The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-11-22
ISSUES D0DGE:D.
City Hall Commissioners
Prove Nothing in Over
Five Thousand
Words.
WILL NOT BE READY ON TIME
No End of Squabbles With
Everybody and About
Almost Everything.
NOT A MILLION DOLLAR STEAL
The Cest Of the Monstrosity Less
Than Four Hundred Thou
sand Dollars.
NOT A MILLION DOLLAR STEAL

The City Hall Commissioners this morn
ing sent to Mayor Wanser reply to ms
letter of November A. asking for lnfor-
nation concerning the present condition
of the new City Hall building. The let
ter begins with recital of the 1acts
with which the Commission has had TO
deal prior to the award of contracts
for the building This includes the pur-
chase of the property, advertising for
plans. the public exhibition and the hnal
award to Architect Lewis H. Broome.
None of the first bids for the erection
of the building were within the appro-
priation and consideration of second
batch of bids was postponed, pending
the results of the attempts of citizens to
secure legislation for the purchase OF the
other half of the block While this was
going on the architect was ordered to re-
model his plans to suit the new site III
case it was secured.
On March Is the Board learned that the
desired legisla ton had been secured, pht
nothing was done toward the erection OF
the building until the last day OF the
following May the whole time being con-
sumed in acquiring the additional land.
This new legislation made the entire
sum available 10 tIS Soiiiiii9s'Ao-0-
$500, coo.
.of this amount" says the letter, "the
sum of So, ,O25. 90 was spent acquiring the
real estate. This naked statement dis
poses of the wild talk which fixes the
cost of the building itself at a,O0o,0Oo.
ABOVE THE APPROPRIATION.
The second batch of bids all exceeded
ga safe limit of expenditure" but "a
slight change in the specifications IN ref
erence to trimming stone work brought
them within a safe limit to proceed with
work.
Following this" the letter continues,
ssthere was some delay in obtaining the
consent of the Board of Finance to the
issuance of bonds; the money market
was unsettled and it was not until De
cember. 1893. that the Commission We're
fully authorized to award the contracts
for the work on the basis of the bids
referred to. On December q, 1898, con-
tracts for the mason and stone work
were awarded to Richard English at the
amount of his bid, s236, $500; for carpen-
ter work to John Herman, for Sl5,0VO.0O;
for plumbing, steam and gas fitting Work
to w. W. Farrier. for s18.16000; and the
piling work to Patrick Connolly, Tor slS,-
64e.56. making the total contract cost for
the building $343. .242. .56; an amount greatly
below that used by those who criticise
the new City Hall as a million dollar
building We have shown that the
ground and building are to cost S7Sl ,267.o6
leaving a balance available from $Soo,-
00oOO. for the expenses of the commls-
sion, the salary of the architect, extra
and other emergencies which mlght
arise -,.e
1--WE here call attention to the 1act
hoxy hEAn
out written resolutions passed by the
Commission in accordance with a pro
whieh wlsloh reieves 81 @ the oea city Of any liability
for extra work not so ordered the to,
tai amount of the extra work 90 or9ereo ee14 5S !.
Changing galvanized leaders TO cast iron
ones $500; changes in Mayors layer office
partition and gas outlets, $9O2oo put
pipes throughout basement floor, 500 %;
iron beams in place of brick arches S45O,
and Water Board, Law Department and
extra doors, $113: iron vault dooc - CITY
Clerks Office $50 vsaif ehangsssS gss IN exfra fniT tb
ing by direction of Fire Underwrlters'
IAN amount for extra work which Is
considerably less than one per ceni J,
of the contract price of the building.
PILING ALL RIGHT,
promptly carried out without fault being
found from any source and was cheap-
" done. On the cOmp10IlOn Oh tIllS WI n
Mr.. English proceeded with the work
under his mason's contract. The con-
dition of the material and LABOR market
in the winter and spring of 1924 was de-
cidedly favorable 10 the rapid progress
Of his work on the building, and the
brick and stone work went forwaId al
a very rapid rate. In the fall of 1884 we
reached oEr first serious trouble OF
the building, which was the service cry 90 o.
raission that for the lack of a roof over
the building he would not be responsi'
s.T'here arose at that time a dispute
with Mr. John Kiernan,. the carpenter
contractor. who was Obliged to fannisf Urn,
IN various forms from that Gay to ,tll thit
70 the annoyance of the Commission This
Dispute has engaged@ @ me d atsnun frenenf u con- en-
slIJtaticfs in reference thereto with tht
Cooperation Counsel. a recent oufeoml. ut IN.
r Kreitier. the well known architect
70 report Upon the condition OF the lSS ROOF
THE TgoTBbhE eoTf bas BEEN g received la ti fogete
With a LETTER Of the Corporation Counse
and the Board is. proceeding in this mat
ter SO that the defects in the roof con
etructton shall he remedied, as will ap
pear by the minutes and notices. Ihe de AZ.
lay in roofing the building even as II Is Is
weather. which brought about the rust
ing OF the iron frame work i,' the 100 g
and other parts of the building ana De
iayed the interior plaster work dufins
the winter of 1S94-5. Apart from the de
lax this may have been an advaa "a e
to tba interior plasterins by preventing
It's being done in cold weather; but other
wise a disadvantage to the building, .
ssT'i1c glazed bricks in the corri
6ors and stair bali of the frs
foor have not beea salts factory Z
~ Commission. tiie same having beer
condemned on January %, 1895, by a reso
iHtion ordering the architect to notify
Mr. Richard English that the tSomniIs
sieh se had ID laid in the corridors and tha
Trey should be removed aessa forthwitl to TIT f5i
sSsijasasaT-1, ait,aa rnr has Mr. English actual.
plo,nnlled Pom n1naed with that notice. Since then
sst at meeting held October 3 1881 tn 81.
s1a1ai 1,riclss furnished ro- the corridors
Toilet rooms and hall as not bsins M II a., ae
ea-d:luce with specifications ana 2Iuerss Is,
since written to the Commission offer