The evening world. Newspaper, April 29, 1922, Page 10

A REPLY TO THE MAYOR. AYOR HYLAN challenges a statement in an Evening World editorial to the effect that some $10,000,000 worth of contracts for the con- struction of piers on Staten Island were let in 1920 without bidding. Tne Mayor assetts that these contracts Yet after competitive public bidding.” Technically, the Mayor is right. Bids were re- ceived for the contracts. But in view of his attitude toward the l4th Street-Eastern subway contracts, which was the subject of the editorial in question, it is surpris- ing the Mayor should wish to invite attention to the full circumstances under which the Staten | Island pier contracts were let. The official record of the Proceedings of the Board of Aldermen contains the report of the Committee on Public Letting (Feb. 24, 1920), after bids on upward of $6,000,000 worth of con- ‘ tracts for these Staten Island piers had been re- ceived. The report states: “were 1 Ea dined a SR a “That this matter was duly advertised and bids received on Jan. 22 and 26, 1920, the lowest of which were in excess of the amount appropriated for the improvement, Under re- cent court rulings the contract could not be let on account of inauMelent funds, Subse- quently the Board of Hstimate authorized an additional corporate stock issue to meet the shortage. “The bids rectived are considered the best » that can be had under present circumstances, and, by accepting same, delay and additionat expense of readvertising can be avoided.” The italics are again ours. If was' upon such grounds that the Hylan Ad- _ ministration restricted bids to those origiyally re- . ceived and went ahead with the undertaking. “Delay and additional expense of readvertising be avoided’(!) sl The Hylan Board of Estimate cared nothing for “delay or additional expense of readvertising” when it ignored for months the urgent pleas of the Transit Commission for action on the Fourteenth 'Street-Eastern subway contracts. Thus do sins become virtues, according to who practices them. | _ When hard pressed, as at present, the Hylan _Administration does what it did yesterday—yields, charges everything “inexcusable” to the Transit Commission and falls back on sheer mendacious impudence, Was there an emergency requiring new piers in 1920 more pressing than the emergency in 1921- 1922 calling for the completion of transit facilities for lack of which the public is suffering? Was there more teason for “avoiding delay and additional expense of readvertising” in the case of the Staten Island pier contracts than in the “ease of the long-held-up contracts necessary to finish the urgently needed !4th Street-Eastern _ subway? : Was there less argument for thorough com- _ petitive bidding on the pier contracts than on the _ subway contracts? . This strange ihconsistency in the attitud¢ of the Hylan Administration toward public needs and public contracts is exactly the inconsistency upon which The Evening World lays stress. "Mayor Hylan is correct in his statement that there were bids on the Staten Island pier contracts. But how does the handling of those’ pier bids square with the policy ‘of his Administration _ toward transit improvements? The Mayor alsd brings’ a charge of “civic treason” against The Evening World for a news article which cited the Meyer committee's find- "ing that the new Staten Island piers will not be financially self-supporting. The article did not impugn the city’s credit, as If this be civic™treason, the most of it. let the Mayor make ARMY STRENGTH. ] N the recent Congressional dispute over the size of the United States Army, the “little army” advocates recommended a strength of 115,000 and the “big army” men, including Secretary Weeks and Gen, Pershing, assured Congress that no army smaller than 150,000 could serve at all. In this connection it is interesting t6 recall the size of the army in 1914 when Mexico was a thorn in the side of the Nation and intervention and war seemed possible, In 1914 the authorized maximum strength was 100,000 men. The actual strength was 86,000. The “big army” men wanted the army increased in 1914. They ask for a big increase and are always willing to make a grudging compromise, after which they again ask for another increase and another compromise. “Big” and “little” used in such a connection do not mean anything definite. They only serve as labels for a trend of mind. On second thought the Bureau of Internal Revenue decides that donations to the Wilson Foundation may be deducted tn-computing in- come tax, if only the foundation adopts “reservations” to-its charter. If Woodrow Wilson had only been so thoughtful as to have been a Republican President, the objections never would have been raised. FINES IN INSTALMENTS. A N Ohio court assessed a fine of $1,000 against a moonshiner, In spite of the reputed profits in the business, this particular distiller did not have the money to pay his fine. Instead of keeping him in jail at the expense of the State, the court decided to release him and allow him to pay the fine in monthly instalments of $5 each. This precedent would serve well in offenses other than those against the liquor laws. In some instances it would prove more effective than a lump sum fine. Take speeding and careless driving of auto- mobiles. A fine of $1 a week for six months would be better than a single $25 fine. The incon- venience of making a weekly payment would keep reminding the offender of the law and the possible penalty for breaking it. Judges would do well to consider this varia- tion of current