The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-10-01
THAT WATER CONTRACT
Citizens in Session Table
the Report of the
Committee.
THE COUNCIL CLOCK STOPPED
So Last Nights Meeting Kept Late
Hours--A Lively Discussion.

last evening in the Council Chamber to
consider the report of the committee
which was appointed by a former meeting
of citizens to confer with George r. Bart
lett and prepare contract between him
and the city for supply of pure, whole
some water.
Like the distinguished Jap in "The
Pearl of Pekin," ''calm and peaceful were
their natures" But some one dropped a
match upon an unseen magazine. and the
meeting broke up in what would have
been called in less distinguished gather
ing, row.
DIR. Leonard ]. Gordon called the meet
ing to order, and stated the object for
which it was called.
Mr.. Louis V. Booraem. chairman of the
committee, next presented the report. and
in doing SO said:-"Some of the daily
papers and our people think that many OF
the citizens who have participated in this
movement have come around and are in
favor of the contract. That is not SO.
"The contract which was submitted to
the Board of Works was all one sided. and
in favor of the water companies. So 1t
was not a contract that we were opposed
to, but q contract unfavorable to the city.
While we stand still the water Of the
State Is slowly being taken away.
WILL THE PASSAIC HOLD OUT.
81 am satisfied with the Passaic water
as 1t is But will it last? That's the
question. think we ought to take some
steps ROW to secure new supply before
the water is all gone. In the report we
merely suggest our idea, and IL the Board
of Works will do as it ought to, we shall
secure contract beneficial to the city.
'sThe old contract is still before the
Board of Works and / think it ought to
be withdrawn. We don't think that the
Montclair Water Company is the proper
party to make, contract. 1t is not
strong enough"
On motion OF DR.. B. A. Watson the reading
of the report was dispensed with, and, at
the suggestion of Mr.. Dear, Mr.. Booraem
gave a synopsis of the report, and, in do
ing so, said:-sMr. Bartlett is backed by
sufficient number of capitalists to put
anything through which he may under
take. They have acquired but little ex
cept the Pequanoc Valley, which they
have sold to Newark. He must get up @
corporation strong enough to be held re-
compelled him to put up $3,000,OO0, and
now he comes to supply Jersey City with
the little Montc1air $250, 600 water COM
pany His ultimate object is to supply
New York with water, and with that OBJ
ject in view he should give us very
favorable contract"
Mr. Carscallen moved that the report
be read, but DR.. Watson rose to a point
of order and objected most strenuously.
Dr. Gordon ruled the motion in order and
it was carried.
Mr.. e. NJ. Doane, who was elected Sec
retary of the meeting, then read the re-
port. When he had concluded Mr..
Booraem cleared up what he called a
seeming discrepancy in the report by
saying that when the city came to pur-
chase the plant IL would receive credit
for all it had paid Mr.. Bartlett in water
rents and interest.
Mr. Flemming moved that the report
be adopted in order to bring it before the
meeting regularly. This brought DR..
Watson to his feet, but DIR. Gordon
raped sharply for order, saying that the
motion had not been seconded.
The chairman's gayel seemed to arouse
DR.. Watson's ire. He emphatically de-
clared that he would not be gagged, and
asserted that the meeting seemed to be
packed.
THE DOCTOR WOULDN'T BE GAGGED.
s'This amiable and intelligent commit
tee,o he continued, in spite OF the chair
mans energetic gavel, tells us what con-
tract we should make, but has not told us
with whom we are to make the contract.
1t is singular fact that this very COM
mittee few months ago were all opposed
to taking the waters of this State under
any circumstances. But now they say
tnat you can take it if you pay ten per
cent. Have l slept twenty years that
find these men under q new flag? They
were formerly with us in this matter.
Does their action now give us consistent
recordPo
The doctor then spoke of the action of
the old committee of one hundred before
the Legislature and the Board OF Works,
and said that he could not understand it.
The men on the committee were good and
<rsa moi nn
him.
Mr.. Carscallen explained how far he
had changed and declared that he never
was, is not and never will be q man to
foist contract on Jersey City to buy
water from private individual by the
million gallons. If the same project should
be proposed now which was broached
then, every man on the committee would
oppose it. The water department has run
behind $3.50, GOO.
to ask if that Indebtedness had not been
Incurred in betterments
Mr.. Carscallen replied that he was not
there to answer categorical questions, but
he thought that a contract which would
pay the running expenses of the Water
Department would be a benefit to the city.
Defence OF THE WATER.
Ex-Judge Seymour then took the floor
and reused the enthusiasm of the
audience with stirring address He said
In substance that the question OF the
purity of Passaic water had come up. An
eminent chemist in Philadelphia recently
declared that river water was far health
ier than pond water. Someone who has
had access to our daily papers has by
falsehoods heralded all over the country
that our water is bad, to the damage of
our properly.
The editor of the Evenilg Journal has
children and grandchildren in this city.
If he believes what he has said in his
paper about our water, why does he let his
children and grandchildren drink it?
The Judge earnestly advocated that the
city build and maintain its own water
works.
Mr. Dear said that the Passaic water
had Deen good during the past few years.
But that was owing to the rainy seasons
which, have prevailed during that time,
and we are not sure that such condition
will last.
Mr.. Sheeran next obtained the floor and
began to arraign the Republican party for
getting the city so deeply in debt. Mr..
Dear replied by attempting to show that
the Democratic party was as guilty as the
Republicans in that particular and de-
;lared that honors were easy.
Mr.. Sheeran attempted to reply when
DIR. Gordon declared that such discus
sion was foreign to the subject under con-
sideration and ruled Mr.. Sheeran out of
order. Mr.. Sheeran sat down declaring
hat the chairman was "a very unfair