The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-05-25
The City Rali Site Difficulty and an
Easy Solution for Ii.

The City RalI Site Difficulty and an
Easy Solution for Ii.
We understand that the City Hall
Commission is greatly troubled over
the matter of acquiring the Grove
street end of the proposed City Hall
site. The owners of the property are
asking extravagant prices, and if the
Commissioners pay them, they may
not have money enough to com plete
the building without going to the
Legislature again.
In our judgment, the Commission
ers have a very easy way out of the
difficulty. They need not worry at
all. They have the best of the greedy
taxpayers if they only take a decided
course.
The owners of land that is wanted
for the site appear to have an alto
gether idea of the law.
They seem to think it is compulsory
on the Commissioners to extend the
site to Grove street, and that conse-
quently they can ask almost any
price for their holdings. This is all
wrong. The Commissioners are not
obliged to do anything of the sort.
They can build on the present site ;
they can extend it twenty-five or
fifty feet towards Grove street, or
they can take the whole block. They
can,i in a word. do as they please
about taking the property which is
being held at exorbitant rates. on the
theory that the City is Obliged to buy
it. II anyone doubts our statement
of the law, we invite him to look at
the statute book. He will find that
the City Hall Commissioners and the
Mayor are the sole judges of taking
or leaving the property.
Now if the holders persist in their
exorbitant demands, we simply sug-
gest that the Commissioners go ahead
and build the Hall on the present site.
They can put up a very ereditable
structure, and a few months ago
everyone thought the site excellent.
OF course, it will moi be as fine in the
sum total as if it faced upon Grove
street; but on the whole it will do very
well, and the city will have spent less
none by 5000, 600 to $3.50, 600.
There are two or three points may
be set down as positive: First, the
Hall must be builti second, it must be
built within the present %appropria-
ton; third a complete job must be
made of it. 1t will neither do to go to
The Legislature for more money next
year or any year, nor will it do to
leave a wing, or a tower, or a floor for
some future decade to finish.
Perhaps the wisest curse would be
for the Commissioners to advertise
for bids for the construction of the
building. When these are in they
will know just how much money they
can spend on extending the site. If
the reasonable demands of the prop
erty owners come within that figure,
let the Commissioners go ahead and
buy the land and round out the site.
If the sum at their disposal is not
sufficient, then let them come back to
the old limits and build upon the plot
already owned by the city.
THIS is the way the Kafir girls of South Africa
advertise:-..Sabis Mooi OF Graskep is willing TO
do very light housework in a family where no
English servants are kept. Thoss who desire
menials of good character. No others need
apply. ''-Erchange.
Who says we are the most progress
sive people.
We have heard of many queer sorts
Of bath, ranging from the milk and
wine complexion extr avagances of
The Louis XIV. period down to the
blue glass air bath craze of ten years
ago. But the funniest bath we ever
heard of was that of the Norman
MAS cabin passengers last sum-
lner. We learn from the worn evil
denee in the damage suits, now pend
ing against the steamship company,
that the cooped up voyagers were go
much afraid of Elbe water that they
took baths of Apollinaris.
1t gives N sensation of "pins and
needles to think of cavorting about
in a bath tub of kissing, sizzling fluid
with millions of little air bubbles
clinging all over one, and the dizzy
tunes of carbonic acid titilaTing ones
lungs. The idea is quite too n-Ge-
Steele for ordinary everyday English
wear, and we expect to findit figur-
ing in the very next yellow covered
novel from Paris, as the luxurious
extravaganza of a Russian Princess
a Chicago pork packer.