such charges may have been true. But in many 
 cases of this kind the Aldermen were asked to do, 
 and did, a good deal of very proper work outside 
 the line of their duties in aiding the prompt pas- 
 sage and approval of such matters by the Council 
 and the Mayor, and the acceptance of an honora- 
 rium for such extra services was no more immoral 
 than many practices openly indulged in by other 
 officials. There were also some rumors of combi- 
 nations to "hold up" important ordinances, but of 
 them I never had any personal knowledge. But, 
 in my opinion, there was one group of from five to 
 seven members who always acted the part of "Black 
 
 28 
 
Horse Cavalry'' ; and the peculiar provisions of the 
 Charter aided their operations and gave them un- 
 usual powers and opportunities. It would, how- 
 ever, be unfair to ascribe to the generality or even 
 the majority of the members any responsibility for 
 the evils that they accomplished. Passes on rail- 
 roads and free tickets to places of amusement 
 caused rather general demoralization. In spite of 
 these facts, the personal honesty of a large propor- 
 tion of the Aldermen was, in my opinion, beyond 
 question. This, however, does not mean that the 
 Board w^as a fair and honest body. On the con- 
 trary, it was not ; for the Tammany members open- 
 ly disclaimed all personal responsibility for their 
 party measures, and voted solidly for some of them 
 for which even the lively imagination of their 
 leader could not invent the semblance of a reason- 
 able apology or excuse. Against such an organiza- 
 tion arguments or appeals to conscience were of 
 course vain. 
 
 The members of this Board were not the hard- 
 drinking, loud-dressed men that tradition and 
 imagination cause the majority of people to picture 
 the traditional Aldermen. Some had their little 
 peculiarities, but, as a body, they resembled any 
 other aggregation of ordinary New York citizens. 
 
 The excessive funeral ceremonies indulged in 
 upon the death of a member will perhaps convey 
 the best idea of their general social standing. Dur- 
 ing our term of office we lost four members. On 
 each occasion the walls of the whole chamber, to- 
 gether with the President's and the deceased Alder- 
 man's desk, were elaborately draped in black, and 
 a large majority of the Aldermen attended the fu- 
 neral in "hacks" dressed in their finest black and 
 
 29 
 
wearing elaborate badges with some such inscrip- 
 tion as "We Mourn Our Loss." A showy emblem, 
 such as a floral chair or horseshoe, was the usual 
 funereal tribute presented by the Board. All this 
 was, of course, at the city's expense. In addition, 
 there were the usual and appropriate commenda- 
 tory addresses at the next meeting. An attempt 
 was made at the time of the first funeral to add a 
 little supper of the Aldermen at the city's expense 
 to these other observances. But the newspapers 
 raised such a row over it that we thought better of 
 the matter and paid for the banquet out of our own 
 pockets. And thereafter we omitted it altogether. 
 
 Such were the members of the first Board of Al- 
 dermen of the Greater City of New York; and the 
 members of the Council were essentially similar. 
 On the whole, they in every w^ay fairly represented 
 the people of the city. It is true that they were 
 not what are called "representative citizens," be- 
 cause they were not chosen from among the ablest 
 and most experienced. They were, how^ever, aver- 
 age citizens — neither better nor worse than the 
 mass of the people of the districts they represented. 
 And though this particular Board was roundly 
 ridiculed and criticised by the press, yet I am sat- 
 isfied that its faults were due not so much to the 
 character of its members as to the evil influence of 
 the great party organization that controls the city 
 and to the defects of the Charter. Under other cir- 
 cumstances, with better defined duties, responsi- 
 bilities and powers, and with larger salaries, that 
 same Board would have made a much more cred- 
 itable record. And with proper ichanges in its con- 
 stitution it would be possible to secure for the As- 
 sembly a better membership. 
 
 30 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN. 
 
 1898-1899. 
 
 The Board of Aldermen and the Council met 
 separately every Tuesday afternoon, except during 
 a month's vacation in summer, and held frequent 
 special meetings. In addition, the Aldermen met 
 twice a week during the first three weeks of De- 
 cember, and almost daily during the last week of 
 that month to dispose of the accumulated business 
 of the current year. The meetings were largely 
 occupied with very petty matters, and but little 
 time or attention was given to the framing or en- 
 acting of general ordinances (with the exception 
 of the building code ordinance mentioned later), 
 for the reason that the Assembly's jurisdiction 
 over such matters was so doubtful and ill-defined 
 that all attempts to exercise it led to conflicts and 
 disputes with the more powerful so-called adminis- 
 trative departments. 
 
 The most important duty of the Assembly was 
 the consideration of ordinances relating to bond 
 issues, contracts and public improvements. These 
 ordinances were drawn in and transmitted to the 
 Assembly from the different boards and depart- 
 ments having jurisdiction over their special subjects 
 respectively, and the Assembly's duty was limited to 
 approving or disapproving them. Contracts by de- 
 partments to be made after public letting and pay- 
 ^ 31 
 
able out of appropriations already made needed no 
 approval by the Assembly. But contracts without 
 public letting, bond issues and public improve- 
 ments, required approval by an affirmative vote of 
 three-quarters of all the members elected to each 
 Board. The ordinances relating to these subjects 
 were divisible into three general classes. First, 
 ordinances authorizing a public improvement, 
 which sometimes also authorized the issue of the 
 necessary bonds to pay for the improvement, but 
 generally only authorized the work and the neces- 
 sary contract, leaving the bonds to be provided for 
 by subsequent action. Second, ordinances author- 
 izing the issue of bonds. Sometimes they were in- 
 corporated with the ordinance authorizing the im- 
 provement or liability, and sometimes they were 
 to pay for indebtedness already authorized and 
 accrued or about to accrue. Third, ordinances au- 
 thorizing contracts without public letting. 
 
 These classes of ordinances came to be described 
 loosely as "public improvement ordinances," "bond 
 issues" and "contracts without public letting." A 
 very large proportion of the ordinances fell within 
 two or more of these classes. 
 
 There were also ordinances granting franchises 
 and for other purposes which required a three- 
 quarters vote, but they were not numerous or fa- 
 miliar. 
 
 Requests by departments for authority to make 
 contracts without public letting were very numer- 
 ous and aroused vigorous opposition. They were 
 seldom accompanied by any explanation of their 
 necessity, or by any suggestion or promise of any 
 other proper method of awarding the contract as 
 a substitute for the public letting. And sometimes 
 
 32 
 
investigation disclosed the fact that the contract 
 had been already awarded, without public letting, 
 and that the proposed ordinance was desired in 
 order to cover up and ratify the illegal act. While 
 some rather dubious measures of this kind were 
 pushed through, yet a majority, of the Aldermen at 
 least, showed a proper spirit in dealing with such 
 matters, and insisted that all ordinances of this 
 class should be accompanied by written statements 
 from the departments showing the reasons for re- 
 mitting the strict rule. And many demanded, 
 though unsuccessfully that, where possible, some 
 other form of letting, such as a letting amongst all 
 those recognized by the department as competent 
 to do the work, should be substituted. 
 
 Ordinances providing for public improvements 
 originated in the Board of Public Improvements. 
 Ordinances authorizing bond issues, if for the pay- 
 ment of debts already accrued or accruing origi- 
 nated in the Department of Finance, were first ap- 
 proved by the Board of Estimate and Apportion- 
 ment, and then came to the Assembly. Generally 
 they were transmitted first to the Council and were 
 then forwarded to the Board of Aldermen. There 
 was, however, no legal provision requiring this 
 course of procedure, and therefore they were some- 
 times transmitted first to the latter Board. When 
 they also authorized public improvements they 
 originated in the Board of Public Improvements 
 and were then passed along to the Board of Esti- 
 mate and Apportionment and to tlie Assembly, in 
 the order named. The Assembly had power to orig- 
 inate bond issues, but only to an amount not to ex- 
 ceed a total of $250,000 in any one year, by a reso- 
 lution requiring a three-quarters vote of each Board 
 
 33 
 
requesting the Board of Estimate and Apportion* 
 ment to authorize the issue of a certain amount of 
 bonds for a purpose stated. 
 
 Very early in the history of our Board a large 
 number of ordinances authorizing various issues of 
 bonds for purposes of pressing necessity, generally 
 understood and demanded, were promptly and al- 
 most unanimously passed. Then a sudden halt was 
 occasioned by the question of the debt limit aris- 
 ing. 
 
 That question may be roughly explained as fol- 
 lows. It is provided in the State Constitution that 
 no city or county shall become indebted to an 
 amount to exceed 10 per cent, of the assessed val- 
 uation of its real estate. The former City and 
 County of New York were at the time of consoli- 
 dation well within that limit, having a margin of 
 over $40,000,000 of further possible indebtedness. 
 But Brooklyn and Kings County had separate 
 debts, which, in the aggregate, far exceeded 10 per 
 cent, of their joint real estate. But they had only 
 recently become coterminous, and the constitution 
 then as now provided that when a city and county 
 become coterminous the power of the county to 
 borrow money shall cease, but its existing indebted- 
 ness shall not be added to the city's in estimating 
 the latter's debt limit. By virtue of this clause 
 Brooklyn had not exceeded its debt limit, for the 
 old Kings County debt w^as not counted against its 
 real estate in estimating it ; but when that city and 
 Kings County were absorbed into the City of New 
 York this provision of the Constitution by its 
 terms ceased to apply, for the city's limits were no 
 longer identical with those of Kings County. And 
 the present city's debt was thereby increased by 
 
 34 
 
the amount of the combined debts of Brooklyn and 
 Kings County, while its power to borrow was only 
 increased by 10 per cent, of their joint real estate. 
 And as their combined indebtedness exceeded 10 
 per cent, of the value of their real estate by about 
 $22,000,000, the margin of further possible indebt- 
 edness remaining over from the former City of New 
 York was reduced by just so much. And Queens 
 and Richmond Counties brought similar dowries of 
 indebtedness into the partnership, which reduced 
 that margin by two or three millions more. And 
 when the bonds first authorized by the new govern- 
 ment had been issued the amount of the city's in- 
 debtedness came very close to the limit. It was 
 then that the Corporation Counsel paralyzed the 
 City Government by rendering an opinion in which 
 he held that the limit had already been passed. 
 This opinion was based upon the contention that 
 certain unliquidated and unaccrued liabilities on 
 contracts should be included in estimating the in- 
 debtedness. But after some ^^crawfishing" he jre- 
 ceded from this position, and the contention was 
 abandoned. In January, 1899, the indebtedness 
 of the city was about |244,000,000, and the valua- 
 tion of its real estate, as assessed in 1898, was 
 12,464,000,000 ; so that there was only a small mar- 
 gin of about $2,000,000 for further indebtedness. 
 But the tax assessors in 1899 remedied this strin- 
 gency by increasing the assessment of real estate 
 some $421,000,000, of which $307,000,000 fell on 
 Manhattan Borough alone, and $42,000,000 was 
 thereby added to the margin for further indebted- 
 ness. 
 
 After the bugaboo of the debt limit had been dis- 
 posed of, bond issues again came pouring into the 
 
 35 
 
Assembly steadily at the rate of from ^re to ten 
 important measures a week. But tiiey did not pass 
 so promptly, and this delay brought down upon it 
 the reproach of "holding up" bond issues, lieally, 
 however, it was not altogether the fault of the mem- 
 bers of the Assembly. In the first place, these mat- 
 ters required a three-quarters vote, and it was not 
 at all the meetings of the Board of Aldermen, for 
 instance, that a vote of 45 out of 60 would be pres- 
 ent. On stormy or foggy days the members from 
 the Bronx, about fifteen miles away, and those from 
 Flushing, Canarsie, South Brooklyn and Staten 
 Island, all of whom had long journeys by railroads 
 and ferries, were apt not to attend. There was 
 generally one vacancy by death, several would be 
 ill or away from town, and the sense of irresponsi- 
 bility and uselessness which the general character 
 of the work engendered was not calculated to make 
 the members over-scrupulous or self-sacrificing in 
 the matter of attendance when private business or 
 pleasure stood in the way. And the inadequacy of 
 their salaries also tended to make them regard 
 their public duties as of secondary importance, and 
 therefore to be lax in attending meetings. 
 
 A second cause of delay in passing these ordi- 
 nances was that the Assembly could not amend 
 them or originate substitutes, but had to approve 
 them in the exact form in which they came to it, or 
 reject them altogether. It frequently happened 
 that there were included in ordinances for neces- 
 sary and pressing improvements provisions or rid- 
 ers not understood, unnecessary, extravagant or in 
 our opinion wholly bad. And as we could not 
 amend the ordinances, the only thing that we could 
 do was to "hang them up" and try to "starve out" 
 
 36 
 
the department that originated them. The burden 
 of such fights fell upon the minority, but many of 
 the majority often aided. When such games of 
 patience were resorted to public opinion called 
 loudly for action, and, as we were the immediate 
 cause of delay, it would generally be directed 
 against us, with the result that some of the weaker 
 members would yield, and the ordinances with their 
 bad provisions would be passed, but only after 
 considerable opposition and delay. 
 
 A third cause of delay in the Assembly was the 
 existence of two Boards. This caused delay both 
 by the longer time necessarily occupied in meas- 
 ures passing two Boards instead of only one and 
 also by the double chance of their being improperly 
 "held up." There is no possible reason for the ex- 
 istence of two houses of the Assembly in the pres- 
 ent system of government. In legislative bodies 
 where such division rightly exists it is for the pur- 
 pose of having one body act as a check or reviser 
 upon the measures originating jn the other. But 
 in this Assembly neither body has .the power to 
 originate, with some few exceptions relating to 
 matters for which some other form of check or re- 
 striction upon the power of the Assembly has been 
 or could have been easily established. In financial 
 measures, while each Board has the right of veto, 
 practically it has the power only to obstruct and 
 delay; indeed, it hardly has the power to avoid de- 
 laying and obstructing. And the net result of hav- 
 ing the two boards is to double the delay, and prin- 
 cipally in matters in which delay is seriously 
 harmful. To offset this evil there have been no 
 good results from the division. 
 
