The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-03-04
THEY WANT HOME RULE.
DIrfsIoN or HUDSON COUNT AD-
TOCATED.
No Merging Into Hobokcn--North Hud-
son and Hoboken Nearly Unanimous
on Goth Questions.

Director Pe1rSon Il eX-Judge John A.
McGrath, counsel to the Board of Free
holders, said, reading from the County
Collectors report, that the claim set
up by Hoboken that it pays forty
per cent. of the county tax is
preposterous. Jersey City, according to
the report, pays S7ss,2H, or So per cent. of
the entire tax of the county. Hoboken
paid last year $3.50, 900 and received back a
rebate of $4,000 school tax, making its
contribution to the county but $4,000 or
II per cent. of the assessed amount.
Bayonne paid s24,555; West Hoboken, s16,-
400; Weehawken, s16,454; the township of
Union, $4,473: town of Union, S11, 1858; Gut
tenberg, $2,066; Harrison, S14, 956; Kearpey,
$14, 1872.
The Sixth district in Jersey City and
BayOnne alone pay taxes OF S500,O00 worth
of rotable more than the City of Ho-
boken. In regard to a tax ON personal
property the First district in Jersey City
is assessed OF $2,279,000 of rotables,
while Hoboken's personal tax is assessed
on only 81, 500, 900. Jersey City pays per
soma tax on IS, 1000, 900.
The director and counsellor claimed
that Hoboken caused the county more
expense than Hoboken pays for, and they
VI tllS ODlulOu l1ltU II COSbS JlC Guilty
more to maintain Hoboken's poor Grim
lnals and lunatics than the amount the
county receives for this purpose from
Hoboken.
The proposed formation of a new county,
to consist of Hoboken and all North Hud-
son, has excited so much talk all through
both that city and the towns that | be
came interested to learn which way the
preponderance of feeling leaned.
Incidentally ] thought it might be well
to know what the people thought of the
idea suggested in the Hoboken Council
the other night of annexing all the differ
ent towns in North Hudson to Hoboken
and thus make a big city.
My quest was successful.
Learned that there are very few people
who want to see the outlying towns Joined
to Hoboken, though the majority is in
favor of dividing the county.
If the annexation scheme should go
through Weehawken would no longer
have The lowest rate in the county; Ho-
boken would have to bear a large share of
the expense of lighting Guttenberg's
streets, and each community would have
to pay a lot of money for building sewers,
laying out and paving streets, and SO on,
and scarcely any one is willing to do it.
IT WOULD BE A BIG CITY.
To be sure, many people recognize that
with the present population and the regu-
lar rate of growth the new Hoboken
would, in the course of the next two
years, become a city of the first class, but
they see 10 advantage in that.
The population of the component parts
Of the suggested agglomeration is esti-
mated as given in the following table:
Hoboken :. . ..43,097
West Hoboken. :. 1888
Town OF Union .lO,43S
Weehawken ............... 1,762
Total. 49, 85
Hoboken's area would jump from seven
eighths of a square mile to about fifteen
square miles, but the people do not seem
to discover any great benefit in that.
/ made a general tour of the country
north Of Jersey City, and heard all kinds
of opinions and all kinds of arguments to
support them.
HoBoKEN CITIZENS VIEWS.
1 first called upon Colonel Stevens,
president of the Hoboken Land and I'M
proyement Company, by far the largest
property owners in Hoboken.
cit is simply a matter of figures" said
he; ''but I have not studied the matter
sufficiently to make my opinion of any
value. Small cities are undoubtedly bet
ter governed and managed than large
struggling places, such as Hoboken would
DG NIUll Ull6 DIORODCo 1AOl CctoO u 111tO ..
with regard to the diveision of the
county I am in favor of it. Connection
with Jersey City is out of the question"
This was positive, and | went around
the corner to see what eX-Mayor Thinker
that Of the two projects. 4 am most
s~trenuously opposed to the whole arrange
ment,'' said he. "HobOken MAJ be rather
more heavily taxed than she should be,
but if she had to pay interest on the enor-
nous debt a lot of county institutions
would entail, she would be considerably
worse off than she is at present. Tax
payers should know when they are well
off. l think Hoboken does not get suffi-
Gent representation for the proportion or
taxes she pays.
"The northern portion of the county
will never allow themselves to become
connected with Hoboken as a city.
Jersey City will never be annexed to
Hoboken unless things are managed very
differently. Union Hill is not situated
conveniently enough to form part of M
submit to any change from its present
state, as it pays lower taxes than any
other portion of the county,
Julius Schlatter thought that not one
tenth of the people would vote for annexa-
ton with the Tenth district and that to
form n city with Jersey City was en-
tirely out of the question.
SIN ten or twelve years, perhaps, the
management of Hudson county will be on
an entirely different scale. My principal
objection to connection with the northern
districts is that it would make. too large
and struggling d city"
Inext went to see John G. Besson, n
of the best known men in the city. He
said that he was strongly opposed to any
enlargementof Hoboken, as he thought that
small and compact communities were
more easily managed than larger ones.
Nobody in Hoboken," said he, wishes
to see q change except some few politi-
clans who are working for their own
ends.
WOULD BENEFIT ALL HANDS.
"The division of the county would be
beneficial to both Hoboken and the North
ern district, and to Jersey City. The ter
ritory for the Jersey City and county
officials to look after would be less, and
their work would consequently be better
done"
William Harper, of No. % Newark
street, says that he is in favor of the oil
vision Of the county. He is also in favor
of q connection between Hoboken and
Union Hill and the rest of North Hudson.
''The space is naturally plotted to be
one city," said he, "and undoubtedly will
be so some day"
Ifound Recorder Frank McDonough at
the City Hall, and he expressed himself
with freedom.
I'VE don't want Jersey City, with its
load of debt" said he; neither do we
.--.A 49, L. =..A~NAAA1M -, Mr1%A 40 = 0skrrh xr