and gilded black walnut furniture. The following is a specimen of the expenditure on the Fifth Regiment armory alone, as follows: 1867, April 13. Ingersoll, Watson & Co., 71 Bowery, furnishing armory Fifth Regiment, Hester street, near Bowery. For repairs to ceilings and walls, and furnishing and re- For seats and settees on three sides of room, Board of ... Four walnut tables, with drawers, finished all round, and walnut desk, for colonel's room,... For repairs to water-closets, and glass lights put in front door, plate glass,. $529 00 1,540 00 1,329 00 288 00 207 00 $3,893 00 1867, June 18. Ingersoll, Watson & Co., 71 Bowery, furnishing armory Fifth Regiment, Hester street, near Bowery. For building partition for rooms for two companies, One black walnut desk, for presiding officer,.. desk for quarter-master and adjutant, at $168 each, One black walnut large book case, with double glass doors, for books and papers, pigeon holes, &c., . . . . One walnut secretary desk, extra pigeon holes, &c., for adjutant,. . . . One large fine table, with drawers, and finished all round, Four walnut large tables, with drawers, for companies' $943 00 237 00 336 00 310 00 177 00 162 00 2,208 00 One black walnut large high case with double glass doors, for colors of regiment,.... Repairs to wood work in officers' and company's room, and replacing front doors with sash doors, &c.,.... Thirty-six cane seat double front round chairs, for room, $376 00 684 00 at $8 each, 288 00 Painting and graining wood work in officers' and com. panies' rooms, &c.,.. 357 75 $6,363 25 1867, June 19. Ingersoll, Watson & Co., 71 Bowery, furnishing armory Fifth Regiment, Hester street, near Bowery. For building and fitting 13 large cases for muskets, &c., of black walnut, 10 for companies for 100 muskets, with closets under each, locks on all doors, 2 small cases between large center and side musket cases with closets underneath and locks &c., and one large high case in center to contain drums, bugles, &c., for drum corps and field music; center cases extra high, all cases with glass doors, &c., complete. Ten cases for muskets, at $677 each,. One large case for center,.. ... Two sinall cases between center and 10 cases, at $240 each, $6,770 00 736 00 480 00 $7,986 00 1867, July 9. Ingersoll, Watson & Co., 71 Bowery, furnishing armory Fifth Regiment, Hester street near Bowery. For building and putting up, complete, lockers for 10 companies and engineer corps, &c., of black walnut, locks on each locker, the whole being 198 feet long,... $3,080 00 Six black walnut tables with drawers, finished all around, for use of companies' rooms, at $76 each,. 456 00 Six long settees for new company's room added to 486 00 306.00 For building and putting up partitions for company's room, complete, with doors, windows, &c., and painting and plastering same, and altering front doors, complete,.. 1,104 00 $5,416 00 Amounting in the aggregate to $23,658.25. We regret that the mayor, perhaps as upright an official as we can expect to get in this city, through the ballot-box, did not protest against these extravagant expenditures and enormous swindle, nor use the veto power. LATE STREET COMMISSIONER. The association calls your attention to the extravagant expenditure of the late Street Commissioner, an official of the local government, which expenditures were made the subject of charges against him. Under his administration he spent upon one public road, of about four miles in length, the enormous sum of $104,075.37 for three years, and the road showed little signs of the work being done, while the Board of Commissioners of Central Park, in the same period of three years, spent the sum of about $160,000 on the forty miles of roads and walks, under their care, keeping them in admirable repair. He spent some $50,000 upon the pretense of working Eighth avenue as a country road, from 140th to 159th street. The Common Council never took action in any of the charges against the official. In conclusion, the association would say that, in going back to the unlimited use of the ballot-box in the government of this city, we simply repeat an experiment tried for thirty years, which brought our city to the verge of ruin-it is no new device, bul returning to a disastrous failure, and those who so earnestly advocate the unreserved use of the ballot-box must have forgotten the condition of things here from 1853 to 1859, which drove our people to the Legislature for relief. Our police at that time consisted of an unorganized mass of indiscreet persons, if not worse, whose principal business was to take care of the interests of certain notorious politicians. The Fort Gansevoort and other gigantic jobs were put through with the greatest ease. New York to-day is a paradise contrasted with those days when ballot boxes were controlled and packed by the residents of some of the lower wards of the city, where live the helpless and the ignorant, so easily misled and so easily controlled; who, even at a glance or threat, became the mere tool of a crafty and successful politician, and would vote as required. The advocates of the unrestricted use of the ballot box, must also have forgotten the fearful scenes enacted in the July riots of 1863, which cost the city millions of dollars. The thousands and tens of thousands that came forth from lanes, alleys, cellars and slurns, and from dark holes and corners, not only still exist, but have largely increased their numbers. This city is the grand entrepot into which Europe annually pours her thousands of depraved and criminal classes; they are here to-day, the useful tools of worthless politicians, who stop at nothing that will secure power. This association acknowledges facts, and proposes to deal with them as such. Let there be an intermingling of the powers of the State and local governments, as there is of State and local interests. This association is laboring to establish a good government, that aims at, 1st. A thorough efficiency in all it undertakes. 2d. Economy of expenditure. 3d. The best method of accomplishing these results. With this object in view, the association submitted to the Convention the basis of a plan for the government of New York city, in which were represented and blended the respective interests of the city and State. The association insists that, by destroying the commissions, the Convention will destroy the results of the accumulated experience of twenty years misrule; will overthrow the most economical, the most efficient, the best part of the government of this city; will inflict the greatest injury upon capital, commerce and labor, and will pave the way to anarchy. The withdrawal of the powers vested in the commissioners, with such a population as we have shown exists here, would render life and property so insecure, that speedy ruin would overtake our city. |