 Yet another cause of delav was that the members 
 
 37 
 
of the jissembly could not obtain from the depart- 
 ments sufficient information to enable them to vote 
 intelligently on pending matters originating in the 
 departments. In some cases the departments de- 
 liberately withheld information, and depended up- 
 on time, part;^ pressure and patronage and public 
 clamor to force the members of the Assembly to 
 vote blindly in accordance with their dictations. 
 By the Charter it was provided that the heads of 
 departments might participate in the debates of 
 the Assembly, and it was probably intended that in 
 this way they should keep its members informed of 
 departmental measures. Of this privilege, how- 
 ever, thev seldom availed themselves. And it was 
 vain to have expected them to do so, for they are 
 far too busy to spare the time to keep track of the 
 proceedings and attend the rather lengthy meet- 
 ings of two legislative bodies. The bond issue ordi- 
 nances were frequently very important, sometimes 
 involving the expenditures of millions of dollars 
 each, and many members naturally delayed voting 
 upon them until they could get proper information 
 concerning them. And the place to acquire that 
 information unfortunately was not at the meet- 
 ings of the Assembly. The ordinances themselves 
 seldom disclosed their full purposes, and there 
 were no explanatory communications transmitted 
 with them from the departments to inform the 
 members why and w^herefore the particular ordi- 
 nances were reasonable and necessary. Thus, for 
 instance, a certain ordinance for the issue of bonds 
 for 1250,000, to pay for work on the Croton Aque- 
 duct. It required about six months' delay before 
 the Aldermen could learn specifically what it was 
 for, how much the contract for the whole work 
 
 38 
 
called for, how much of the proposed issue was to 
 pay for indebtedness already accrued, how much 
 for future work, and why this particular sum was 
 reasonable and necessary. The departments and 
 boards practically took the position that this was 
 not the Assembly's business, and that the members 
 of the Assembly should rely upon the determination 
 of the departments as to amounts, etc. And the 
 members of the Assembly were severely blamed 
 for the delay that resulted because they refused to 
 do so. The Council was particularly censured be- 
 cause some of its members declined to vote for an 
 ordinance authorizing the issue of $2,000,000 of 
 bonds to repave streets until the Commissioner 
 of Highways should furnish some estimate of 
 the paving necessary and a statement of the 
 streets to be repaired. The Comptroller, the one 
 official of the city in whom the independent mem- 
 bers had confidence, was frequently at fault in this 
 respect. It was held by the courts that where bond 
 issues were to pay for debts already accrued, the 
 Assembly had no discretion as to their approval, 
 but was bound to pass them promptly. It was also 
 perfectly obvious that it was economical to do so 
 where the issue of bonds was necessary to pay the 
 debt. For the debt bore interest against the city 
 at the rate of 6 per cent., while the city's bonds 
 bore only about 3 per cent. There was no dispo- 
 sition on the part of the Assembly to delay such 
 measures, but the difficulty lay in distinguishing 
 them from ordinances to issue bonds for ordinary 
 purposes, such as for works not yet under way or 
 even authorized. It always seemed to me that had 
 the Comptroller taken the trouble to point out and 
 identify such ordinances they would have been 
 
 39 
 
passed promptly. But he seldom, if ever, did so. 
 It therefore generally happened that only after 
 long personal investigations, which necessarily 
 caused delay, could the members of the Assembly 
 ascertain that the ordinances to issue bonds to pay 
 debts were actually for that purpose. And in sev- 
 eral cases definite information could not be ob- 
 tained for many months. Thus in the case of a 
 "bond issue" of $1,500,000, to pay for certain 
 Brooklyn water works that had been condemned, 
 over a year's debate and personal investigations 
 failed to reveal that fact conclusivelv ; for a certain 
 minority in opposition declared that the condem- 
 nation proceedings by which the works were ac- 
 quired were not yet terminated and that the pro- 
 posed bond issue was therefore improper. While 
 this minority may have been actuated by improper 
 motives, yet there were quite a number of disin- 
 terested members who could not ascertain the true 
 state of the facts for over a year. The trouble not 
 only in this case, but in general, was that the As- 
 sembly was acting apart from the departments and 
 out of communication with them, and totally in the 
 dark as to the matters before it. This state of af- 
 fairs the Assembly was unable to cure; but the de- 
 partments could have done so. And if we seek for 
 the reason why they deliberately placed the As- 
 sembly in this predicament we have not far to 
 look. For in the Assembly alone of all the effective 
 forces of the city's government was the minority 
 party at all represented. All the others were in 
 the exclusive possession of Tammany or its kindred 
 Brooklyn organization; (and this same condition 
 of monopoly would be true in any case under the 
 Charter, where one party had succeeded in elect- 
 ro 
 
ing its candidates for Mayor, Comptroller and 
 President of the Council ) . It was, therefore "good 
 politics" for all the other departments to do every- 
 thing possible to keep the Assembly in the dark, 
 to break its power and to reduce it to public odium 
 and contempt, and thereby perhaps to lead to its 
 abolition. And to that end every force and power 
 of the City Government was directed, in spite of 
 the fact that such efforts incidentally hurt the ma- 
 jority members of the Assembly. But it was upon 
 the minority that the real hardship fell. 
 
 This complicated and impractical condition of 
 affairs in the Assembly naturally led to many 
 severe struggles and long deadlocks, from which 
 the people suffered. And one of these deadlocks 
 brought upon the Assembly a certain mandamus 
 proceeding which crushed its spirit, shattered the 
 last remnant of its power in financial matters, and 
 left it but the cash register of the Comptroller and 
 the ballot machine of the Corporation Counsel. It 
 came about in this way: There were "held up" in 
 the Council three important bond issues. One pro- 
 vided for $1,500,000 to v^J for the Brooklyn Water 
 Works, before mentioned, which had finally passed 
 the Aldermen. The second was for $2,000,000 to 
 provide a fund for renaving streets. And the 
 third was for $450,000 for work on a new 
 Hall of T?ecords, then beinsr built. The first had 
 back of it the earnest and finally the thoroughly 
 aroused surn>ort of the people of the locality inter- 
 ested, but the Brooklyn Democratic organization 
 was, for some reason, probably sinister, opposed to 
 it. Tammanv had lonjr simply acquiesced in this 
 opposition, but at lensrth, aroused by popular 
 clamor, and having no direct interest, had come to 
 
 41 
 
the support of the measure. The Hall of Records 
 matter was but little understood among the mem- 
 bers, but there were ugly rumors current as to ir- 
 regularities in the contract for the work, and the 
 feeling was that the contractor should be forced to 
 sue, and that the Corporation Counsel should de- 
 fend the action in the courts, and thus test its mer- 
 its. But there were really no suflBicient grounds 
 specified by the opposing members upon which any 
 valid defense in such an action could have been 
 predicated. The paving bond matter had back 
 of it an intense popular demand for improved 
 streets. But some of the Brooklyn Councilmen 
 claimed the right to know what streets it was pro- 
 posed to repave, and demanded the estimates and 
 particulars on which the request for $2,000,000 was 
 based. The Commissioner of Streets and High- 
 ways declined to furnish this information, and 
 these Councilmen therefore opposed the ordinance. 
 For these separate reasons there were enough mem- 
 bers opposed to each ordinance to prevent the nec- 
 essary three-quarters vote for it in the Council, 
 and a long deadlock ensued. Throughout the de- 
 lay public clamor was directed against the Assem- 
 bly, because it was the apparent and proximate 
 cause of the delay in needed improvements. And 
 when finally the contractor engaged in building the 
 Hall of Records commenced proceedings for a man- 
 damus against the Assembly to compel it to author- 
 ize the issue of the bonds to pay him, that body was 
 in the depths of unpopularity. A mandamus is a 
 writ or order of the Court, which, when directed to 
 a public body, commands it to perform a minis- 
 terial or administrative act. It does not lie to com- 
 pel a legislative act. In these proceedings it was 
 
 42 
 
therefore contended that the approval by the Assem- 
 bly of the issue of these bonds was a purely ministe- 
 rial act involving no discretion, for the reason that 
 the Legislature had long before authorized the con- 
 tract for the work and directed the city to issue 
 bonds to pay for it. And this contention was 
 doubtless correct ; but the members of the Assembly 
 did not know it, or even know that the issue of the 
 bonds had been .directed by the Legislature; and 
 when they did learn the latter fact they still thought 
 that as they were a legislative body the courts had 
 authority to compel them to vote on the ordinance 
 but not to vote affirmatively for it. Some, too, felt 
 that, as the Assembly is nominally given power to 
 investigate, they had the right to demand that this 
 contract be fully investigated, and that until this 
 was done they had the right to withhold payment. 
 The Court proceedings were begun by a notice, or 
 "order to show cause," as it is called, which was 
 served upon the Presidents of the Council and of 
 the Board of Aldermen. This order required them 
 to show cause — that is, to give reasons, if there 
 were any — to the court on a day named, why a man- 
 damus should not be granted against the two 
 Boards and their members. These officials turned 
 the notices over to the Corporation Counsel, pre- 
 suming, we may suppose, that he would do every- 
 thing necessary to protect the rights and interests 
 of his official clients. Instead, he appeared in court 
 through his deputy, consented to the issue of the 
 mandamus in the form and terms proposed by the 
 attorney for the contractor, and thereupon the 
 Court, as is usual and proper when the attorneys 
 for all the parties interested consent, without look- 
 ing into the merits of the case or the propriety of 
 
 43 
 
the terms of the proposed mandamus, granted the 
 order and issued the mandamus. And thereupon 
 the Corporation Counsel took no steps to notify 
 the members of the Assembly, whose counsel he was 
 and in whose behalf he pretended to be acting, of 
 the existence of the writ, or to instruct them as to 
 their duties under the circumstances, but left them 
 to their own unaided judgment. The circumstances 
 attending the receipt of the writ by the Board of 
 Aldermen were rather dramatic. About ten min- 
 utes before it convened in its regular meeting the 
 writ was handed to the President, and immediately 
 upon the opening of the meeting it was read. This 
 was the first notice many of us had received of the 
 matter, and it was the first intimation we had that 
 the mandamus was directed to us personally, for 
 the ordinance in question was not before our Board 
 and many of us had never heard of it. And yet, 
 here, without a word of warning, was an order from 
 the Court, granted upon the apparent consent of 
 our attorney and upon affidavits stating that we 
 had refused and neglected and still refused to vote 
 for this strange ordinance — all untrue — and com- 
 manding us and each of us immediately to vote for 
 it and pass it. To say that we were surprised and 
 angry does not describe the situation, and in the 
 pandemonium that followed many harsh things 
 were said of the Corporation Counsel. But we 
 soon realized the ridiculous feature of the situa- 
 tion, that the mandamus directed us to perform an 
 impossibility. For we were ordered by it to pass 
 immediately a specific ordinance which was not 
 before us and which we could not originate. We 
 therefore referred the papers to the Department of 
 Finance, with the ren^ost that it transmit to us 
 
 44 
 
the required ordinance; and upon the receipt of it 
 at our next meeting we promptly and unanimously 
 passed it, in obedience to the order of the Court. 
 And yet, during that necessary interval, our Coun- 
 sel and the press took the opportunity of accusing 
 us of being guilty of contempt of court! In the 
 Council, however, the matter was more serious. 
 They had the ordinance before them, and yet upon 
 the receipt of the Court's order many of the mem- 
 bers refused to vote for it, contending that the 
 Court could not order or compel such action by a 
 legislative body, and that the Court would not have 
 granted the order had the Corporation Counsel 
 properly presented their case. The latter conten- 
 tion was probably correct. Later some of those 
 who had voted against the ordinance changed their 
 votes, and it was passed; but a few still voted 
 against it. A motion was then made to punish 
 these recalcitrant members for contempt of court, 
 and the Corporation Counsel, through his depu- 
 ties, appeared as their attorney, and consented that 
 they be punished. Other attorneys employed by 
 them personally appeared in Court and demanded 
 the right to represent them and present their side 
 of the case, but the Corporation Counsel objected, 
 and his contention was sustained; for, under the 
 Charter, he is the sole attorney for all city officers. 
 The curious anomaly was thus presented of an at- 
 torney acting throughout a proceeding in entire 
 hostility to his clients, using all his efforts to lead 
 them into difficulties and contempt, urging their 
 punishment, and refusing to present their argu- 
 ments and extenuating circumstances to the atten- 
 tion of the Court. This proceeding disclosed the 
 hazardous and dependent position of the members 
 
 45 
 
of the Assembly and all elective officers of the city 
 government. For they alone, of all citizens, are 
 exposed to the danger of having an attorney, in 
 whose selection they have had no voice, in whose 
 judgment and integrity they have no confidence, 
 and over whose actions they have no control, vested 
 with full and exclusive powers to represent them in 
 court and to bind them in every way, while they are 
 shut off from all other means of presenting to the 
 Court the facts and arguments upon which they 
 base their rights and pustify their actions. With 
 such power vested in him, the Corporation Coun- 
 sel can compel the Assembly to do anything. 
 
 During the years 1898-1899 there were but two 
 franchises granted. The Charter provides very 
 fully for the procedure in such grants requiring 
 long advertisement and public hearings before 
 committees of the Assembly, and the compensation 
 to be paid to the city for a franchise must be fixed 
 or approved by the Board of Estimate and Appor- 
 tionment. The franchises referred to were for 
 street railways; they had the general public ap- 
 proval and were unanimously passed by the As- 
 sembly. 
 
