The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-07-05
THIS paper IS democratic IN principles
and is Independent IN its 0iea0s on all
local questions.
County Parks and County Boule-
yard

County Parks and County Boule-
ward.
If there is going to be any difficulty
about raising money for county inn
p~rovements, careful consideration
ought to be given to the choice be-
tween rival schemes. There are two
great projects on hand, both well adj
vanced towards realization. Both call
for the expenditure Of large sums of
money, and the difference in cost be-
tween the two is slight.
1t is needless to say that these
projects are the New Park and the
County Road enterprises. The limit
of expense for the former is 81, $780, 900,
or one per cent. Of the taxable values
of the County. The latter is to cost
81, 900, 900. The effect of the two upon
the public credit and upon the. tax
rate is therefore approximately the
same.
Now we observe that in certain
quarters there is a very strong oppo-
sition to the parks, while nobody
opens his mouth against the County
road or boulevard. There is a reason
for this difference; what is it?
The parks are to be built by q COM
mission, composed Of gentlemen alto
gether above the suspicion of jobbery,
or other interested or yenal motive.
There is an absolute certainty that
the money which passes through their
hands will be both honestly and
judiciously spent. In the purchase
and adornment Of the park lands, too,
the county will be enriching itself. 1t
will have for all time tangible prop
erty representing the amount of
its expenditure, and its credit
will be just SO much bet
ter on that account. Further
more, the parks are bound to become
prime centres of population. Around
them-if we are to judge from the ex-
periences of other cities-new resi-
dences of the more expensive kind
will spring up in numbers and with
great rapidity. Land will increase in
value, and tracts which are now pay
ing next to nothing into the city and
county treasury will become good for
tens of thousands Of dollars annu-
ally. This is, briefly, the case for the
parks.
The Boulevard is to be built by the
Freeholders, q body notorious for
jobbery and extravaganza. 1t is true
there is to be some restraint upon
them. The work is to be supervised
by All engineer appointed by the Cir
cult Court: but all the same, the Free
holders are to have the main disburs-
ing power. In constructing the
boulevard, the county makes no
material addition to the property
which it directly owns. OF course it
makes some improvement in the
valuation Of property along the line
of the road; but just how much, is
open to question. In New York, the
Western Boulevard has remain
ed for years almost without a
dwelling. 1t is a beautiful wide
highway, macadamized, and with
handsome grass plots and trees
along its entire length. But q
macadamized road means a dusty
road, and dust is a great deterrent to
residents. People will be very slow
to build along a dusty highway, and
the more travel you bring to the road
the mor people will hesitate to deal
in real estate abutting on it. OF
course a great deal is said about the
effect of a good road in bringing men
who own horses to this county. Id
appears to us that this talk is chiefly
nonsense. The vast majority of peo-
pie are determined in their choice Of
a residence by far more serious con-
siderations. and indeed the number
Of people who drive enough to make
the Boulevard Of any special conse-
quence 70 them is not one.tenth Of