The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-04-23
Facts as to the System of
Conducting the Condem-
nation Proceedings.
SPEED AND ECONOMY.
The Commissioners, Lawyers
and Experts-Courts to
Fix Their Pay.
ISLANDERS in the f'Eyening Journal"
Exploded By a Single
Recital of Facts.

The Eueming Slanderer made one of its
waspish attacks on the County Road
management in its editorial columns
yesterday. In the interest of truth, The
JERSEY CITY NEWS sent to the Engineers
Office for full detpils regarding the
method of procedure and the expense in
volved This enquiry developed the fact
that the Sldnderer proposes to make
wholesale onslaught on the great public
Improvement and its capable manage
ment today.
BY way of discounting this atrocious
libel, The NEWS gives the public today
the true facts. placed in their true light.
In all there will be about fourteen miles
of the County road which will be macad-
amized. 1t will extend from the northern
end of the county line to the southern.
The route, as laid out and decided upon,
has been published in THE JERSEY CITY
NEWS. That this part of the work was
entirely satisfactory to the general pubic
is so certain. that it is not worth discuss
ing For months, the advisabllity of ap-
pointing one set of Commissioners to hear
all objections and remonstrances
CT property owners, whose lands must
necessarily be condemned was considered.
The conclusion was finally arrived at
that the appointment of but one Commits
sion would result In almost endless liti-
cation and unnecessary delay. After
every phase of the subject had been
viewed, every thinking person agreed
that the most expeditions plan was
that of cutting up the road into sections,
with the appointment of reliable, trust
worthy Commissioners for each section,
who might proceed with the work of con-
demnation simultaneously. The expense
would be no more and the work would be
done more satisfactorily and better.
CONDEMNATION WORK.
The same amount of work would have
to be done, whether by one set OF Com
missioners or six, and six could cover the
ground in one-sixth of the time, while
their day forthe time they would take,
would be no more than that of one Board
of Commissioners with their experts and
counsel for a period six times as long.
Besides. it was recognized that 1t would
be very difficult to get Commissioners,
whose opinions and Judgment were
equally valuable regarding real estate In
all parts of the county. One man is
familiar with Bayonne. another with
North Hudson. BY having the road
divided into sections, men of expert local
information could be selected to deal with
every part OF it.
For these reasons the road was divided
into six parts, corresponding with the
municipal lines of demarcation. Speak
ing roughly, these take in Bayonne,
Greenville. Bergen, Hudson City. old
Washington Village and North Hudson,
respectively. The Commissioners named
for each are as follows:-
Section No, 1-Charles w. Fuller, Mich
ael O'Connor and Albert J. Lignot.
Section No. 2-William C. Doubleday,
john W. Reid and John Edelstein.
Section No. 3-Carl Ferris, John j.
Voorhees, and John Headden, Sr.
Section No. 4--Andrew j. Post, Francis
C. Gauuier and John Herman.
Section No. 5-William Leetz, Garrett
Fink and j. F. Crandall.
Section No. 6.-leorge Bruce, A. Beck
mud Theobold Muhl. In Jersey City by
fair minded citizens It is conceded that
gentlemen more adapted to the work
they have to do could not be found than
these. They are all gentlemen Of
honesty, information and ability. Their
compensation will be fixed hereafter by
the Court.
LEGAL TALENT.
AS is the case in all condemnation pro-
ceedings, the duty of these Commis-
sioners is limited to strictly making the
final awards of compensation for property
taken from private owners for the use of
the road. They have nothing to do with
searching titles or any other details of
the complex legal formalities involved in
condemnation proceedings. All that
work necessarily devolves upon counsel.
The work naturally divides itself into
two branches. Tine expert legal work
calls for counsel Of great experience and
intimate acquaintance with the intri-
cacies of Hudson county real estate
titles There is besides vast amount of
clerical work consisting in the service of
notices and the routine searching of
records which is rather the work OF
Younger anu less eApeTleuCeu uieu, WuO
are fighting their way in the Junior ranks
of the legal profession.
For the expert legal work the Board of
Freeholders selected one lawyer for two
sections. Their choice fell upon William
ID. Edwards for Sections and 2; ex-Judge
Garretson for Nos. and 4. and Leon
Albeit, Jr., for Nos. 5 and +. Ia order
that the expense might be exactly pro-
portioned to the amount of work done.
they fixed their pay at the rate Of $25 for
every day actually spent upon the County
Road work. For the minor work Joseph
M. Knapp and Henry Gaede were APP
pointed at $40 day for every day actually
given to the work.
EXPERT OPINION.
The Condemnation Commissioners sit
as a court to value the land taken. They
are not expected to proceed from the
depths of their ewn internal conscious
ness. In this. as in all similar cases,
they are bound to hear the testimony of