 There were only two important measures that 
 required a four-fifths vote that came up in the 
 Board of Aldermen during that time. They were 
 appropriations for celebrations. The first was a 
 proposed appropriation of $50,000 to celebrate the 
 anniversary of consolidation, under the name of 
 Charter Day. It passed the Board of Aldermen 
 after some opposition, but, it subsequently ap- 
 pearing that the subject was not considered a cause 
 for celebration, it got no further, and the matter 
 was allowed to drop. The other was the appropria- 
 te 
 
tion of $175,000 for the celebration in honor of the 
 return of Admiral Dewey from Manila. The com- 
 mittee having charge of this celebration insisted 
 that the appropriations for it should be free from 
 all provisions as to public letting and other safe- 
 guards against misappropriation. I voted for both 
 of these measures, but the way in which the money 
 was expended for the Dewey celebration, in spite 
 of its great success, makes me sincerely regret that 
 I did so. 
 
 The first serious struggle in the Board of Alder- 
 men arose early over an ordinance to appoint a 
 commission to revise the Building Law, and it con- 
 tinued with ever increasing bitterness almost 
 throughout the life of the Board. The power to 
 enact a code of building ordinances is the greatest 
 legislative power that was granted to the Assem- 
 bly, and the majority lost no time in making use 
 of it. The building laws of the city consisted of 
 the Tenement House Law, which provides for fire- 
 proofing and ventilation in tenements, and which 
 was re-enacted in the Charter and cannot be modi- 
 fied by the Assembly, and the Building Law, which 
 could be amended or replaced by any ordinances 
 the Assembly might enact. The latter law was ad- 
 mittedly old and out of date, but there were two 
 diametrically opposite interests demanding differ- 
 ent tendencies in its amendment. On the one side 
 were the speculative builders, who objected to all 
 material restrictions upon the character of build- 
 ings, and who demanded a "practical'^ law. On 
 the other side were the architects and reformers 
 and generally all classes w^ho are opposed to flim- 
 sy, ill-ventilated and easily inflammable buildings. 
 Early in the session an ordinance came to the 
 
 47 
 
Board of Aldermen after passing the Council which 
 provided for the appointment of a paid commission 
 to revise the building laws, to consist of the Com- 
 missioners of the Department of Buildings and 
 seven representatives of building trade interests 
 therein enumerated, to be appointed by the Presi- 
 dents of the two Boards of the Assembly. From the 
 very first it was evident that it had the strongest po- 
 litical influence behind it, and that nothing would 
 be spared to secure its passage. A combination 
 between the Brooklyn Democrats and the minority, 
 however, succeeded in "hanging it up" in commit- 
 tee. And the minority fought hard to amend it by 
 adding to the number of the proposed commission- 
 ers three architects to be nominated by certain ar- 
 chitectural societies, a civil engineer, a sanitary en- 
 gineer, two lawyers and the Fire Chief, and further 
 providing that the commissioners should serve 
 without compensation. All these efforts were, 
 however, in vain, for Tammany succeeded in forc- 
 ing through a substitute ordinance almost iden- 
 tical with the original, except that a representative 
 of the Corporation Counsel's ofifice was added and 
 the provision relating to the payment of the com- 
 missioners was omitted. But later this last pro- 
 vision was separately enacted. When in the course 
 of time the proposed code was reported it justified 
 the worst fears of the opponents of the commis- 
 sion. The principal changes it effected were to de- 
 fine apartment houses in such a way as to distin- 
 guish them from tenements and thereby to attempt 
 to take them out of the stricter rules of the tene- 
 ment laws ; to allow greater height in non-fireproof 
 buildings and greater laxity in regard to fireproof- 
 ing and ventilation in many classes of buildings 
 
 48 
 
where strict provisions are necessary for the pres- 
 ervation of life and health. And some nine very 
 reasonable suggestions made to the Commission 
 by the Tenement House Committee of the Charity 
 Organization Society were ignored. In some re- 
 spects the building laws were made more strict, 
 but greater power to vary them was given to the 
 Commissioners and to the Board of Examiners. 
 Under the Charter there are three Commissioners 
 of the Department of Buildings, one having juris- 
 diction over Manhattan and the Bronx, another 
 over Brooklyn, and a third over Queens and Rich- 
 mond. In general, each must enforce the strict let- 
 ter of the law, but an appeal lies from their deci- 
 sions, in Brooklyn, Queens and Richmond to the 
 Board of Commissioners, and in Manhattan and 
 the Bronx to the Board of Examiners, and these 
 Boards, respectively, have the power to permit 
 variations from the strict terms of the law wher- 
 ever in their opinion some other method of con- 
 struction is equally good or more desirable. The 
 Board of Examiners is an old Board which existed 
 in the former government, and has been continued 
 by the Charter. It consists of the Commissioners 
 and the Fire Chief ex-ofi&cio and seven representa- 
 tives elected from six enumerated trade societies. 
 It has always been of doubtful repute, and has been 
 charged with laxity and favoritism. It is not 
 fairly representative, and some of the societies 
 represented are probably nothing more than "rot- 
 ten boroughs" maintained solely for the purpose of 
 securing representation in this Board. The pro- 
 posed code manifoldly increased the discretionary 
 powers of this Board and of the Commissioners, 
 and multiplied their opportunities for favoritism 
 
 49 
 
and oppressive discrimination. Severe arraign- 
 ments of it were made at the public hearings that 
 were held by a Committee of the Council, but it 
 was promptly passed and signed by the Mayor. As 
 a result of the changes effected by it, an architect or 
 builder whose relations with Tammany Hall are 
 "satisfactory" is now subject to few practical re- 
 strictions as to the character and quality of his 
 building operations. 
 
 The next contest in the Board of Aldermen arose 
 over a series of "strike" ordinances aimed at the 
 elevated railroads. The Manhattan Railroad Com- 
 pany, which controls and operates these structures, 
 is probably the most unpopular corporation in the 
 city, and any measure directed against it is apt to 
 be popular. But these proposed ordinances were 
 too palpably blackmail. Public report stated at 
 the time that certain personages high up in Tam- 
 many Hall had tried to secure from the company 
 certain valuable concessions in the use of its struc- 
 tures and had been unsuccessful, and consequently 
 that they were seeking an opportunity to "get 
 even." And, as if to bear out this rumor, there 
 were introduced in the Board of Aldermen four 
 ordinances compelling the elevated railroad to 
 place iron drip pans under all their tracks, to en- 
 close the platforms of their stations, to run trains 
 on all the lines at all hours less than five minutes 
 apart, and to remove the cars stored on certain 
 third or central tracks, all within sixty days, under 
 very severe penalties. Some parts of these ordi- 
 nances were proper enough, but the time limit was 
 so short as to render performance practically im- 
 possible ; and several of them had no other possible 
 purpose than to mulct the railroad. The public 
 
 50 
 
and the press quickly divined the true purposes of 
 these ordinances and supported the minority in its 
 opposition, with the result that they were buried 
 in committees and never resurrected. 
 
 The final struggle in the Board was between the 
 ruling powers favoring the Mayor's policy of build- 
 ing bridges between Manhattan and Long Island 
 and the opposition, led by the Comptroller, in favor 
 of tunnels. At the time this question came up for 
 consideration there was only one bridge — the pres- 
 ent Brooklyn Bridge — much overcrowded, with its 
 foot passages, driveways, trolley lines, and cable 
 and elevated railways, supplemented by some sev- 
 enteen ferries. There was also building the new 
 East River Bridge, between northern Brooklyn 
 (Greenpoint) and Broome street, in Manhattan. 
 The Mayor advocated two more bridges at a cost of 
 about $13,000,000 to $15,000,000 each, one from 
 upper Manhattan over Blackwell's Island to 
 Queens, and the other from lower Manhattan to 
 Brooklyn, just north of the present bridge. The 
 sums above mentioned, however, do not include the 
 price of the land that will be necessary for piers 
 and approaches, which will have to be acquired by 
 condemnation proceedings, and will cost many mil- 
 lion dollars more for each bridge. On the other 
 hand, the Comptroller argued that two tunnels 
 permitting two lines of rapid transit trains in each 
 could be built for a total cost of about $5,000,000. 
 The principal objection urged to the bridges was 
 their great expense. The taxes in Manhattan had 
 been increased nearly 40 per cent, by consolidation, 
 and yet here was a proposition to build a bridge into 
 Queens Borough that would almost exclusively 
 benefit that Borough, and yet would have to be paid 
 
 51 
 
for by Manhattan in the proportion of almost 
 for every dollar paid by Queens; and it was urged 
 that a $3,000,000 tunnel would accomplish about 
 the same beneficial results. And the same objec- 
 tion applied, though in a lesser degree, to Brook- 
 lyn; and in addition it was urged that there was 
 already being built a new bridge to Brooklyn that 
 would answer for awhile, and, besides that, a bridge 
 could not reach south Brooklyn, which was the part 
 of that Borough which most seriously needed rapid 
 transit, while a tunnel could. It was also objected 
 to bridges in general that they would take a long 
 time to build; that they could not go to the places 
 that most required them, but would be governed 
 as to location by topographical requirements; that 
 their grades were unsuitable for trains; that they 
 lead to serious congestion around their termini, 
 and that the necessary condemnation of property 
 would give opportunities for favoritism and land 
 speculation. Tunnels, it was claimed, would avoid 
 all these objections; they could be quickly built, 
 they were so cheap comparatively that they could 
 be multiplied and so distributed as to avoid conges- 
 tion, they could lead to any place desired, and could 
 penetrate to the center of the Boroughs, their 
 grades would be more suitable for trains, and they 
 would require no laud, thereby avoiding condem- 
 nation proceedings. The objections to tunnels 
 were that they are underground, ill-ventilated 
 and purely experimental, if not impossible of con- 
 struction; that their cost is really an unknown 
 quantity, and that they would not provide road- 
 ways for teams and foot passengers. The matter 
 came up in the form of separate ordinances author- 
 izing contracts for the two bridges and of other 
 
 52 
 
ordinances authorizing the issne of bonds to raise 
 the funds for preliminary expenditures. At first 
 the ordinance for the Queens bridge was defeated 
 by the minority with the aid of the Brooklyn Dem- 
 ocrats. But the latter, together with the Brooklyn 
 Republicans, could not muster up the courage to 
 vote against the Brooklyn bridge, the ordinances 
 for which were consequently passed. And, in re- 
 turn for the Queens Borough votes for that bridge, 
 some of the Brooklyn members swung over and 
 voted for the Queen's bridge. Thus, by a little 
 finessing and trading, the ordinances authorizing 
 both bridges were passed, but only in the last hours 
 of the last dav's session of the Board. 
 
 There was a good deal of trading of votes in this 
 Board. It was larsrelv due to the wav in which the 
 Charter had massed the control over local improve- 
 ments in the hands of several central bodies. Thus 
 it was often necessary to vote for an unnecessary 
 office or improvement in one or more, or perhaps 
 all the other Boroughs in order to secure a similar 
 improvement or office for one Borough where it was 
 absolutely necessary. And an Alderman who was 
 inclined to be independent but whose district need- 
 ed local imDrovements, was constantly obliged to 
 surrender his independence and buy the passage of 
 the measures providing for such improvements 
 through the Board of Public Improvements, the 
 Council and the Board of Aldermen by voting for 
 many obnoxious measures. 
 
 53 
 
COMMITTEES, JOINT MEETINGS AND 
 
 LOCAL BOAEDS. 
 
 Committees. — The Board of Alderman and the 
 Council each have a large number of committees 
 corresponding generally to the city departments. 
 They are, however, altogether out of touch with 
 them. Almost the first act of the Board of Alder- 
 men was to instruct its Law Committee to wait 
 upon the Corporation Counsel and to procure his 
 opinion and advice on a certain question. That 
 Committee reported back that it had obeyed in- 
 structions, but had been treated with neglect, and 
 the opinion was not obtained in time to be of use. 
 The same condition existed, though to a lesser de- 
 gree, in regard to the relations between the other 
 committees and their corresponding departments. 
 The result was that their reports were seldom 
 based on any accurate information and were wor- 
 thy of but little reliance. Indeed, reference to a 
 committee was seldom resorted to for the purpose 
 of obtaining information, but rather to secure de- 
 lay for private investigation or for the purpose of 
 indirectly defeating the measure. Keferences were 
 sometimes made for the purpose of holding public 
 hearings. Such hearings occasionally resulted in a 
 compliance with the popular wishes, but if the 
 measures were so important as to arouse the in- 
 terest of the party organizations, the decisions of 
 
 54 
 
Tammany Hall were reported, regardless of tte 
 merits of the matter as brotio:ht out at the heariD^s. 
 Public hearings also failed to work well where 
 the measures, though of general public bene- 
 fit, conflicted with the material interests of some 
 class; because in such cases the latter would at- 
 tend in a body, while the general public, less in- 
 terested, would be comparatively unrepresented. 
 !A.'nd on such occasions numbers counted more than 
 arguments. Some of the committees had a great 
 deal of work. The Finance Committee, for in- 
 stance, had from five to ten important measures a 
 week committed to it, and it worked diligently and 
 reported promptly. But the members of the com- 
 mittee could not possibly give the time to properly 
 investigate the matters referred to them. Their 
 reports, therefore, seldom communicated any ad- 
 ditional information to the other members, or in 
 any way explained complicated or uncertain ques- 
 tions and measures. Indeed, many of the reports 
 were signed without any meeting or investigation 
 by the committees, but were handed around for sig- 
 nature at the general meetings of the Board, and 
 were favorably signed upon the assurance of the 
 chairman or members interested that they were 
 "all right.'* 
 
 Joint Meetinffs. — The Municipal ^A^ssembly meets 
 formally in joint session of its two houses in eacK 
 year for two distinct purposes, first to fix the tax 
 rate and the taxes, and second to consider the an- 
 nual budsret. These meetings are presided over by 
 the President of the Council. In addition, the 
 members of the Assembly, exclusive of the President 
 of the Council, meet after each election as Boards 
 
 55 
 
of Canvassers, to canvass the election returns of 
 the city. 
 
