The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-07-30
d LIlNG AITAUK.
The 6 Journal Misrepre-
sents Everyone Connect
ed with the County
Boulevard.
PANGB0RN DEAR benson Us. TRUTH.
And It's Dollars to DOughnuts
that the PiOus Pap"
Hunters Want Some
thing.
thing.

EUeninq Journal upon city and county
Boards that have much patronage to dis
pense TO newspapers. the EUening Jour
nal made Il wanton aud untruth-
full attack yesterday on the Board of
Freeholders. 1t charged that Board
and all connected with it in the con-
struction of the County Boulevard, with
gross extravaganza. 1t complained tear
fully of The gross extravagance of the
Board in employing experts and extra
counsel whose duties have been TO see
that the county has not been put to ex-
ira expense in securing right of way.
The only extravaganza directly men
toned by the disgruntled journal is tn e
salaries paid these employees.
Inquiries as to the truthfulneSs of their
statements developed the fact that the
figures given by the Journal as pay for
experts and counsel were accurate. bnt
the Journal knew and dared not publish,
that the expenditure of these salaries had
saved the county many thousands of dol
lars.
A man who has made careful study of
the County Road project, said concerning
the Journals untrutnful charges:-"The
Boulevard will cause the removal of
many houses or it will bisect many. The
law provides that the Com missionerS of
Condemnation may allow the property
owners fair compensation for the build
ipEs njured in the cost of removing them,
which involves the construction of a new
foundation. and carpenters and plumbers
work. The owners along the route quick.
ly realized this and they at first insisted
that the houses should be purchased out
right by the county and then this
county should sell them at public aution.
Naturally no one would care to purchase
ho
often having got from the County fair
price for the house, would buy the pro-
perty in at nominal figure at the public
sale. In other words. owners would sell
as real estate and buy back as old lumber.
THE VALUE OF EXPERTS.
with that end in view there appeared
to be concerted action on the part of
owners to push up the price of property.
They employed experts to testify
to the value of their property be-
fore the Commissioners of Condemna-
tion, and If the values of these men
had been accepted the County Boulevard
would have been bankrupted. 1t was
necessary for the Freeholders to protect
themselves, and to do that experts were
employed by the county. These experts
cost from 81 to $40 day when they
served, and the county through them
saves as many hundreds in each
case. Moreover, these experts are needed
peal. By that time the houses taken
would have disappeared, and the only
possible method to prove the values
would be by the evidence of the experts
who testified before the Commissioners.
To criticize the county's employment of
criticize private individuals for Sc
curing evidence i'll law
suit. Experts for property owners
invariably place double the value on pro-
perty that it is worth. On lots on side
streets they placed value of $500 which
the experts for the county reduced to $500
by proving that similar lots adjoining
the premises in question had been sold
within year for $500. For every dollar
paid by the county for experts. the county
has saved twenty dollars and mo1l. In
the employment of experts, the county
is simply doing what great railroad cor
porations do. that is the buying of land
and right of way as cheap as it can, and
the same tactics are pursued
by employing the best experts.
In the two sections where
Experts Emmons. ana Spengeman have
served. the first and second sections,
much money has been saved the countv.
At the early hearing when owners de-
1nanded $700 and $500 lot, the experts
fixed values from $500 to $400. When the
property owners realized that the county
knew what it was doing and that unfair
values were resisted, the owners began to
abandon these high values, and they are
now making much more reasonable esti-
mates.
Concerning the bill of Henry A Gaede
OF $40 day for legal services, it IS reason
able. l know that Mr.. Gaede had charge
of the service of the papers in all cases,
on the northern section of the County,
and it was his duty to see that the
process servers properly performed their
A,,1c flnN
were properly notified by mail and the
notices required by law to be published
were properly attended TO.
when the Freeholders first employed
the experts, some CT them were outrage
ously high with their figures, and the
Counsel caused the experts to be dismissed
and fairer men substituted.
COUNSEL EARNED THEIR MONEY
''In regard to the salaries of the extra
Counsel i know that the money they have
received has been well earned. Ex-Sena-
tor Edwards sent in bill for tnirty-six
and one-half days labor. In the itemized
bill were the days and dates of the service
charged for.
Mr.. Edwards prepared all of the cases
that have arisen; he prepared the report
to the Supreme Court and argued Lhe
case before that Court. The cost of the
preparation of the vast number of
papers in these proceedings did not
C0Sb Inc C0uuty C0At lOE CiSIlCdl
work or type writing, except that which
had to be done OUTSIDE of his office. Mr..
Edwards also had TO see that the specifica-
tions and contracts were properly pre-
pared. Lawyers generally get as much
money for their work as they can,
but in this case l think the FreshoIders
have tried to see how much work they
could possibly get for their money. Mr..
Edwards has not been paid too much,
and any lawyer will say SO.
Through the efforts of the Counsel for
the Bayonne section, large strips of land
have been obtained from property owners
without cost to the county.
About 150 pieces of property there
were hunted up and deeds for the same
obtained for the county. This cost the
FreehoIders 81. 500 and saved them $780,.
600, for one-half Of the right of way. was
obtained without cost by the Counsel.
s'It is now believed that the Counsel for
the northern end OF the County Boulevard
VIII pursue the same methods that We're
SO successful in Bayonne in securing
n right of way In View of the exhorbi-
fant demands made by the property own
ers for a right of way. the Freeholders
are seriously considering q proposition to
change The route there and of obtaining
fright of way that will not cost nearly
The present right OF way in the north
yection is by no means fixture and II