The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1886-12-19
WHOSE LITTLE JOB IS THIS?
A CITY'S SUPPLY FROM A STREAM
THAT'S OFTEN DRY.


Water COmpnny's Proposition-A
Speculative scheme that was Nippcd
before Fruition- Interesting Figures.
His Honor, Mayor Orestss Cleveland,
favored the Board of Works with his
August presence last Monday evening. He
had attended other meetings for confer
ence between members of Board of Works
and members of the Board of Finance
on previous occasions; but he had never
attended meeting of the Board of Works
before. Even to the conference meetings
that he helped to illuminate, he had never
gone unbidden. A delicate Z" billet doux
bearing the sign manual of Clerk ssTom"
Jacobs, and dictated by the members of
the Board had always signifed the Boards
d esireto have him on hand, No such
notice was sent to him for last Monday by
Mr.. Jacobs, and no one whom a SUNDAY
MORNING NEWS reporter could find around
the Board of Works rooms yesterday was
able to say just how it became own TO
Mayor Cleveland that the Board desired
his presence, or to the Board that His
Honor, the Mayor was anxious for an aud
l0uC6 Will It's u6mU0Ib. 1u0Lo uaQ DS6n
a little difference between the M ayor and
the Board over the coal contract. The
Board had passed bill for coal, and the
Mayor had vetoedit; and somehow or other
it became known to the Board and the
Mayor that it would be wise and needful
thing for them to get together.
The Board went into secret session with the
Mayor, and the coal business was discussed
with becoming animation on both sides.
When the conference was over, though he
had apparently accomplished the object OF
his mission in connection with the coal sup
ply, the Mayor didn't 90 way. The gavel
mad scarcely uttered its command for
silence in the Board of Works room when
President Reynolds handed a sealed en-
velope over to Clerk Jacobs. The Clerk
broke the seal and read proposition that
the whole system of water supply be revo-
lutionized, and that the work the city has
been doing for the people from time I'M
memorial be handed over to private con-
Germ, manned visibly by John TORY as
President, .chaperoned by julius H. Pratt
as agent and pre- moter, and doing business
under che name of the North Jersey Water
Company. The Board was dumbfounded
by the novelty and cheek and apparent ir-
responsibility of the proposition and went
into secret conclaye to recover their senses
ply restoratives to their stunned mental
faculties; and Chief Engineer Ruggles was
there, too, to give the Board such enlight-
eminent on the problems suggested by the
communication as he could. No SUNDAY
MORNING NEWS reporter was there to take
notes, but Chief Engineer Ruggles kindly
furnished the NEWS man yesterday with
such details as he could recall of what trans
PRED.
81 hadn't the first intimation or the
slightest suspicion that such proposition
was to be made he assured the reporter,
tstill it was read in the Board. 1t was to
furnish water to Jersey City at $3.50 per
millions gallons. 1 was asked what the
cost per million gallons to the city now is,
and / answered about 500, including the in
terest on the water debt, and from 500 to
$24, exclusive of the interest. The Mayor
was there and took some part in the dis
eussion."
f'Was he in favor of the scheme?" the re-
porter yentured to ask.
she was not opposed to it," was the
reply.
snow, will you tell me what arguments
were used to persuade the Board to aban-
don system of self supply that costs only
1S24 per million gallons for the vastly more
expensive system at S38 so per million gal
ions, Inat Inc NOrtn Jersey wafer COm-
pany proposed?"
ssIhere were no arguments advanced at
all. as far as I saw" was the Chief Engi-
neer's frank reply.
He added that nothing was learned in
the meeting as to the men who were in the
new enterprise, nor as to their ability to
fulfil tAeir contract: nor as to whether the
rates proposed were the best the city could
secure. II seemed to be understood that
the proposition was to be accented: and the
bicker was wholly as to the figure in which
the CITY should be mulcted.
s.The Board was in secret concIaye for
less than half an hour" said CLERK Jacob,
sand then came ont to resolve nnaninous-