 On the first Monday of July in each year the As- 
 sembly meets and receives from the Department of 
 Taxes and Assessments rolls of the real and per- 
 sonal estates in the City of New York on January 
 1st, of the current year, together with a state- 
 ment of the assessed valuations of such estates for 
 that year, as compared with the year preceding. 
 The Comptroller has already at least four weeks 
 before this, as required by the Charter, transmit- 
 ted to the Assembly a statement setting forth the 
 amounts by law authorized to be raised by tax^s 
 in the year, which consists principally of the 
 amounts included in the last budget, together with 
 an estimate of all probable receipts by the city 
 from all its sources of revenue, excepting some of 
 the revenues of the sinking funds. The assessment 
 rolls being then in its possession, the Assembly 
 causes the final tax lists to be prepared upon them 
 as a basis, in accordance with the assessments and 
 the tax rate when adopted. The statements it re- 
 fers to its joint Committee on Finance. The Char- 
 ter provides that the Assembly must from the total 
 amount of the estimated expenditures deduct the 
 estimated revenue, and to the difference add such 
 sum not exceeding 3 per cent, thereof as in its 
 judgment may be necessary and proper to meet all 
 probable deficiencies, and authorize the resulting 
 amount to be raised by taxation. It must also 
 compute the rate at which the property assessed 
 must be taxed to raise the said amount. This work 
 is all done through the joint Committee on Fi- 
 nance, and it reports the proper ordinance to the 
 [Assembly. When the tax and assessment rolls are 
 
completed they are delivered to the Collector of 
 Taxes with proper warrants authorizing the col- 
 lection of the taxes. The taxes are confirmed and 
 become a lien upon the property taxed on the date 
 of the passage by the Assembly of the ordinance 
 fixing them. But there is no date specified when 
 this must be done, except that the assessment rolls, 
 etc., must be delivered to the Collector of Taxes 
 on or before September 1st in each year. This al- 
 lows an opportunity for some juggling in case large 
 interests happen to be involved in pending sales of 
 real estate. For when a contract of sale is out- 
 standing with the title to be passed on a certain 
 subsequent date, if the tax be confirmed before that 
 date, it must be paid by the seller, but if later, by 
 the purchaser. If the amounts involved be large 
 it mav therefore be worth while to use "influence" 
 with the Assembly to hasten or delay the confirma- 
 tion. It was perhaps due to some such causes that 
 in 1898 the Assembly proceeded with great delib- 
 eration and did not confirm the taxes until August 
 23d, while in 1899 it proceeded hurriedly and con- 
 firmed them early in July. This duty of the As- 
 sembly is really ministerial, and should be trans- 
 ferred to some other bonrd. 
 
 Owing to the fact that the county charges for 
 each county are paid by taxation upon that countv 
 solelv, the fnx rate varies slightly in the different 
 counties within the city. In New York Countv in 
 1S99 it was 2.41 cents on the dollar of the asspssed 
 valuation, w"hioh, in the case of real estate, amou^tf^ 
 to about f)f> per cent, of the real valuation. But 
 fhp' valuation of personal estate when found was 
 full, and therefore the tax rate on it amounted to 
 2.41 cents per dollar of its full value. Of course 
 all possible methods are resorted to to avoid this 
 
 57 
 
onerous imposition, and but little personal prop- 
 erty can therefore be found to be taxed. The en- 
 tire assessed valuation of personal estate in New 
 York City therefore amounted to only |545,906,- 
 565. 
 
 The other annual joint meeting of the Municipal 
 Assembly is held for the purpose of considering 
 the budget. The general purposes of the budget 
 and the rules of procedure governing its adoption 
 have already been described. The Charter pro- 
 vides that the Board of Estimate and Apportion- 
 ment must annually between the first days of Oc- 
 tober and November, prepare the budget for the 
 next ensuing year. After it is made it must be 
 signed by all the members of that Board and sub- 
 mitted to the Assembly. When, early in Novem- 
 ber, 1898, the budget for 1899 was thus submitted 
 to the Assembly, there was but little criticism, and 
 it was approved immediately by a party vote of 64 
 to 15. But little attention was paid to this budget 
 at the time, either by the members of the Assem- 
 bly or by the public, although it amounted to |93,- 
 000,000, or an increase of about 125,000,000 over 
 the combined expenses of the various parts of the 
 city during the last year prior to consolidation. 
 This neglect was largely due to the facts that it 
 was then difficult if not impossible to obtain fig- 
 ures for accurate comparison, and that two of its 
 items of about ?7,000,000 and $3,000,000, respect- 
 ively, were apparently to meet deficiencies or ex- 
 traordinary expenses attendant upon consolida- 
 tion. There was, however, a resolution introduced 
 by a Brooklyn Democrat directing that the budget 
 be returned to the Board of Estimate and Appor- 
 tionment, with the request that it appropriate 
 ?7,000,000 for much needed schoolhouses and sites 
 
 58 
 
and that other items be reduced to that extent. But 
 when the budget for the next year was submitted, 
 although it amounted to but $90,000,000, a reduc- 
 tion of some $3,000,000 from that of the preceding 
 year, it was received by the minority in an entirely 
 different spirit. It was quickly perceived that the 
 reduction was apparent and not real, and that such 
 as it was it had been accomplished not by the omis- 
 sion of former extravagant items, but by the reduc- 
 tion of the amounts allowed for necessary current 
 repairs and maintenance. Even the Democrats 
 from the outlaying Boroughs sharply attacked it on 
 these grounds, making many damaging specifica- 
 tions in their charges. But they did not have the 
 courage to vote against it, and it was therefore ap- 
 proved by a party vote. 
 
 The following is a brief summary of the purposes 
 for which the money appropriated in the budget 
 for 1900 was to be used. The items are stated in 
 round numbers — indeed, are only roughly esti- 
 mated — for it is impossible to get the exact figures 
 from the present method of appropriations : 
 
 Payments on indebtedness f 19,600,000 
 
 Payments for State Taxes 7,900,000 
 
 Payments to State and City Charitable 
 
 Institutions and Libraries 3,400,000 
 
 Payments for supplies and repairs to 
 
 schools 2,400,000 
 
 Payments for miscellaneous purposes, 
 such as printing, supplies, con- 
 tract work, judgments, etc 13,100,000 
 
 Payments for salaries and wages, other 
 
 than for contract labor 44,300,000 
 
 Total $90,700,000 
 
 (True total $90,778,972) 
 
The following is a summary of the Budget for 
 1900 as adopted : 
 
 The Mayor's Office: Salaries, etc $37,300 
 
 The Bureau of Licenses 9R.455 
 
 The Municipal Assembly 200.052 
 
 The Department of Finance: Salaries, etc 779,305 
 
 The Interest on City Debt, as follows: 
 
 6? On that of City of New York as constituted since 
 
 January 1st, 1898 $1,429,369 
 
 ^; On that of City of New York as constituted prior to 
 
 January 1st, 1898 .5,181,925 
 
 Sr On that of iformer City of Brooklyn and Kinsrs County 2,772,.589 
 
 *" " " " " Corporations in Queens County. .. . 420,739 
 
 " " " Richmond County 128,139 
 
 r*'^ " certain disputed bonds, etc., principally of Queens 
 
 County ^161 ,483 10,094,097 
 
 The Interest on Stock to be issued within fiscal year 884,180 
 
 " " " Revenue Bonds for 1900 (estimated) 729.1fi6 
 
 Payments to Sinking: Funds 4,576,561 
 
 Installments payable 3,362,511 
 
 Rents 315,379 
 
 Borouffh Presidents: Salaries, etc i' 51.300 
 
 Law Department: Salaries, etc 399.758 
 
 Board of Public Improvempnts 239,500 
 
 Department of Highways, (n) 
 
 Central Administration: Salaries, etc $22,000 
 
 Borough of Manhattan 950,160 
 
 " " the Bronx 583,160 
 
 " " Brooklyn 379.338 
 
 " " Queens 199.300 
 
 " '" Richmond 117,886 2,251,844 
 
 Department of Sewers 803.173 
 
 " " Public Buildings, Lighting and Supplies.. 8,819.683 
 
 " " Water Supply 1,442,914 
 
 " "Parks 1,825.113 
 
 " " Public Charities 1,896.812 
 
 "Correction 762,775 
 
 '• " Health 1,055.515 
 
 " " Street Cleaning ,5,031.282 
 
 Police Department 11.992.508 
 
 Fire " 4,840.676 
 
 Department of Buildings 546.525 
 
 " Taxes and Assessments 335,450 
 
 " " Education 14,594.111 
 
 College of City of New York and Normal College 375,000 
 
 Coroners 165,150 
 
 Commissioners of Accounts 156,000 
 
 Civil Service Commission 76,000 
 
 Board of City Record, for printing, etc 460,200 
 
 Libraries (Public) 214,779 
 
 City Courts 966,050 
 
 Charitable Institutions in City 2,857,084 
 
 Miscellaneous 606,494 
 
 Total of City $79,201,764 
 
 To meet expenses of County of New York $8,391,332 
 
 " " " " " " Kinffs 2,613,663 
 
 " " " " " " Queens 436,039 
 
 " " " " " " Richmond 136,174 11.577,208 
 
 Total Budget (n^) $90,778,972 
 
 (n) The anpropriations for the majority of the departments are itemized by 
 Boroughs; but the Department, of Highways is alone itemized in this summary 
 t>y way of illustration. 
 
 (tia) The budget for 1901 exceeds $98,000,000. 
 
 60 
 
 (' 
 
 3 
 
it may be added in explanation of the last foiir 
 items that, while the counties still retain their cor- 
 porate entities and perform the usual functions of 
 county government, they are forbidden to incur in- 
 debtedness, and have no machinery to impose taxes 
 or otherwise raise their necessary revenue except 
 through the City Government. Each county main- 
 tains its own County Clerk, Sheriff, District At- 
 torney and Commissioner of Jurors, and in New 
 York and Kings Counties there are Registers of 
 Deeds. And each county is separately assessed and 
 taxed for its share of the State taxes. 
 
 Boards of Canvassers. — The members of the As- 
 sembly, with the exception of the President of the 
 Council, also meet annually as Boards of City and 
 County Canvassers. All of them form the Board 
 of City Canvassers, and those representing districts 
 within each county form the Board of County Can- 
 vassers for that county. The county canvass pro- 
 ceeds first. Each Assembly District is divided into 
 a convenient number of election districts, and in 
 each of them is a polling place. Immediately after 
 the balloting is over and the votes counted, the in- 
 spectors of election at each polling place make re- 
 turns or certificates showing the total number of 
 votes cast, the number rejected as void, the num- 
 ber counted though challenged and the number 
 counted for each candidate. The original returns 
 are transmitted to the County Clerk, and the Board 
 of County Canvassers takes up these returns one 
 by one, has the figures read off and the results care- 
 fully tabulated and added, and then announces and 
 certifies the result as to the votes cast for all can- 
 didates for offices except general city offices. The 
 duties of the canvassers are purely ministerial, and 
 
 61 
 
they cannot go behind the returns or count the re- 
 jected ballots or reject and deduct the challenged 
 ballots, but only in the case of a manifest clerical 
 error on the face of the return they may call upon 
 the inspectors to correct it. The vote as cast for 
 the city officers elected at large they report to the 
 Board of City Canvassers, which tabulates the vote 
 so reported by the different boards of county can- 
 vassers, and announces and certifies the result in 
 the same way. Upon the result of the vote thus cer- 
 tified, the Board of Police Commissioners, unless 
 restrained by the courts pending a contest, issues 
 certificates of election to the successful candidates. 
 The above is of course only a general statement of 
 the procedure, which is rather complicated. In 
 New York County the canvass occupies from three 
 days to a week. The city canvass is a mere formal- 
 ity, and is based upon the returns from the county 
 canvasses. It occupies at the most a few hours. 
 During the years 1898 and 1899 the canvass was 
 delayed by the necessity of awaiting the returns of 
 the votes of the soldiers in Cuba and the Philip- 
 pines. The canvass proceeded as far as possible 
 and then adjourned until the return of the soldiers' 
 votes was received; their total was then quickly 
 added in and the results promptly announced. 
 
 The duties performed by these boards are en- 
 tirely ministerial and foreign to the functions of 
 a legislative body. 
 
 Local Boards. — Prior to consolidation there were 
 within the territory now included in the City of 
 New York a large number of corporate entities hav- 
 ing control over their local improvements. Loosely 
 enumerated, they were the former City and County 
 of New York; the territory embraced in the Twen- 
 
 62 
 
ty-third and Twenty-fourth Wards of that city 
 (about half of what is now the Borough of the 
 Bronx), which had been given some separate con- 
 trol over its local improvements; Brooklyn and 
 Kings County; and Queens County, and included 
 in it the former towns of Long Island City, New- 
 town, Flushing, Jamaica and Hempstead. By the 
 Charter all control over their local improvements, 
 even over those payable by local assessments, was 
 taken away from these counties and municipali- 
 ties and vested in the Board of Public Improve- 
 ments and the Municipal Assembly. Thus there 
 was effected an unusual centralization of power in 
 matters peculiarly subject to local sentiment. 
 
