The Jersey City news., 1891-09-12
SNAKE HILL.
What Jersey City officials Have to
Say About the Matter.

1t Is scarcely probable that the city
will fight the repurchase of Snake Hill
property by the County Board of Free
holders. The complete and interesting
report of the proceedings of Thursday
afternoons meeting of that Board pub.
lished in yesterdays JERSEY CITY NEWS
was read with interest by many people
who have the affairs of the county and
city at heart. Various city officials dis
cussed the action of the Freeholders last
night.
Corporation Counsel Edwards said:-sT
still consider the price paid somewhat
exorbttant Yet the result of the law
suit to have the original sale set aside ac-
cording to the figures of yesterdays pur-
chase has resulted in saving the county
$32, 500, of which the city's sixty-five per
cent share Is about $4,000. Or course
acres less thau through the original ne
gotiatiens. can't say what the city arl-
thorities propose to do about it. and
would not like to say just at present what
think they should do The threat OF
Mr.. Thurber to take the Supreme Courts
recent decision to the Court Of Appeals
was simply bunco steer"
Finance Commissioner Peterson
chanced to be the first of the city Finan-
cicrs chanced to run up against in my
search for information upon the subject
last night. He referred me to Mr.. Kenny
as the member of the Finance Board
most thoroughly acquainted with the
entire subject, and asserted that the other
Firanciers ere likely to concur in Mr..
Kenny's opinion.
Mr.. Kenny said:--"I have not yet had
time to thoroughly look:into matters In
connection with the Freeholders' action
yesterday. have only the newspaper
figures in the report of yesterdays meet
ing of the Freeholders, and they do not
entirely coincide with figures l used
when urged the taking of the original
sale into the courts with view to having
il set aside.'
MIR. Kenny produced q paper which
gave the total number of acres Included
in the original sale as thirty four. Figur-
ing upon the number twenty-six, as taken
from the Supreme Court proceedings,
which came nearer TO the figures given In
the JERSEY CITY NEWS. Mr.. Kenny said:
Last year Abel /. Smith sold the
county, say, about sixteen acres for sos,
600. This year he sells ten acres for 1856 :
000 Last year Horace K. Thurber sold
the county about nine and a quarter
acres for $40, 900. This year Mr.. Thurber
is selling the same quantity of land for
$50, 500. Last year the average cost per
acre was about $4,000. This year the av-
erage cost per acre of the land is close on
to IS. 800, a saving of $400 per acre.
''As far as am concerned, while wish
to see the county owning the whole OF the
land. still adhere to the opinion / ex-
pressed at the meeting of the Finance
Board on the evening of January 90. /
then urged the purchase of this land by
condemnation proceedings, aud insisted
that if the Park Commissioners could
purchase lands in building section of
the county at $4,000 an acre, S., 200 an
acre would be an exhorbiUaut price for
twenty-siX acres of rock and swamp land
Yet here the owners are paid S72, 900 for a
little over nineteen acres. Forty Thousand
dollars is all that the land-rwenty-sx
acres-is WORTH
''Will you advocate another fighta" I
asked.
81 am not prepared to say so. In fact, /
doubt it,' replied Mr.. Kenny.
President John Edelstein of the Board
of Finance who. through resolution
some time ago passed by his colleagues,
has the power to order a renewal of hos
tilities in connection with the action
of the Freeholders III repurchaslng the
property, was too busy to be interviewed
at his factory this morning.
Il have not had time as yet to give
proper attention to this new phase of the
subject" he said. "Under the circum-
stances l would not like to express an
opinion for publication"