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Show I VICIOUS WAYS OF HANDLING PUBLIC MONEY. j A valued correspondent with a wide . 'experience in transporUition makes , tho followiug highly pertinent com- meiit, and Jin so doing rulscb a question ques-tion even broader than that of hnprov- ing Uie traction facilities of Now 1 "One o the reasons why rapid Iran- , Rlt Is at :i stnndstiH In thb town is burdensomo fixed chargqs on oxtrav-' lagant designs, apart from the quuB' tlons of improper route and Inability of the parties to' get together ami agree. ' "It will bo noted that comparing Jour-track routes, the Trl-Borough Is V cost somo $5,000,000 per mile of- Is route, contrasted with $3,300,000 for the existing subway, an Increase of 141 pci" cent: compnring two-track routes, the Tri-I3orough is to cost $-,-800,000 jer mile as against the existing ex-isting subway's cost of $1,700,000, an increase of Co per cent; and comparing compar-ing subaqueous routes, the Canal-street Canal-street line of the Tri-Borough route is to cost $7,000,000 per mile of single-track single-track as against $1,SOO,000 per mllo for the East river tunnel connecting the Battery wltlx Brooklyn, an increase in-crease of 2S9.per cent. "Until the taxpayers have some explanation ex-planation of these enormous Increases and the benefits, if any, that they are to have from such use of their funds, it is difficult to see how the Board of Estimate will be justified in approving approv-ing the contracts which newspapers suite are soon to be submitted for approval by tho Public Service Commission." Com-mission." This exhibits In a striking way tho viciouaneys of our methods of handling hand-ling public money. Wo do not propose pro-pose to ourselves that, we shall build j tho most efficient and useful subway I in the world, but something more 1 pretentious and expensive than has ever been done before, regardless of tho future. We forget that successful administration consists not in spending spend-ing more money than anybody else, but In getting good value for what we spend. Wall Street Journal. |