 It was to offset or perhaps to disguise this effect 
 of the Charter that the Local Boards were created. 
 There are twenty-two of them, one in each of the 
 twenty-two Local Improvement Districts into 
 which the city is divided. They are divided by the 
 lines of the present Senate Districts, each of which 
 includes generally three assembly or aldermanic 
 districts. The Local Board for each district con- 
 sists of the Aldermen and Councilmen residing in 
 it and the President of the Borough ex-ofificio. 
 Their jurisdiction is confined to the district and 
 to those subjects and matters the cost of which is 
 in whole or in part a charge upon the people or 
 property of the districts or of a part of it. Where 
 an improvement covers more than one district the 
 boards of all the districts affected constitute the 
 local board for it. These boards may recommend 
 the opening, closing, extending, widening and pav- 
 ing of streets, the laying of sewers, sidewalks and 
 crosswalks, and the setting of lampposts and street 
 signs. They may also pass resolutions concerning 
 
 63 
 
any form of nuisance in the district. They are also 
 given power to cause the flagging of sidewalks, the 
 fencing or digging down of vacant lots and the till- 
 ing in of sunken lots, subject to the approval of 
 the Board of Public Improvements. But the latter 
 Board has full power to do the same, with the ap- 
 proval of the Municipal Assembly and without the 
 approval of the local board. 
 
 It was attempted by the creation of these boards 
 to establish a method of initiation by the citizens 
 of a district or neighborhood of local improvements 
 of streets, sidewalks, crosswalks, etc. The proced- 
 ure provided is for the citizens to present a peti- 
 tion for the proposed improvement to the President 
 of the Borough, by whom it is submitted to the Lo- 
 cal Board, which may then hold one or more public 
 hearings, and after deliberation must approve or 
 disapprove of the proposed improvement. If it ap- 
 proves it must forward its resolution recommend- 
 ing the improvement to the Board of Public Im- 
 provements, which must — but will not — act upon it 
 promptly, and, if it in turn approves, cause the 
 work to be done. The expense of such improve- 
 ment, if payable by assessment, cannot be extended 
 beyond the limits of the local district within which 
 the improvement is situated. But nothing in all 
 the provisions relating to these boards in any way 
 limits the powers of the Board of Public Improve- 
 ments and the Assembly to go ahead and cause any 
 kind of work payable by local assessment or other- 
 wise without the approval and even against the 
 opposition of the Local Board. 
 
 After a year's trial this elaborate system broke 
 down, and for a very simple reason. The Board of 
 Public Improvements is essentially a centralized 
 
 64 
 
board, composed largely of members appointed by 
 the Mayor, principally from the Borough of Man- 
 hattan, and nearly all belonging to one central po- 
 litical organization, and in them is vested all the 
 power of initiative; to the wishes of the people of 
 the outlying districts and to neighborhood senti- 
 ment generally they are absolutely indifferent, and 
 they therefore ignored the recommendations of the 
 Local Boards. After a year's operation of the sys- 
 tem all the Local Boards together had recommend- 
 ed to the Board of Public Improvements some 480 
 measures, of which that Board had acted upon only 
 16. It was therefore perfectly apparent that it was 
 useless to waste time in procuring favorable action 
 by the Local Boards, and the people learned to go 
 directly to the Board of Public Improvements and 
 to exert whatever influence they had upon it. If 
 nothing could be done with it directly, nothing 
 could be done indirectly through the Local Boards. 
 And in the same way the Board of Estimate and 
 Apportionment ignored the recommendations of 
 these Boards and of the Borough Presidents in 
 preparing the budgets, and though guilty of unlim- 
 ited extravagance in salaries, refused the necessary 
 funds for current repairs on streets and for other 
 similar necessities. And yet it was in these boards 
 that there were evinced suggestions of the most 
 favorable possibilities of local government. My 
 experience satisfies me beyond all doubt that in the 
 strengthening of these boards and the creation of 
 larger boards for the boroughs, with extensive pow- 
 ers, lies the only salvation of the city from its pres- 
 ent over-centralized government. 
 
 The very atmosphere of these boards differs from 
 that of the rest of the government, for in them the 
 wishes of the people seem to be sought after and to 
 
 65 
 
govern. For instance, in the Local Board of which 
 I was a member there were six members — the Tam- 
 many President of the Borough, two Tammany 
 Councilmen and three Citizens'-Union Aldermen. 
 And yet in spite of this political division, we always 
 succeeded in coming to an unanimous conclusion in 
 all of about a hundred matters that came before us. 
 And this was not because we approved them as of 
 course, for we disapproved of as many proposed im- 
 provements as we recommended. And during the 
 first year, at least, we always acted with delibera- 
 tion and after public hearings. And yet in no sin- 
 gle instance did the Board of Public Improvements 
 act upon our recommendations. And the only re- 
 sult of our two years' work that I can recall was 
 the compliance of the Department of Highways 
 with our request that certain streets receive cur- 
 rent repairs. 
 
 The Local Boards have not even the power of 
 veto over improvements payable by assessments 
 upon their respective districts. And in several 
 cases improvements were located and carried out in 
 opposition to their protests. It would seem that 
 where a locality pays for an improvement its rep- 
 resentatives should have some control over it; but 
 the Charter has vested that power exclusively in the 
 central boards and beyond the influence of the peo- 
 ple of the neighborhood. 
 
 Under these circumstances the Local Board of 
 which I was a member, after holding weekly meet- 
 ings for about a year, gradually suspended its sit- 
 tings, and finally ceased to meet altogether. I am 
 informed, however, on reliable authority that later 
 experience has been more favorable, and that the 
 Local Boards have proved useful in an advisory 
 capacity. 
 
 66 
 
OTHER ALDERMANIC DUTIES. 
 
 It must not be inferred from the foregoing de- 
 scriptions of the more important acts and duties 
 of the Municipal Assembly and its members that 
 such matters absorbed the larger portion of their 
 time and attention. A careful perusal of the pow- 
 ers granted to the Assembly will show that its jur- 
 isdiction was mainly confined by the Charter to 
 more petty matters, and it was therefore both nat- 
 ural and necessary that its principal time and at- 
 tention should have been devoted to them. It is 
 the onerous and disagreeable character of this petty 
 work that makes membership in the Assembly dis- 
 tasteful to men of education and ability, and tends 
 to lower its character. 
 
 Until the Charter went into effect the Aldermen 
 had exclusive control over permits for street pa- 
 rades and displays, for news, fruit, peanut and 
 similar stands, and for all building projections, 
 signs, awnings, horse-troughs, lampposts, etc., in 
 the streets beyond the building line, subject, how- 
 ever, to the Mayor's veto. And generally each Al- 
 derman was allowed to exercise exclusive control 
 over all such matters affecting his district only, and 
 his time and attention was largely devoted to them. 
 By the Charter the Councilmen were given joint 
 power with the Aldermen. This change has prac- 
 tically resulted in three Councilmen and one Alder- 
 
 67 
 
man having joint control over such matters 
 in each aldermanic district. The Alderman 
 has a veto over the measures of the Coun- 
 cilmen through his power to defeat them in the 
 Board of Alderman; and the Oouncilmen have 
 like power over the Alderman's measures when 
 they come up in the Council. This division of re- 
 sponsibility causes many bad results, amongst 
 others frequent deadlocks between the two bodies 
 by which all permits in certain districts, however 
 necessary, pressing and proper, are either refused 
 or indefinitely delayed. The change from the 
 former system is unjust to the Aldermen. The 
 Councilmen are new and almost unknown officials, 
 and therefore all applications are made to the dis- 
 trict Alderman, and he is held responsible for all 
 improper permits. And yet he is often forced to 
 allow such permits to be granted in order to avoid 
 a deadlock. On the other hand the Councilmen 
 are not held accountable by the people and feel no 
 responsibility. 
 
 The applications for these permits in my dis- 
 trict were very numerous. The applicants were 
 mostly Italians of the poorest class who could 
 speak no English while I could speak no Italian. 
 They came to my residence at early morning and 
 late at night, and besieged my office at all hours of 
 the day ; and their presence at both places was dis- 
 agreeable in many ways. The great majority of 
 the applications had to be refused, although the 
 applicants were pressing in their demands, calling 
 again and again, and offering all sorts of appeals 
 to one's sympathies, bribes, threats, tears and hys- 
 terics to secure the necessary approval. The rea- 
 sons for refusing them so generally were that they 
 
 68 
 
wanted permits for purposes forbidden by law, or 
 for locations where they would become nuisances 
 or work injustice. Thus many applications were 
 for fruit and peanut or similarly objectionable 
 stands upon quiet residence streets such as Madi- 
 son Avenue or crowded thoroughfares like Twenty- 
 third Street. And architects were constantly de- 
 manding permits for iron and glass awnings and 
 other building projections over the sidewalks. 
 The neighbors always objected to such encroach- 
 ments upon the highway, and on crowded streets 
 they were public nuisances. Yet it often took from 
 two to five interviews of about an hour each to 
 convince an architect that his application should 
 not be granted. And where one did approve an 
 application, especially in the case of a permit for 
 storm doors or for an advertising sign for a charit- 
 able entertainment, immediate action was often 
 necessary. And in order to avoid the three or four 
 weeks' delay which would result from having the 
 ordinance for the permit go through in the usual 
 course, great personal exertions on the part of the 
 Aldermen were necessary to pass it promptly 
 through the Board of Aldermen, and arrange in 
 advance with the Council and the Mayor or his 
 clerk to have it in turn promptly considered and 
 acted upon by them. And nearly every applica- 
 tion required a visit of inspection to the locality. 
 The amount of time devoted to such matters varied 
 according to the character of the district; in mine 
 it amounted to from four to ten hours a week, in- 
 cluding often the busiest hours of the day, and 
 this continued not for a few months only but 
 throughout the entire year. Some of the Alder- 
 men's power in such inn Iters may have been used 
 
 69 
 
as patronage and even been made a source of a 
 small income; but generally it was considered a 
 grievous burden. It is true that each Alderman 
 fought bitterly any attempt of the Board as a 
 whole to interfere with such matters in his dis- 
 trict. This, however, does not demonstrate an im- 
 proper use of his power. For in the course of my 
 experience whenever the Board as a whole inter- 
 fered it was an abuse of its power exercised in 
 obedience to party pressure or other improper in- 
 fluences. Sometimes the Aldermen approved per- 
 mits where they should not have done so ; but over 
 such acts the Mayor by his veto exercised a salu- 
 tary restraint. These matters may seem too petty 
 to merit such lengthy discussion. But really they 
 are important, for they materially affect every 
 building that is erected in the city, and the peace 
 and comfort of every resident and householder. 
 And a system of government that makes their 
 proper administration difficult and dilatory as the 
 Charter does deserves the severest censure. 
 
 A large part of an Alderman's time is also occu- 
 pied in performing personal services and securing 
 "patronage" for his constituents. This is a long 
 established custom handed down from the earlier 
 days when the Board of Aldermen was a body of 
 dignity and power, and its members persons of in- 
 fluence and importance. The Board of Aldermen 
 did in fact occupy such a position at one time in 
 the city's history; and around the office of Alder- 
 men there still lingers in the eyes of the common 
 people some shadow of its old importance. The 
 Aldermen still appoint commissioners of deeds, 
 they can perform the marriage ceremony, and as 
 we have seen each Alderman has still some con- 
 
 70 
 
trol over local permits within his district. The 
 Alderman is next to the Tammany Hall district 
 leader, supposed to be the principal comforter of 
 the afflicted and the aid of the undeserving unfor- 
 tunates within his district. To him come for relief 
 those seeking bail, many about-to-be-evicted ten- 
 ants and hundreds of applicants for railroad 
 passes. And all doubtful charitable organizations, 
 within his district, count on him as a certain sub- 
 scriber. His free tickets to places of amusement 
 are in great demand among a certain class of his 
 constituents. In return for the special permits 
 and privileges necessarily granted to them, race 
 tracks, baseball grounds, circuses, public balls 
 and large entertainments generally send free tick- 
 ets to all the Aldermen. Sometimes they were 
 voluntarily sent; sometimes they were asked for. 
 I know that I incurred some resentment because I 
 refused to demand tickets for such affairs in my 
 district. Particularly was this true in the case 
 of the Horse Show, for which I "put through" a 
 permit to build a temporary shed over the side- 
 walk, without any free tickets resulting. This 
 was during the first year of my term, and as the 
 season for the Horse Show approached the next 
 year, I heard rumors that "not a thing" would be 
 done to that resolution if I introduced it again. 
 Fortunately for me the Horse Show asked for no 
 renewal of the favor. The principal use of these 
 tickets was for "patronage" and the pressure upon 
 the Aldermen to procure them was very strong. 
 In addition to procuring the tickets the Aldermen 
 were expected to furnish messengers and postage 
 for their distribution. 
 In the same way passes on all railways enter- 
 
 71 
 
ing the city were constantly asked for, and 
 were procurable. Probably in return for the 
 favors shown to the members of the Board of Alder- 
 men in this way by the railroads no legislation 
 inimical to them was ever passed. Any such 
 measures when introduced were promptly buried 
 in the railroad committee. 
 
 The only open struggle for patronage in the As- 
 sembly took place over the appropriation for the 
 celebration in honor of Admiral Dewey. There 
 was at first |150,000 appropriated for that purpose, 
 but later |25,000 additional was asked in order to 
 build stands along the line of the land parade. 
 The necessary votes in the Assembly to pass this 
 second appropriation were only obtained in return 
 for a promise by the committee having the celebra- 
 tion in charge to devote one of the proposed stands 
 to the use of the members of the Assembly and 
 their guests ; and it was apparently agreed that each 
 Alderman and Councilman should receive one hun- 
 dred tickets for distribution. It was arranged that 
 these tickets should be distributed among the mem- 
 bers of the Assembly by a committee at noon of the 
 day before the first day of the celebration. On at- 
 tending at the appointed time and place we found 
 that the tickets had been distributed to the more 
 favored the day before and that those that remained 
 were "short" in number. High words and angry 
 controversies followed, and some of the Aldermen 
 got no tickets at all. I secured about ninety, which 
 I distributed as well as I could among about three 
 hundred applicants in my district. 
 