practice. It has possibilities as an agency of prevention as well as of punishment. President Harding's escape trom possible injury on the excursion boat Island Queen is @ source of gratification. But the circum- stances do not commend the lax inspection service which allowed the/Island Queen to be used at all, If the Island Queen was not safe for the President, it was not safe for the excursion- ists, including a child band, If it was too dangerous for Mr. Harding, it should not have been used at all, or the crowd should have been carefully limited to the capacity and strength of the boat. Clerks in Wall Street financial conctrns are warned not to speculate, on pain of dismissal. The Street knowa the percentage in favor of “the house.” A LETTER FROM MAYOR HYLAN, To the Hditor of The Evening World: In your editorial of Wednesday evening, April 1922, you state: “What has he [the Mayor] to say about the $10,000,000 contracts for the construction of piers on Staten Island—which contracts, as ‘The Kvening World has pointed out, were let in 1920 without bidding?” The italics are yours. Without_stopping to answer the other false statements in your editorial, I direct your attention to only this particular falsehood. You know, or ought to know, that all the contracts for the construction of piers on Staten Island were let after competitive public bidding. Making applicable the results of this public competitive bidding, after the Board of Estimate provided the additional moneys necessary, was in exact conformity with the law re- quiring the consent of the Board of Estimate and the Board of Aldermen, which was given. Your editorial falsehood shows either gross igno- rance on your part or is a piece of studied malice in total disregard of facts. Whichever it is, it is inde- fensible. If it is due to ignorance, it furnishes a sad commentary on the role you would play as educator, informer or moulder of public opinion. Your success in this role may also be measured by the article you carried in your edition of Saturday, April 22, under scare headline, in which you say that the $45,000,000 city bonds just sold were offered under “false pretens and you resort to a jugglery of figures and a dishonest presentation with reference to the Staten Island plers as ground for asserting that these bonds were not based on revenue-producing improvements to sustain them. Your conclusions that they were not self-sustaining and that they pro- duced only deficits are wilfully false and constitute, in the light of the pending advertisement for the sale of these city securities, nothing less than a despicable form of civic treason. Every agency in the city, public and private, should seek to enable the city to get the highest price pos- sible on the sale of its securities, You deliberately pur- sued the opposite course, But the public accurately gauged your measure of dependability, and the bid price for the entire $45,000,000 issue was the highest ever received for a 4% per cent. issue of New York City securities, JOHN F, HYLAN, Mayor, City of New York, Office of the Mayor, April 37, 1922, THE EVENING WORLD, SATURDAY, APRIL 29, 1922. By John Cassel Copyright, Ry ‘New York venta ie Worl y irene Pubtishin: hvtotel THE YTARIFE . CBEN Daviss MOY GOOD To EAT BuYT A GREAT it. SELLER. oh, me From Evening World Readers What kind of letter do you find most readable? Isn't it the one that gives the worth of a thousand words in a couple of hundred? There is fine mental exercise and a lot of satisfaction in trying te say much in few words. Take time to be briet. Did Lincoln Say Itt To the Editor of The Evening World: Will you kindly intorm me if the following statement can be attributed to Abrahdm Lincoln? If not, to whom can one ascribe the statement, or words to its effect? “Bone-dry Prohibition would bring about a condition in this country that I hope I shall never live to witness."’ PATRIOTIC. New York,,April 21, 1922 payroll reformer; the State Republi- can organization and the anti-this, that and the other thing. The writer is neither for nor against anybody. MODERN TIMES. New York, April 27, 1922. “All Tired Out.” To the Editor of The Evening World: Has not Prohibition killed enough people without the misery of daylight saving coming upon us to kill a lot more as {t did last summer? The peo- ple are all tired out from such non- sense. ©. P. Néw York, April 26, 1922. ither For Nor Against.” To the Editor of The Evening World: I have been a subscriber to The ¥vening World for several years and believe you could merit more consid- eration should you apply to your own self the advice you gave to one signed ‘True American’’ several evenings ago. Without being in full accord with you on the lecture, J am firmly in agreement with your apparent opinion that the poison of hate should never be the basis of our action, Your record of abuse and insult, ed- itorially, for nearly five years of the Mayor of the great City of New York and those associated with him indi- cates that the poison of hate has sup- planted your spirit of fair play. Your resort to buffoonery in the beginning of the first term was defeated by the gentlemanly deportment of the Exec- utive. Your next trick to reflect upon his educational equipment vanished in the line of public duty and on the stump, Your next break in supporting the Almirall apite Grand Jury and the Meyer Political Investigating Commit- tee proved to the sceptic and the gul- ible that investigations help the hon- est. Now, comes. the stock one again— the police! If this is your last straw you have loat out. Who of