The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-10-31
How's that for the promised economy
that was tolcome with the new charter


WATER DEPARTMENT swELLs.
Go now 90 the Water Department The
Water Department is sink of fniquity.
IL is entirely In the control of the Street
and Water Board and It's funds are spent
without check
The Board of Finance has to oapproye all
the other financial operations of the Street
and Water Board
But with the Water Department it's
different. The Street and Water Board
draws on that ad libittm; and no one can
stop the payment Of its warrants. No one
knows what it earns or what it spends.
No one knows how much it Is being run
in debt. 1t only accidentally leaked
out that it was 100000 behind last De-
cember, and that new deficiency has
been created since to the tune OF over
| $50 900
These great overdrafts have been neces-
sarv to keep the army Of heelers detailed
to grab money out OF the City Treasury
through the machinery OF the depart
ment, busy. The expenses at the Belle-
vile station and of Mr.. Healey's water
collection and disbursement bureau in
the big building in, Mercer street, aud Of
the engineering bureau have been not
ably increased.
The Belleville pay roll. even with the
Big Four in command, was S3,20o per
month. The Belleville pay roll with the
| Ring in command, runs up to S. 900. This
means $50, 900 year. The same service is
rendered to Newark for less than $l5,0 900
year p r,
run under the Big Four for 81, 900 per
month 1t costs, with the re-assessors,
| whose pay roll is given Separately below,
about So, 800 under the Ring
| a sample pay roll, which THE NEWS
reporter saw yesterday for one months
repairs on iron pipes under the Big -Four
L col nd For ri axpouditfIra of 4(s7. n a
| pay roll (produced below for the same
service for one month under the new is
| $4l6
| There were seven men in the pipe yard.
| drawing 1928 per month under the old
| charter. There are eleven, drawing $91S
under the Ring charter.
| Seventy-five men and 50, 700 month
repaired the pipes, hydrants and water
| gates for the Big Four. The Ring enl-
ploys 101 men and draws "a, 700 per month
| to do the same thing for the tax payers
| now.
"A months pipe laying under tie old
| charter cost the city 81 800; a months
| pipe laying under the new cost "a, 100 and
| there was not as much pipe laid either.
| Look at the great array of pipe layers
| in the pay rolls and the money they cost.
| Where have they been employed and
4 what have they done?
/ The fact of 1t is that the expenditures
partment was S,5. 900 more last year
| than Newark expends for the service
that produces the same result
/ Then there are the gangs that Com
missioner Tumulty bosses with the aid
| OF that shining light OF the Ring, Tom
| Trotter.
| Trotter figures pretentiously as "Gen-
eral Superintendent on the pay rolls.
He figures in the courts as an indicted
| election officer.
Mr.. Tumulty spent So, 500 to hire gangs
for the one month, the pay roll of which
is printed below, to pretend to repair the
streets. 1t is known that he squandered
in the year nearly $4,000 of the license
moneys somewhere on alleged street i'm
provements.
Has anyone seen the evidence of his
/ work anywhere?
Why, the streets are in more disgrace
full condition today than ever.
4 But here are the pay rolls. They are
mostly for the month of September. Fol
/ one or two accounts the September pay
rolls had not been prepared, and the
1 names and allowances are from the pay
roll for the latest month for which they
had been rendered.
4 Here they ali are:--