 When an Alderman performs a marriage cere- 
 mony, it generally takes place at the City Hall, 
 though he may be importuned to tie the knot at all 
 
 72 
 
convenient hours and places. Down in the musty 
 vaults of its cellar is a large room called the "Mar- 
 riage Bureau," presided over by two rather sporty 
 gentlemen nicknamed Cupid and Psyche. To them 
 application is made by the couples wishing to be 
 married, and they seek out the minister. If the 
 bride and groom are persons of importance the 
 Mayor's aid is invoked; otherwise they hunt up a 
 stray Alderman. If the parties are "nice people" 
 the ceremony is performed in some suitable com- 
 mittee room ; but if they are only "dagoes" the cel- 
 lar room is deemed good enough for them. The 
 Alderman, somewhat embarrassed if he be a novice, 
 faces the happy pair, who are generally supported 
 by an interpreter, and reads the Episcopal service 
 in English. Sometimes the proceedings are as fol- 
 lows: The Alderman asks the couple: "Do you or 
 either of you know any just cause or impediment 
 why you should not be joined together in matri- 
 mony?" Thereupon they both, promptly and be- 
 fore the interpreter can intervene, nod vigorously, 
 say, "Yes! yes!" and smile joyously. Then comes 
 a pause while the interpreter straightens things 
 out. Then turning to the groom the officiating 
 Alderman asks him, "Joachimo, do you take For- 
 tunita to be your wedded wife?" etc. And 
 Joachimo, warned by his previous mistake, re- 
 sponds, "No!" in a firm voice, while Fortunita 
 beams her approval. But as in a melodrama it all 
 comes out right in the end. The power to per- 
 form the marriage ceremony is but an incident of 
 the office handed down from former days, and is 
 neither much of a burden nor a source of abuse. 
 But it is not in accord with the cjeneral character 
 of the office and should bo abolished. 
 
 73 
 
EFFECTS OF CONSOLIDATION. 
 
 What are the general effects of consolidation? is 
 a question that is frequently asked. It is often 
 the purpose of such enquiries to question the wis- 
 dom of the act of consolidation itself; but the pre- 
 vailing opinion undoubtedly is that all the terri- 
 tory now embraced within the city should sooner 
 or later have been united under one government, 
 and that the only open question is whether it would 
 not have been better to have effected the union by 
 a gradual assimilation of the parts, and to have 
 left some residuum of control over local affairs 
 within those parts. But to the question, What are 
 the effects of consolidation, as it has actually taken 
 place under the Charter? the answer may be given 
 in indisputable facts and figures. 
 
 Its principal effects have been : the taking away 
 from subordinate parts of the city their former 
 control over their local affairs and improve- 
 ments; a complete wreck of minor governmental 
 functions; an expensive overcentralization of ad- 
 ministrative functions; a ruinous extravagance; 
 and the strengthening of the political organization 
 in control of the city. Against these evil effects is 
 to be offset a certain larger measure of home rule 
 in the city at large. But this is not an undiluted 
 blessing, for its government is not of a character 
 to administer such powers wisely, and as the State 
 
 74 
 
Legislature still continues to exercise its powers 
 in the matters so delegated to the city the result 
 is that the openings to the city's purse have been 
 doubled. Many place the blame for evil results 
 upon Tammany Hall, the ruling party. But no one 
 who is acquainted with the Kepublican "machine" 
 in the city can doubt that the result would have 
 been the same had that party been successful in the 
 last election. The Charter is therefore their real 
 
 cause. 
 
 It is difficult to estimate exactly how much more 
 the present city costs annually than did its parts 
 before they were united. But the expenses of all 
 those parts for 1897 did not exceed $68,000,000, 
 while as now consolidated their estimated expen- 
 ditures for 1900 exceeded |90,000,000.* Nor is this 
 increase of |22,000,000 accompanied by any im- 
 provement in administration, except possibly in 
 the Departments of Police, Fire and Education, 
 which account for about $7,000,000 of it. Espe- 
 cially is there no increase in repairs and current 
 improvements ; on the contrary they have been cut 
 down at least so far as they are paid for out of 
 current taxation. The main increase has been in 
 salaries and wages, for which — exclusive of contract 
 labor — the city now pays the enormous total of over 
 f44,300,000 a year.f For this increase of salaries 
 the Charter is both directly and indirectly respon- 
 sible; directly by its express multiplication of 
 offices, and by its raising the standard of salaries 
 in the other boroughs to correspond with the neces- 
 sarily expensive scale prevailing in Manhattan; 
 and indirectly by its destruction of many forces 
 
 * For 1901, they will be about $98,000,000. 
 
 t In 1901, it wHl be $50,000,000. 
 
 75 
 
that have tended to promote economy. Where 
 formerly a department had an administrative 
 office in what is now a borough, it has 
 been continued with practically the same or 
 an increased salaried force. In no single instance 
 has there been an economical change, or even an 
 opportunity for such a change under the Charter, 
 Departments have been multiplied, thus creating 
 many new offices. And where formerly in some of 
 the boroughs there was no department correspond- 
 ing to that in Manhattan, because unnecessary and 
 inappropriate, a new office of such department has 
 been established in each of such boroughs, in order 
 to extend the uniform system throughout. And 
 over these borough offices the Charter has estab- 
 lished an entirely new central office for each de- 
 partment and its commissioner or Board of Com- 
 missioners, with its army of clerks and assistants. 
 And in the case of the six departments included in 
 the Board of Public Improvements, it has estab- 
 lished over them yet another central office entitled 
 by that name, and costing the city over $239,000 
 a year for salaries. Thus by the Charter salaries 
 are piled upon salaries, and red tape is wound 
 around red tape. The total increase of salaries and 
 wages — outside of the three departments above 
 named, in which it may be argued to have been bene- 
 ficial—is about $16,000,000. Of this increase but 
 little if any, is really necessary, or in any way 
 justifiable; while nearly $7,000,000 of it is abso- 
 lutely wasted because paid to officials who render 
 no beneficial services to the city. 
 
 During the year 1900 the present administration 
 will have probably disbursed nearly $140,000,000. 
 It has planned to issue bonds for $50,000,000 (iu 
 
 76 
 
addition to bonds for |35,000,000 for the Kapid 
 Transit Tunnel, which will be disbursed by a special 
 commission and during many years). Adding this 
 sum of 150,000,000 to the amount of the budget, 
 the total is |140,000,000. This is almost three 
 times as much as the expenses of the State govern- 
 ment. And over the expenditure of this enormous 
 sum the commissioners of the departments have 
 almost unchecked control; and over about sixty 
 million dollars of it that little clique of irremov- 
 able appointive officers composing the majority of 
 the Board of Public Improvements have absolute 
 control. It would almost seem as if the Charter 
 had been drawn with the purpose of placing the 
 greatest amount of money in the most irresponsible 
 hands. 
 
 The Board of Public Improvements is "the nigger 
 in the woodpile." It has the legislative initiative 
 in and the administrative control over all great 
 public improvements ; it has the disbursement of all 
 moneys expended for them; and it or rather its 
 members have the appointment and control over 
 all the employees and officials engaged upon them. 
 And yet in the choice of the commissioners who 
 form the majority of that board the people have 
 no direct voice. And within a short time after ap- 
 pointing them the Mayor has practically no power 
 over them and no responsibility for them. And 
 therefore they feel no responsibility to him or to 
 the people. They have been really selected for 
 their positions by the "boss," and have been mainly 
 chosen from among the Tammany Hall district 
 leaders. Their allegiance is, therefore, to the boss 
 and to their district organizations; and for their 
 benefit, and as they may direct these officials use 
 
 77 
 
their public powers. They are not qualified for the 
 positions they fill ; and their time, interest and at- 
 tention is mainly devoted to the petty local politics 
 of their districts. And while they are all men of 
 considerable ability, their ability is generally of 
 the kind which finds its use in carrying primaries, 
 packing conventions, and evading the election laws. 
 Where the commissionerships have not been given 
 to district leaders, they have been bestowed upon 
 other leading men in Tammany Hall, upon per- 
 sonal friends of the boss or upon the leaders of the 
 Brooklyn Democratic organization. From such 
 sources exclusively are recruited the men who fill 
 the higher appointive positions in the city govern- 
 ment, and control the Board of Public Improve- 
 ments. Nor would it be otherwise should the Ke- 
 publican party win a partisan victory. For its or- 
 ganization, in the County of New York at least, is 
 essentially similar in its character and methods to 
 Tammany. 
 
 The appointive officials in the City Government 
 have the appointment of thousands of office hold- 
 ers, and the disbursement of approximately $130,- 
 000,000 annually. And they are using their power 
 with tremendous effect for political purposes. 
 Perhaps this charge should not be made against the 
 Departments of Police, Fire and Education, as 
 those departments are supposed to be "out of 
 politics.'' Unfortunately, however, it is known 
 that the police are instruments to levy and collect 
 thousands of dollars in blackmail from the law- 
 breaking classes for the party in power; and that 
 political influence is potent within the Departments 
 of Fire and Education. 
 
 The $50,000,000 to be raised by bond issues, and 
 
 78 
 
to be paid out for contract work, is a very valuable 
 asset to the party in power. Not only is there the 
 chance for favoritism, and even for fraudulent 
 profits in the awarding of contracts, but 
 there is also a well defined percentage of the 
 money disbursed upon them, that is paid to the 
 organization by the contractors in the shape of 
 "voluntary" contributions to its campaign fund; 
 and the district leaders have the appointment of 
 all the unskilled laborers employed upon the work. 
 But the salaries in the departments other than 
 those last referred to are the mainstay of the 
 organization. The recipients are the appointees 
 of the commissioners, and the offices are dis- 
 tributed among the districts, and dealt out without 
 regard to fitness, according to the value of the 
 political services rendered, and the loyalty dis- 
 played to the boss or district leader. And all these 
 place holders besides demonstrating their gratitude 
 by increased labor and loyalty, must also contribute 
 large assessments out of their salaries into the 
 funds of the organization. As stated above there 
 is an aggregate of about |7,000,000, which is spent 
 in entirely useless salaries. This amount is really 
 used to pay workers for Tammany. All the heads 
 of departments, deputies for the larger boroughs, 
 heads of bureaus and chief clerks have besides their 
 regular office force certain "confidentiaF^ clerks, 
 stenographers and messengers, who are really used 
 as their aides and assistants in their political work. 
 And many of the heads of departments do not per- 
 form the duties of their offices themselves to any 
 great extent, but have special deputies who do their 
 work while they devote practically all their time 
 to their political labors. And there are besides 
 
 79 
 
thousands of other office-holders who do not work 
 more than three or four hours a week for the city, 
 and who spend the rest of their time in political 
 employments. The services rendered at the prima- 
 ries and elections by these men arci very important, 
 and count for a great deal in results. And more- 
 over the assessments that they can afford to pay 
 are very large. 
 
 The total result of all machinery, money and 
 influences thus controlled by Tammany Hall in a 
 fairly contested election is estimated by those com- 
 petent to judge as high as 60,000 votes. A ma- 
 jority of one, or as happened at the last election, 
 a mere plurality can thus under the Charter confer 
 an enormous power upon the successful party, and 
 give it such a hold upon the city that only a political 
 resolution can overthrow it; and it also gives to 
 the successful machine in the city an influence in 
 the political affairs of its party in the State, far 
 in excess of what it is entitled to by its vote or its 
 general merits. No such tremendous opportuni- 
 ties inured to the dominant party in the former and 
 smaller city. This is an effect of consolidation 
 under the Charter. 
 
 I will illustrate what I have called the wreck of 
 minor governmental functions effected by the Char- 
 ter by one practical instance. Every owner of 
 real estate must keep his sidewalk well paved and 
 in good repair. If he neglect to do so the Depart- 
 ment of Streets and Highways may serve a notice 
 upon him directing him to repave it. And if he 
 fail to comply with that notice the city may have 
 it repaired at his expense. This situation is fre- 
 quently arising, for property owners constantly 
 allow carriageways over their sidewalks into 
 
 80 
 
stables, yards or excavations to get into such a bad 
 condition as to become a nuisance to the neigh- 
 bors. And the latter are constantly seeking their 
 remedy. Formerly it was brief and simple. Now 
 under the Charter it is mysterious and lengthy. 
 Under certain circumstances it requires an ordi- 
 nance which must be approved by the Board of 
 Public Improvements and the Board of Estimate 
 and Apportionment, be passed by the Council and 
 the Board of Aldermen and be approved by the 
 Mayor. And the Assembly will probably require 
 its approval by the Local Board. And being a 
 financial ordinance it is subject to the strict rules 
 of the Charter relating to such measures and to 
 the many consequent difficulties and delays. And 
 every time it is passed by any of these bodies, and 
 when it is approved by the Mayor, and every time 
 it comes up in each branch of the Assembly — and 
 it must come up at least twice in each, for it cannot 
 be passed at the meeting at which it is introduced, 
 — it must be printed in the City Record at the 
 city's expense. It will therefore take at least a 
 year's diligent lobbying to procure the passage of 
 such an ordinance. And it will cost the city from 
 |10 to |20 for printing. And all this cost and time 
 and trouble is necessary to effect what may be only 
 $10 worth of repaving. 
 