any intelligence would ex- pect New York City to be free of crime after the period through which we have paseed?, Even the rural sec- tions have the so-called crime wave. Why, the thing is general. It cannot be laid to New York City officials by & notoriously partisan Governor, He is nét very solicitous about the other parts of the State that roll up good majorities for his party. And why do you want the public to believe him against the constituted city authortt Your police force is not all of ohe party and consequently the Commissioner is criticised from within. Commissioner Enright is not obliged to take into his confidence the press, He has proved himself equal to the task ‘of preserving law and order. Give him the men and equip- ment for the work. Your campalgn of come to naught. One should think from the last indorsement of the present Administration that the ma- jority should rule. Then, why in the name of democracy does the press want to defeat the will of the people? Of course they will rule in spite of t “0 Harmful and Miserable Reality.” To the Haltor of The kvening World: Prohibition has undoubtedly affected various kinds of business to a greater or less extent. Through it the manu- facture of beverages which contain more than one-half of one per cent. of alcohol {s considered filegal, Tifis re- striction, of course, was bound to in- terfere with or put a profitable and flourishing industry out of business. The principle involved in such a procedure seems to be as flagrant a departure from fairness as can be found anywhere, and yet law is sup- posed to protect us from injury and injustice. If this amendment is allowed to re- main as a part of our Constitution, there 1s no guarantee that a man]; who enters almost any sort of busi- neds may pot have his constructive genius und monetary return thrown into an ashcan to suit the notions of a few destructive fools, Besides the great loss to the man- ufacturers, there is also a tremendous one to the wholesale and retail deal- ers, as well as to the individuals con- nected with all of them, Again, every other business which has had anything to do with the equipment of the different establish- ments for the sale or production of alcoholic beverages has suffered more or less through Prohibition. Among these may be mentioned the ‘dealers in ice, corks, bottles, fine glassware, furniture and bar fixtures, Even dec- orators, art dealers, sign painters, ad- vertising men, souvenir manufac- turers and a thousand and one other people in business or trades are hurt to a certain extent by the Volstead Law and the National Prohibition Act of Oct, 28, 1919. Almost every business which em- ploys salesmen has probably lost some of its competitive trade through these two laws. Finally, Prohibition has deprived the Nation and State of a méans of rais- ing revenue which would yield a colos- sal sum. And tf @ single individual had been responsible for such a thin he would have been declared an i competent and sent to an asylum long before Prohibition had ever become a harmful and miserable reality, JOHN LYNCH, Brooklyn, April 28, 1922 bitterness has’ a a a ITTLE painted, wooden gate, L Swinging in and out, Crickets chirping in the or@ety Honey bees about; Hollyhocks and marigolds Laughing in the sun, Where quiet pools of shadows Ripple, one by one; Friendly glow of lamplight Across the windme sill, From the dark a plaintive votes Calling “Whippoor-swill,”” Moonlight trailing up the path Draperies of foam, %, Spell for me contentment, And the peace of home. Might be own-your-own-home: propaganda. Really is a bit of song from “A Sil- ver Pool” (Moffat-Yard), a book ef verse by Beulah Field. . i 98 An Open Road to Efficiency « «© "in the current Harper’ Other things being equal, the ata worker will be ef and happy in proportion as the gen= eral tite for him, his parents, his wife and his children is desirable. This desirability should, however, be such as fits thelr actual pee not necessarily such as thropiat or social philosopher er choose. Model cottages designed to suit the subtle refinements of highly cultivated tastes may be less de- sirable to me than the crude home which I choose for myself and help to build. ‘We should beware of the lbrary full of unexceptionable books which nobody reads, and of the high school which only the rich can af= ford to attend, Perhaps the greatest gains of all are to be expected from the adjust~ ment of labor to individual differ- ences in abilities and tastes, and from such education of individuals as will fit them for the world's work,» An expression, this, for one thing, of Labor's inalienable right to its owm kind of a Suturday half-holiday. eee Taking the Color Ont of Words - « A reflection by A. B. Orage, 1@ “Readers and Writers’ (Knopf), om the renewed activity of the Simplifies Ning Soctety: Literature employs words not for thelr rational meaning alone, not even for thelr sound alone, but for their combined qualities of meaning, sound, sight, assaciation, history and & score of other attributes, By reducing wonts to a rational rule of phonetic spelling, more tham half of these qualities would be en« tirely, or almost entirely, elitninated. mn exact analogy--as far as any analogy can be exact—for the pro- posal of the 8. 8. 