The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-11-02
CROES GOES SLOW
The Board of Trade Expert
Drags Out the Water
Hearing.
WHAT PUMPING WOULD COST
Jersey City Company's Lawyer
Makes Charges of Bad Faith
and Wanton Delay.

All Yesterday afternoon Civil Engineer
IN. Inst. C. E., etc etc., j. James
Croes, the expert employed by the
Board of Trade, occupied the witness
chair at the Water Certiorari Hearing
before Special Court COMMISSIONS NJ
gem on Chancery Chambers, criticising
the plans and bid of theJersey City wa
ter Company, and the specifications PUB
lished. he latter were clearly all wrong
according to Mr.. Croes. and they in
Guided clauses, he said. extremely inJu-
dicious and standing menaces to the
contractor or bidders. Some of the
clauses he said were unjust and absurd,
particularly those relative to the pay
ment to the contractor being dependent
on the willingness of the arbitrator to
agree.
Nothing in the bid or specifica-
ton pleased Mr.. Croes. He Con-
sidered it al expedient to de-
liver all the water supplied to the
city at a mean elevation above high
tide of q feet, because it was necessary
to have all the water supplied at that
height. A portion of it would require
heavie pipes. y
What would it cost to pump a million
gallons one hundred feet?" asked Judge
Stevens.
Ask him how much it would cost to do
that in Jersey City," interposed Mr.. Vre-
denburgh.
No." said Judge Stevens, sthe means
employed have been done by old and
worn-out engines"
st object" said Mr.. V~redenburgh,
because it is presumed that the city
is to abandon it's old and antiquated
methods, which is entirely out of the
question:"
The reply caused much merriment and
the engineer constructing said that 1t
cost the city of Philadelphia $3lS to
raise one million gallons one hundred
feet. -Four dollars per million gallons
he thought would be a fair price for
Jersey City.
In response to Judge Stevens question
witness talked for ten minutes on n
constituted the points or definite re-
quirements of an up-to-date specification.
at notice in Mr.. Gubelman's specihca-
ton to the city a clause respecting a
percentage of increase or decrease on
consumption as well as one showing N.
itial consumption. Such a CLAUSE is not
in the eity,s speciIications q bot c,s eusa
not have been inserted and without
telligent comparison of bids?"' asked MI.
Stevens, at the rate OIL D WOTOS AliLu
TT is not essential; but It would pc
more judicious to insert It, was the
reply.
questdon:-"Is it possible to compare the
bid intelligently so as to arrive al the
lowest without adopting some standard.
dividual be obliged TO frame some stand
ard in his own mind arbitrarily ana
without any basis on the specifications
before him, to enable him to compare
the bi0s?"
Mr.. Croes thought it extremely likely
he would have TO do so, and ADDED tnat
the specifications in emitting that stand
ard of comparison left out an essential
feature.
about water sheds, storage, rainfall and
any other data for a supply of water 70
a city," asked Judge Stevens, opening
the sluice gates ana a dry dlssertatd n24
as slowly and deliberately as Judge
Stevens, viz: about fifteen or twenty
words to the minute. He halts between
sentences, then utters a word and then
another stop. So that his conversation
is not particularly attractive. He talked
generally about observations made in
Massachusetts and New Jersey as to
surveys and was wandering aimlessly
about in a sea of words when Judge
flow, and there followed a word-flow as
sluggish as a Holland Canal:
Well od drawled the. engineer gin The The
water-sheds which-supply-the region
from which Jersey-City and New
ark-takes its supply-is capable
with proper storage-of ,y~ielding-six
Observation-Disclosures thousand gal.
Nov, sir, is the run-off equal to the
rainfall, and if not, why?" asked Mr..
stevens, himself getting into deep water.
"Oh, no, moi" replied the witness, act
,rally telescoping his words; mot by any
means. the run-off does not equal the
RAINFALL and he proceeded to define the
difference between run-off and rainfall.
.sRun-off,, as hydraulic engineers call it.
"are the waters which flow away after
place, succeeding the rainfall
DEFENDANTS PROTEST
yesterday evening, Judge Stevens said
that he would nah a motion, after the
rising of the Court of Errors and APP
peals. to fix a date for the argument of
the case. This brought Mr.. Vreden-
burgh to his feet with a vigorous OBJ
lection. The defendants, ne said.
would not be bulldoZed. and if the prose-
cutors would not go ons with their side,
q ga EA pANA