 The effect of the Charter in depriving the differ- 
 ent localities of control over their local affairs and 
 improvements has already been pointed out in the 
 foregoing description of the local boards. It con- 
 stitutes a most serious evil. Take for instance 
 Queens Borough, which is still largely open country 
 and very dependent upon and justly proud of its 
 system of fine turnpike roads. During the last two 
 
 81 
 
years the centralized city government has appro- 
 priated for the maintenance of those highways only 
 about one-half of what was formerly found to be 
 absolutely necessary for that purpose, and they are 
 consequently fast falling into a ruinous condition. 
 And yet the taxes in that borough have not been 
 reduced, and the money expended in it is no less 
 than formerly. Now, however, instead of being 
 used for such useful purposes, it is being spent in 
 salaries to useless place holders. Had the people 
 of that locality some control over this matter such 
 a condition of affairs would not long continue. 
 But it is in the matter of local improvements, espe- 
 cially local improvements payable by local assess- 
 ments, that the results are most demoraliz- 
 ing. The Boroughs of the Bronx, Queens and 
 Richmond still contain large tracts of country 
 land, but throughout them, especially through- 
 cut the first two, the city is spreading 
 rapidly, and it is necessary for their proper de- 
 velopment that streets should be promptly laid out, 
 graded, paved and curbed and sewers and water 
 pipes laid. These works are paid for by local 
 assessments. Even in the former and smaller city 
 it was found that to leave such matters under the 
 control of the general city government and its de- 
 partments led to delay and non-compliance with the 
 wishes of the people of the locality most interested, 
 and which needed the majority of such improve- 
 ments, that was the territory embraced in the 23d 
 and 24:th Wards, now the Borough of the Bronx. 
 Consequently and as a result of agitation by the 
 people of that section a special board of commis- 
 sioners elected by them was given charge of their 
 local improvements, and the change was found 
 
 82 
 
to be most beneficial and efficient. It was, there- 
 fore, in direct violation of the experience of the 
 past, that the Charter took the control of local 
 improvements in such outlying districts away 
 from their local authorities, and vested it in the 
 Board of Public Improvements, and in the general 
 body of the Municipal Assembly, and left not even 
 a right of veto to the elected representatives of the 
 locality interested. The necessity of the approval 
 by general boards of matters in which only the 
 localities have any interest gives the political or- 
 ganization in control of the city an additional hold 
 upon the localities, and a lever by which it can 
 coerce their representatives. Thus it often costs 
 a member of the Assembly three bad votes to pur- 
 chase the approval of a local improvement of press- 
 ing necessity, one to get it through the Board of 
 Public Improvements, and one to get it through 
 each house of the Assembly. The measures for 
 which his vote is thus bought may be ^^jobs" of the 
 worst kind against which he might have the in- 
 dependence to vote, did not the necessities of the 
 people he represents require his entire subservience 
 to the central powers controlling their local improve- 
 ments. But not even by the greatest subservience 
 can the local representatives procure the prompt 
 action that is often necessary in such matters, 
 for the procedure is necessarily slow and uncertain. 
 The President of the Borough of the Bronx, himself 
 a member of Tammany Hall, has declared that as a 
 result of the changes made by the Charter the prog- 
 ress of necessary improvements in his borough 
 was abruptly terminated by consolidation, and has 
 remained almost suspended ever since. And the 
 Presidents of Brooklyn, Queens and Richmond have 
 
 83 
 
united in his condemnation of the Charter, and 
 have urgently demanded relief. 
 
 Although public criticism has been almost unani- 
 mously adverse, those who drew the Charter still 
 contend that it is reasonably satisfactory and de- 
 serving of further trial, that its apparent faults 
 are due to the maladministration of the present 
 government, and that all that it needs are slight 
 amendments from time to time as minor defects 
 are discovered. But public opinion demands more 
 radical action, and pursuant to an act of the last 
 Legislature the Governor has appointed a com- 
 mission to revise the Charter. To that Commis- 
 sion the people of the City of New York look for 
 relief from a grievous blunder. 
 
 Note. — This article was in the hands of the publishers 
 before the report of the Coin mission was published. 
 
 84 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 For the benefit of those who may desire a more 
 complete description of the city government the 
 following brief enumeration of the powers and 
 duties of the remaining departments, not described 
 in the foregoing pages, is added: 
 
 POLICE DEPARTMENT. This department is 
 governed by the Police Board, which consists of 
 four commissioners appointed by the Mayor for 
 terms of six years, and who receive salaries of 
 $5,000 a year each. This board is nominally bi- 
 partisan, it being provided by the Charter that no 
 more than two of the Commissioners when ap- 
 pointed shall belong to the same political party, 
 or be of the same political opinion in state and 
 national politics. They have control of the govern- 
 ment, administration, disposition and discipline of 
 the police force, and of the Bureau of Elections. 
 They have the power to appoint and remove sub- 
 ordinates, subject however to the Civil Service 
 law, and to the restriction that no policeman shall 
 be appointed who is over thirty years of age. They 
 are required to publish all applications for ap- 
 pointment. In case of promotions it is provided 
 that selections must be made from certain grades. 
 They are authorized to increase the number of 
 patrolmen, provided appropriations therefor are 
 
 85 
 
made by the proper departments. Unless other- 
 wise provided by the Municipal Assembly on the 
 recommendation of the Police Board, it is pre- 
 scribed that the police force shall consist of a Chief 
 of Police, five Deputies, ten Inspectors, Captains 
 not to exceed one to each fifty patrolmen, ser- 
 geants, roundsmen, detective sergeants, surgeons, 
 etc., in prescribed numbers, and patrolmen to the 
 number of 6,382. A part of this force may be 
 organized into a Central Detective Bureau. 
 
 The Chief of Police is the chief executive officer 
 of the force, and is responsible for the execution of 
 all laws, and for the enforcement of the rules and 
 regulations of the department as adopted by the 
 Police Board. He can be removed only by the 
 Board. He assigns the officers and men to duty, 
 and has the power to transfer them from station 
 to station within the city ; and he has the power to 
 suspend them from duty pending the trial of 
 charges. All charges are tried by one or more 
 commissioners under rules to be prescribed by the 
 Board. The commissioners may issue subpoenas 
 and administer oaths, and may punish by repri- 
 mand, by forfeiting or withholding pay not to ex- 
 ceed thirty days, by suspension or by dismissal. 
 Policemen cannot receive gratuities without the 
 permission of the Board openly applied for: and 
 they cannot make political contributions. 
 
 The Police Board may offer rewards to in- 
 formers ; in case of emergency may appoint special 
 patrolmen without pay; it may appoint special 
 patrolmen employed by private parties or corpora- 
 tions, and may detail men to assist other depart- 
 ments. This department has jurisdiction over 
 lost and stolen property, to which subject several 
 
 86 
 
provisions of the Charter relate. It also has charge 
 of the inspection of boilers and of the licensing of 
 public exhibitions, immigrant boarding houses, 
 hotel runners and similar matters. It is also its 
 duty to make and enforce rules and regulations as 
 to the navigable waters within the city. 
 
 There is a Police Pension Fund to which fund 
 are applied all fines from the police, and also the 
 fees received from certain licenses. Policemen 
 over fifty-five years of age, or who have served 
 twenty years or are disabled may be pensioned. 
 Pensions may also be given to widows and chil- 
 dren under certain conditions. 
 
 The Bureau of Elections is a separate bureau of 
 this department. It has control of elections 
 throughout the entire city, and has the care of the 
 records thereof. Its head is the Superintendent 
 of Elections, who is appointed by the Police Board. 
 This bureau does not canvass the votes, which dutv 
 is performed by the City and County Boards of 
 Canvassers. All the election officers, however, who 
 are present at the polling places, and have charge 
 of the registration of the voters, and of the count- 
 ing of the votes, are appointed by and are subject 
 to the control of this department, subject to the 
 general election law which it is its duty to carry 
 out and enforce, and which requires that these 
 officers shall be evenly divided between the two prin- 
 cipal parties. 
 
 FIKE DEPAKTMENT. The head of this de- 
 partment is the Fire Commissioner, who is ap- 
 pointed by the Mayor for a term of six years, and 
 receives a salary of |7,500 a year. This is a change 
 from the former system in which this department 
 
 87 
 
was governed by a board ; and it is practically the 
 only instance in which those who drew the Charter 
 yielded to the general demand for single headed 
 commissions. 
 
 The Commissioner has one deputy for the Bor- 
 oughs of Brooklyn and Queens. 
 
 He may establish such bureaus as may be neces- 
 sary and convenient, of which, however, three are 
 prescribed. One is charged with the duty of pre- 
 venting and extinguishing fires, and protecting 
 property from water used at fires, whose head is the 
 Chief of Department. Another is charged with the 
 enforcement of the laws relating to the storage, 
 sale and use of combustibles, whose head is the 
 Inspector of Combustibles. The third investigates 
 the origin of fires, and its principal officers are the 
 Fire Marshals. 
 
 The Commissioner regulates the government and 
 discipline of the department, and fixes salaries, not 
 to exceed the appropriation therefor. Very full 
 powers are given to this department both in fight- 
 ing fires and in investigating the causes of fires. 
 There is a pension fund for firemen, and to provide 
 it special taxes are laid on insurance companies 
 doing business in the city. There are also some 
 very elaborate and stringent provisions relating to 
 the storage and sale of combustibles. They are all 
 old and are merely re-enacted ; some of them, how- 
 ever, are singularly inappropriate if not nonsensical 
 when applied to the farming lands of Richmond 
 and Queens, although they were very proper in the 
 densely populated Borough of Manhattan, as for 
 instance the law that 20 tons of hay cannot be 
 kept in a wooden barn. Such matters, or at least 
 the right to amend these regulations, should have 
 
 88 - 
 
been left to the Municipal Assembly, and doubtless 
 would have been had the Charter Commissioners 
 had time to consider such minor questions. 
 
 THE DEPAETMENT OP TAXES AND AS- 
 SESSMENTS is presided over by the Board of 
 Taxes and Assessments, which consists of a Presi- 
 dent, appointed by the Mayor for six years, with a 
 salary of |8,000, and four other Commissioners, 
 also appointed by the Mayor for terms of four years, 
 and with salaries of |7,000 a year. They may ap- 
 point forty deputies to hold office at their pleasure, 
 and fix the amount of their salaries within the 
 appropriation therefor. The Board may have an 
 office in each Borough. It is their duty to assess 
 all taxable real and personal property in the city, 
 and to receive the taxes thereon. A full code is 
 contained in the Charter as to the method of as- 
 sessment, the confirmation of the assessment and 
 the fixing of the taxes by the Municipal Assembly, 
 and the record of the taxes and their collection. 
 Upon application made within proper time the 
 Board may reduce or remit an assessment; and 
 upon apeal (certiorari is the technical term) there- 
 from the Courts may reduce or vacate an assess- 
 ment for fraud or substantial error, but not for 
 technical irregularities. The Charter omits to give 
 any list of property or classes of property exempt 
 from taxation, for which therefore reference must 
 be had to the Consolidation Act and many other 
 statutes. 
 
 The Receiver of Taxes is the official of this de- 
 partment to whom taxes are paid. He daily ac- 
 counts for and pays over all moneys received to 
 the Chamberlain. 
 
 89 
 
All taxes, assessments and water rates are a lien 
 upon the land affected, which may be sold to pay 
 them. The Charter contains a full code of proceed- 
 ings for that purpose ; and also certain appropriate 
 provisions for enforcing the personal property 
 taxes. 
 
 There is also in this department a Board of As- 
 sessors, consisting of five assessors, receiving $3,000 
 a year each, whose duty it is to make all assess- 
 ments for local improvements, other than those 
 determined in court proceedings as hereafter de- 
 scribed. Such assessments can never exceed one- 
 half the value of the property. Assessments may 
 now be laid upon water front property for deepen- 
 ing the water. In the Boroughs of Manhattan and 
 the Bronx (the old City of New York), assess- 
 ments for repaving a street once paved can onlv 
 be laid with the consent of the majority of the 
 property owners, but the Charter is so vague that 
 it is impossible to say definitely what the law is 
 in that respect in the other boroughs. Where 
 property is built upon, damages may be awarded 
 to it for changing the grade of a neighboring street. 
 Appeals from this Board are to the Board of Re- 
 vision of Assessments, which consists of the Comp- 
 troller, the Corporation Counsel and the President 
 of the Board of Public Improvements. 
 
 The city is authorized to acquire for the use of 
 the public the ownership of lands for streets, for 
 Darks and approaches, and for approaches to 
 bridges and tunnels, and of land under water for 
 bridges and tunnels. "The Board of Public Im- 
 provements is authorized to direct the same to be 
 done, whenever and as often as it shall deem it 
 for the public interests so to do." This power is 
 
 90 
 
new and is a very large addition to the power of 
 the City Government. A full code prescribing the 
 Court proceedings for that purpose is contained in 
 the Charter. The method is by the appointment 
 by the Court of three Commissioners, who examine 
 into the subject, hear evidence and report awards 
 for the value of the property taken and for damages 
 for the property injured, and assessments for the 
 value of the benefit to the neighboring property 
 favorably affected. This report is subject to the 
 confirmation of the Supreme Court. 
 