8. would be to Propose to abolish the use of color in pictorial art, and to produce every= thing in black and white. The color-blind would, no doubt, be satisfied in the one case, und, In the other, the word-blind would be equally pleased, Simplified spelling in Amer’ would turn the prevatent langy into a verbal monument to Josh ings. It's a grand and glorious perishing idea. UNCOMMON SENSE By John Blake (Copyright, 1922, by John Blake.) THE OTHER MAN'S LANGUAGE If you want to understand other people, learn to make them understand you. You will get no information out of a stoker by asking him how many thermal units are converted into energy when he scatters a shovelful of coal over the fire. The time may come when you really need information from a stoker and from hundreds of other people of callings entirely different from yours. Learn something about their vocabularies and their method of thought and you will be able to get it. A great deal of the most valuable information in the world is locked in men's minds. Before you can be really educated you must get it out. Don’t imagine because a man doubles his negutives or says “who” when he means “whom” that he doesu't know anything that you need to know. You don’t need to make grammatical blunders in order to understand him, but it is important to talk simply, and Male of the Bells --- These lines from ‘Youth Grows Old," (MeBride) a book of the poems» of Robert Nathan: Rells in the country, They sing the heart to rest When night is on the high road And day is in the West, And once they came to my house As soft as beggars shod, And brought it nearer heaven, And maybe nearer God. ee 8 The Babe in Eskimo Land --~- Says Lieut. Commander Fitsh: Greon, in ‘People of the Elder Ice,’* in the current Century: There are three kinds of love in the world, For the want of better adjectives let us call them free love, platonic love, und affection, ® also to know something about the special words that he bi akg ehvigoment Sanaa aia ‘ made the Eskimo physically in- uses in his calling. ’ capable of the first, at least to any You can do that by talking to people of all sorts, and degree of enthusiasm. Naturally, he lacks the culture for the second, ‘The third, affection, the man learns q after he has become a father, or the woman a mother. {t Is the arrival of a baby that seals the vowless Eskimo marriage, It is the choking, helpless plaint in the igloo's- shadows that first wives the hunter his sense of It is mazement at his woman's ed depths of tenderness that arouses him at last to realise her worth. Good for the Eskimo triangle—the Husband, the Wife and the Babe! And may its missionartes follow the flag—our flag. | what is more essential, listening to them. Get their point of view. Get on a conversational basis with them. Don’t try to show them how much you know, or how superior you are. Make them understand that you are genuinely interested in what they are doing and how they are doing it. It is quite possible that the man you look down on may be in many particulars better informed than you are, A part of your business is to get information. A great deal of it can be got from other people, whether they are wearing diamonds or overalls. But you have got to speak their language—not French or Italian or Japanese, but the language that is born of their calling and habit of thought. Theodore Roosevelt could and did talk with all sorts and conditions of men. easily and with mutual understand- ing. His ability to do this was a very large part of his greatness. We Puzzle a Good iets Writes’ the good Abbe Pitrre, of Gaseony, accotding to the book of him * (Appletons) by Jay William Hudsom, =~ While ‘I was standing there with David, [ heard the most thing. Monsieur Rigot came up and told David that he wished to give him several bottles of « very rare champagne he had to take to Amer- fea with him. “1 hear you will not come back to us for two years; when you drink this, you will think of us.”* But David. thformed him that im America ‘they were not allowed te drink champagne, no, nor wines of - any kind! “But this 1s good wine,” T remon- strated, somewhat at a loss, “not + uch as any law could object we then I found out that it dia not make any difference how exeal- lent the wine was, Americans would not be permitted to drink it if the Government found out about it, In- |, they Would be punished véry severely, I cannot understand it, especially since America has no king whose whim could be made into a law, Whisper, dear Abbe! It ts not @ king but a close corporation that has done these things to us, 3 We threw a mere king overboard, long ago, for like oppressions, AAA AAA AAPA AAA AAA AANA From the Wise MONEY TALKS he riches that men gather in |,.,0%, HERBERT Be ae bow time may fail, friends may war ‘by Press Publishing CO false, hope may deceive, vain glory may tempt, but content can never be conquered.—Aristippus. HONESTY, Mighty few people work in close co-operation with their own futures, opportunities and fortunes. The ma- Jority seem to think that they can fool themselves, as does the man who cheats himself when playing solitaire. A man who has never really saved seems to have the idea, when finally he starts, that some one ts driving and making him save. If he dodges’ one deposit he feels that he has “put something over,"" when in reality he has not even fooled himself, because at a future date, when the deposits ure wanted, he finds it was never - Happy is the man who learns the wide chasm that lies between his wishes and his powers, —Goethe. An ounce of courage will go further with women than a pound of timidity.—Balzac. The reward of one duty is the power to fulfil another, —George Biot. Purity is the feminine, truth the masculine, of honor.—J. C. Hare. le. It is easy to find an excuse to dodge our obligations to ourselves, but the excuse is mever an honest one, La —