The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-02-13

The Newest Anti-wanser Schemes.
According to the New York World
of this morning, there are two schemes
on foot to deprive Mayor Wanser OF
the powers confided to him by the
people last April. One of these is to
make every officer of the city elective,
even to the Corporation Counsel and
Attorney. There are numerous OBJ
jections to this, but it is far less OBJ
jectionable than the other propo-
sition.
This is to make all appointments by
the Mayor subject to confirmation by
the board having charge of the city's
finances. This would be the Board OF
Aldermen in Newark, the Board OF
Finance in Jersey City. Of all the
boards that might be selected, the
Board of Finance is unquestionably
the best in personnel, and if such a
function were conferred at all, it might
best be vested in that Board. About
this there can hardly be two opinions.
But the proposition is ~innately bad
and erroneous. First, it mean the
complete tying of Mayor Wanser's
hands. None of his appointees could
be confirmed by the Democratic
Finance Board except through a deal.
The city wants no such deals. They
were its curse for years. The city
wants pure party government and
direct responsibility which can be
passed upon in every election.
Second, the plan of confirmation
has been tried in New York, this city,
and endless other places, and always
found to lead to laxity, shifting of
blame, and, ultimately, to corruption.
The confirming and appointing power
alike try to justify what wrong they
do by each throwing the responsible
ity upon the other.
But the special objection to giving
this power to the Finance Board is
that the members are themselves
Mayoral appointees. Who should
confirm them? If nobody, then the
Mayor would make the Board
Republican this April, and where
would be the use of the whole pro-
ceeding? The idea that the Board
should confirm its own members is too
utterly absurd to be seriously
thought of. You would not have the
Aldermen confirm them. The cor
ruption of Aldermanic supervision OF
appointments was one of the issues
on which the NewCharter was adopted
by popular vote.
The scheme is both visionary and
evil. The Legislature had better let
Jersey City work out its own destiny.
Our Scandalous Defiance of the
Fire Danger.
Among the bills which should GER
tainly pass this year is that which
proposes to reorganize the Fire De-
partment by turning out the buffa-
loes and filling up the companies with
regular men. This city is a genera
tion behind the times in this respect.
Even Hoboken is ahead of us. And
we gain nothing by it, for if taxes are
some small shade lower, insurance
rates are extravagantly high.
The rates being charged this year
by the insurance combinations are
something fearful. They have never
been so high before. They are a most
serious burden not only on real estate,
but on all forms of property. And
the companies justify their curse
from the outrageous state of the city
in respect to protection from fire.
Our alarm system is defective. our
working corps is insufficient, there is
no fire limit law. and an INSCRIPTIONS
property owner may, at his will, put
up a frame shanty in a backyard and
conduct an iron foundry, a forge, or
any other ultra-perilous business right
next door to the most costly structure
in the whole city. There is n case
where a frame building used as a
metal foundry and smelling works has
been deliberately erected next door to
and up against the very wall of a
building that cost $500, 900 to build
and that shelters business interests
amounting to a million.
There is no other city of the same
age, wealth and population SO
dalously reckless as this in respect to
fire, and it seems al if nothing would
cure this city but a lesson from ex-
perience of the most drastic kind.
The passage of the bill now pending
in the Legislature will be, however,
some small step towards improvement.
Let US make it.
THERE are too many fads and fan
cies in our schools. just now. The
rage for practical" training has run
ridiculous extremes. So much
time and money are spent on such
atrocious humbug as wood carving
and clay modelling that our children
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