 THE DEPAKTMENT OP PARKS is governed 
 by the Park Board, consisting of three Commission- 
 ers, appointed by the Mayor for terms of six years, 
 one for the Boroughs of Manhattan and Eichmond, 
 one for the Bronx, and one for Brooklvn and 
 Queens. One is designated by the Mayor as the 
 President and they each receive a salary of $5,000 
 a year. They have charge of the government and 
 regulation of all parks, public places and places 
 for museums, gardens, etc. ; for which purposes 
 the Charter provides that the city may receive gifts 
 and grants of lands and money. There are special 
 provisions relating to certain libraries and gardens. 
 The Board appoints a landscape architect and all 
 subordinates and fixes their salaries within the ap- 
 propriation therefor. It is provided, however, that 
 no work of art shall become the property of the city, 
 or be located in any public place, and that no work 
 of art at present belonging to the city shall be re- 
 moved, relocated or altered without the approval 
 of the Municipal Art Commission. This body con- 
 sists of the Mayor ; the President of the Metropol- 
 itan Museum of Art ; the President of the Brooklyn 
 
 91 
 
Institute of Arts and Sciences; one painter, one 
 sculptor, one architect and three laymen, to be 
 selected by the Mayor from a list of not less than 
 three times the number to be appointed, proposed 
 by the Fine Art Federation. The members of this 
 body serve without pay. 
 
 THE DEPARTMENT OF DOCKS AND 
 FEERIES is presided over by the Board of Docks, 
 composed of three Commissioners appointed by the 
 Mayor for terms of six years. They elect their 
 own President from among their number and he re- 
 ceives a salary of $6,000 a year, and the others 
 $5,000 a year."^ 
 
 The chapter of the Charter relating to this de- 
 partment is in a very confused condition and con- 
 tains principally extracts from and references to 
 previously existing laws ; in general it may be said 
 that this Board succeeds merely to the powers of 
 the various former Boards in the different 
 Boroughs. They have charge of all wharf property 
 belonging to the city and have the exclusive govern- 
 ment and regulation of all wharves, docks and 
 marginal streets in the city. They also have charge 
 of ferries, subject in certain particulars to the ap- 
 proval of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund ; 
 and it is also their duty to sound and survey the 
 water front when necessary. 
 
 There is already a plan of docks for a large part 
 of the city established by act of the Legislature, 
 but this may be altered by the Dock Board in cer- 
 tain particulars with the consent of the Commis- 
 sioners of the Sinking Fund. They cannot, how- 
 ever, change the exterior line of piers and bulk- 
 heads where the same is established by statute. 
 
 92 
 
They may purchase private wharf property or con- 
 demn it in the method used in acquiring street 
 property. They may lease doclvs, regulate the 
 charges for public docks and set aside certain 
 wharf property for the sole use of special kinds of 
 commerce, and may set aside certain piers for public 
 recreation or for the use of the Street Cleaning De- 
 partment or the Board of Health. 
 
 They may make leases of ferry franchises to the 
 highest bidders for not longer than ten years with 
 the approval of the Commissioners of the Sinking 
 Fund. 
 
 There is a schedule of rates for wharfage in- 
 cluded in the Charter which "it shall be lawful to 
 charge.'^ Dock-masters, who are officers created 
 under previously existing laws, are continued, but 
 for their number and duties reference must be made 
 to those laws. They are, however, expressly given 
 by the Charter certain powers to assign and regu- 
 late the position of vessels at docks. This chapter 
 of the Charter contains quite a number of special 
 provisions not necessary to mention. 
 
 THE DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS is 
 
 governed by the Board of Buildings, which consists 
 of three Commissioners appointed by the Mayor 
 for terms of six years; one for Manhattan and the 
 Bronx, and one for Brooklyn, who receive |7,000 
 a year each, and one for Queens and Richmond, 
 who receives |3,500 a year. They must be archi- 
 tects or builders of at least ten years' experience. 
 One of them is designated as President by the 
 Mayor. It is their duty to enforce the building 
 laws of the city, and probably also to enforce so 
 much of the Tenement House Laws as relate to 
 
 93 
 
tenement buildings. Each has jurisdiction within 
 his respective Borough or Boroughs. An appeal, 
 however, lies from the decision of a single Commis- 
 sioner to the Board of Commissioners, except in the 
 Boroughs of Manhattan and The Bronx, where the 
 appeal by special act of the Legislature must be 
 to a Board of Examiners consisting of certain ex- 
 perts specified by statute. The appeal must be 
 taken within ten days after the entry of a decision 
 of the Commissioner. However, the Commissioner 
 is not limited as to the time in which he must de- 
 cide and he need give no notice of his decision. 
 
 The Board of Examiners in Manhattan and the 
 Bronx have very broad powers to vary or modify 
 any rule of the Board or any law upon written ap- 
 plication ^'where difficulties occur in carrying out 
 the strict letter of the law, so that the spirit of the 
 law shall be observed and public safety secured 
 and substantial justice done.'' 
 
 DEPAKTMENT OF PUBLIC CHARITIES. 
 This department has general charge over all hos- 
 pitals, asylums, almshouses, and similar institu- 
 tions belonging to the city, with a few exceptions, 
 and excepting also some similar institutions under 
 the Department of Correction and the Department 
 of Health. This department is governed by the 
 Board of Public Charities, consisting of three Com- 
 missioners appointed by the Mayor for terms of 
 six years, one for the Boroughs of Manhattan and 
 the Bronx, one for the Boroughs of Brooklyn and 
 Queens, and a third for Richmond. The two former 
 receive |7,500 a year and the third $2,500. One of 
 them is designated by the Mayor as President. They 
 each have the power to appoint and remove a deputy 
 
 94 
 
at pleasure, and the Board of Estimate and Ap- 
 portionment and the Municipal Assembly may pro- 
 vide for further deputies. They have the power 
 to establish by majority vote rules and regulations 
 for their department. They determine whether 
 children in private institutions for whom the city 
 makes any payment have been received and retained 
 in accordance with the rules of the State Board of 
 Charities on that subject. They are in their re- 
 spective boroughs the overseers of the poor, and 
 must also make provision for the care of vagrant 
 and indigent persons. They succeed to all the 
 powers granted in their boroughs to indenture and 
 otherwise provide for indigent and destitute chil- 
 dren; and they may commit destitute children to 
 private institutions and must investigate all appli- 
 cations for commitment made to a city magistrate. 
 They distribute relief to the indigent blind, insti- 
 tute bastardy proceedings, compel the support of 
 poor persons by relatives, and compel the mainte- 
 nance of abandoned wives and children. Their 
 duties and powers vary slightly in the different 
 boroughs. 
 
 THE DEPAKTMENT OF CORRECTION is, 
 as formerly, presided over by a single Commis- 
 sioner, w^ho is appointed by the Mayor for a term 
 of six years and who receives a salary of $7,500 a 
 year. He must have his principal office in the 
 Borough of Manhattan, wath a branch office in 
 Brooklyn. He has the power to appoint and re- 
 move at will all necessary deputies, wardens, sub- 
 ordinate officers and assistants. All the city's in- 
 stitutions for the care and custody of criminals 
 and misdemeanants are under his charge and con- 
 
 95 
 
trol. This does not include the county jails. The 
 only peculiar provision of the law as to this de- 
 partment is that which directs the Commissioner 
 to keep a record of all persons committed for in- 
 toxication and disorderly conduct, and which pro- 
 vides that if they are committed again for such a 
 cause within two years the Commissioner shall de- 
 tain them for a longer period, and that they must 
 be committed by the magistrate subject to this pro- 
 vision. It was in force several years before the 
 Charter, and is therefore not new. It has, however, 
 been declared unconstitutional by the courts. 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. There are 
 four Borough Boards of Education in this depart- 
 ment, one for the Boroughs of Manhattan and the 
 Bronx, consisting of twenty-one members, one for 
 Brooklyn, consisting of forty-five members, and one 
 each for Queens and Richmond, consisting of nine 
 members each. Each Board elects its own presi- 
 dent. The members of these Boards are ap- 
 pointed by the Mayor for terms of three years and 
 receive no salary. The head of this department is 
 the Board of Education of the City of New York, 
 which consists of nineteen members, composed of 
 the Presidents of the Borough Boards, and ten 
 delegates elected by the Borough Board of Manhat- 
 tan and the Bronx, and five by the Borough Board 
 of Brooklyn. They are elected for terms of one 
 year, and receive no salary. This board elects its 
 own president. It has the management of all the 
 funds of the department and enacts all general 
 rules and regulations. In general the central board 
 has charge of the physical conduct of all schools, 
 while the borough boards have charge of their edu- 
 
 96 
 
cational conduct; but their jurisdictional bounda- 
 ries appear confused. The central board appoints 
 a Superintendent of Buildings with appropriate 
 duties; also the City Superintendent of Schools, 
 whose duty it is to visit and examine all schools; 
 it also appoints a Board of Examiners for teach- 
 ers ; and it has charge of the retirement fund. The 
 Borough Boards, or as they are otherwise called 
 the School Boards, fix the salaries of teachers, ap- 
 point principals and teachers, and change grades 
 in schools. This subject, however, has since been 
 to some extent regulated by special act of the Legis- 
 lature. They also divide their respective boroughs 
 into Inspection Districts, in each of which five 
 Inspectors, who are volunteer citizens, serving 
 without pay, are appointed by the Mayor to con- 
 stantly examine into the conduct of the schools, 
 and make recommendations and reports to their 
 Borough Board. Each Borough has a Superin- 
 tendent of Schools and a Board of Assistant Sup- 
 erintendents. They visit all schools and report 
 to the City Superintendent. They arrange rules 
 for the promotion of pupils and transfer of teach- 
 ers, and subject to the rules of the School Board, 
 they assign teachers. They also try teachers on 
 charges and recommend books, etc., to the School 
 Board. They are the active executive force in the 
 government of the schools. 
 
 In addition to the public schools of the city, the 
 College of the City of New York, the Normal Col- 
 lege and the Nautical School, are also under the 
 jurisdiction of the Board of Education. 
 
 THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH is adminis- 
 tered by the Bo^rd of Health, which consists of the 
 
 97 
 
President of the Police Board, the Health Of&cer 
 of the Port (a State officer), and three Commis- 
 sioners, of whom two at least must be practicing 
 physicians. The Commissioner who is not a phy- 
 sician is the President of the Board. The Commis- 
 sioners are appointed by the Mayor for terms of 
 six years and receive salaries of |6,000 a year each. 
 There are two bureaus in this department, headed 
 respectively by the Sanitary Superintendent and 
 the Kegistrar of Records, the latter having one 
 deputy in each borough. 
 
 The powers of this department are very extensive. 
 All marriages, births and deaths must be recorded 
 with it, and physicians must at once report to it 
 all cases of contagious diseases. The Board may 
 also make rules as to reports to it by the Coroners. 
 It enacts and may amend at any time the sanitary 
 code, which has all the force of a city ordinance; 
 it may call on the police for assistance, and very 
 severe provisions are contained in the Charter for 
 the punishment of disobedience to its rules and 
 orders. The Charter also contains provisions for 
 proceedings by it to abate nuisances. The Board 
 may cause lands to be filled in at the expense of the 
 owners ; may destroy unsound articles of food ; and 
 where houses are infected or uninhabitable may 
 cause the same to be condemned by suit and de- 
 stroyed, and in certain aggravated cases when it 
 does so need only pay for the value of the materials 
 in the buildings. It is also the duty of this Board to 
 enforce the Tenement House Law, so-called, which 
 is a statute passed several years ago regulating the 
 building, use and inspection of tenement houses 
 in the city, and which is re-enacted in the Charter ; 
 but the Building Department doubtless has juris- 
 
 98 
 
diction over the provisions relating to the build- 
 ing of such houses. The city is without power to 
 modify this law. 
 
 THE BUKEAU OF MUNICIPAL STATISTICS 
 is a new body consisting of a Chief of Bureau, ap- 
 pointed by the Mayor for a term of four years, with 
 a salary of |3,500, and not more than six Commis- 
 sioners appointed by the Mayor for terms of six 
 years, and who serve without pay. They are to 
 devise and carry out plans for the collection and 
 publication of such statistical data relating to the 
 city as they may deem advisable. The head of each 
 city department upon a request from the Commis- 
 sion made through and approved by the Mayor, 
 must transmit to the Commission such statistical 
 data relating to his department as it may call for. 
 The Commission ^^shalP' with the approval of the 
 Board of Estimate and Apportionment, publish 
 annually a volume to be known as the "Municipal 
 
 Statistics of the City of New York for the year " ; 
 
 and there are lengthy provisions as to what sta- 
 tistics shall be included in this publication. But 
 it is provided that the annual expenses of this 
 bureau shall not exceed $10,000, unless otherwise 
 provided by the Board of Estimate and Apportion- 
 ment and the Municipal Assembly. The sum of 
 $11,200 has been appropriated for this bureau for 
 the year 1900, $10,700 of which is for salaries. The 
 Commission has met to organize, but has done 
 nothing further and has published nothing. It 
 has no power, being entirely dependent upon the 
 Mayor and other Boards, and as now constituted 
 is useless. ' <■ 
 
 There are three elaborate codes for the condemna- 
 
tion of land included in the Charter. The first 
 governs proceedings for procuring land for reser- 
 voirs, and to protect the water supply ; the second, 
 for streets, parks, sewers, wharves, bridges and 
 tunnels; and the third, for all other purposes, in- 
 cluding school sites and public buildings. The 
 proceedings have been briefly described hereinbe- 
 fore, and they are very similar in all cases, the 
 only substantial difference being that in the second 
 class of proceedings assessments for benefit are 
 laid on the surrounding property, as well as awards 
 for damages for the property taken to which the 
 other two proceedings are confined. The framers 
 of the Charter made a mistake in not codifying the 
 rules for these proceedings into one code. It would 
 have avoided much redundancy, and a proper codi- 
 fication would have cured many inconsistencies 
 and avoided much confusion. And it has also been 
 a source of considerable regret among those fa- 
 miliar with the cumbersome and expensive system 
 of condemnation that has prevailed here for many 
 years that the opportunity was not taken to amend 
 and simplify the general method itself. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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 UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF . 
 
 100 
 
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