The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-01-27
WATER MEASURED UP.
Experiences Of Newark with
East Jersey a Solemn Warn
ing to Our Officials.

- NtC " - @OAa-
contract every right of the city is guard
ed and protected. By the terms of that
covenant the East Jersey Water Com
pany must supply the city of Newark
with water up to the maximum limit of
27,5oo.o0o gallons a day nth September
"a, 1900, and at that time must turn over
to the city a watershed, storage reser-
voirs and a pipe line capable of deliver
ing at Belleville SO. 900, GOO gallons of water
a day. In the custody of the city au-
thorities are city bonds to the value of
s2,500,00o, part of the Sc, 600, 900 purchase
price of the works, held in guarantee for
the complete performance of the con-
tract. Until every requirement of the
specifications of that covenant is fulfilled
the city may retain these bonds. In
view of this fact it is somewhat difficult
ITO appreciate the motive which prompted
the majority of the members of the
Board of Works to place the city Of
Newark In the position of a party seek
ing some new condition for the execution
OF this contract, as if it were in default
or mad interests IN jeopardy. That is
precisely the attitude which the MAJOR
ity of the Board assumed when, with
persistency and eloquence worthy of a
higher cause, Messrs. Van Duyne, Jor-
aiemon and Bailey pushed through a
resolution which is, in fact, an over
polite solicitation to the East Jersey.
Water Company to come and confer with
the city on the water supply subject.
Confer, forsooth! To what end?
Eaving discovered the failure of it's
engineers to provide a pipe line capable
OF delivering the required 50,0 900, 900 gal-
Ions of water daily at Belleville. the
East Jersey Water Company, pursuing
its cid tactics. started in to force. or
lnveigle, the city into a ppiementa
contract. It win be admitted by all that
the Evening News from the begin
ning, was an ardent advocate of the
and In partial f~ulilnaent, the contract
with the East Jersey Company has been
an admirable thing for the city of New
round, fat sum for It's water. but. Win
ndellty on the part Of its officials, it viii
ger go99 water and good works in re-
urn. me News still thinks that the
contract was wise, and polite and fair.
ana Tor that reason insists that it shall
pc carried out to the letter. There have
f re mlsglvlngs as>to the watershed and
aae reservoirs, and there is proof of the
amazing ~lncapacity of the pipe line.
ME more factious critics clamored in
Rrema5ure criticisms, the Evening
Il I 1ditA HI the lnJGR-
rfty. Of the contract, was willing to wait.
Inc city. authorities have properly
Sougnt Tor knowledge on all these points.
For several years the engineers Of the
city have been trying &c measure the res
erVolfs, gauge the capacity of the nipe
me. n secure such other data as would
to the city. The history Of ali these Al
tempts is the same. The engineers of
the city nave uniformly been treated with
scant courtesy. In some cases they ha We
been scarcely considered. Even the Board
OF Works in its seeking for knewledge
mas been put aside and trifed with. It
caieuiating the capacity of the pipe line
could no longer be concealed that a fairly
frank and. polite disposition toward the
city was shown.
Before displaying this new temper the
company practised one of its old time
bluffs. With the p~retence that the de-
fcieney in the present pipe line was only
a slight n the company asked Newark
to pay half the expense of the new forty
eight inch pipe line, to deliver up the
81 ,50G,0 900 of bonds now held by. the city. to
accept other security. and to extend the
time for final delivery of the works under
the contract till September "A, 1915. The
ply Jersey city with waiter for the add
tsonal ten years. That proposition was
wisely declined. If the Board Of Works
been wen. But the majority proceeded
further, and signified that they are in a
position to decker for new terms.
L L 10 ltStIuClife anu Interesting 10 note
the grounds upon which Messrs. Van
Duyne, Joralmon and Bailey base their
plea for a conference. First they urge
that they are prompted to do this through
a sense OF politeness. Considering the
treatment which the Board of Works re-
ceived at the hands Of the East Jersey
ment OF the pitiful i~ncapacity of the pipe
line, it would seem that his desire to be
courteous is somewhat strained, if not
pndig9nified; The courtesy in this deal
been almost too courteous.
That is a reason, however. which may
be dismissed as Inconsistent. The Excuse
urged with the most force by the three
champions of the polite policy is that an
arrangement shall be made BY which the
V Wstsr may Be obyiated. Let this POINT
be made very clear. 1t is the only hair
upon which The city may hang half an
Excuse Tor dickering for new terms.
According to the contract. the city ma
consume q, gallons of water daily
until the year 1900.
average for $50 days in a year uses about
$1,000. coo gallons of water.
For about fifteen days in a. year the
is to say, that for fifteen days the city's
consumption exceeds its limited supply by
10000 gallons daily
Gently entered into a contract with Jer-
sey City, Harrison and Kearny to supply
those communities with the surplus wa
l. JtIS " hiHC A ICcCi Sl1o 1lC
used by Newark. AS a matter of fact,
If this contract with the communities east
of the Passaie be carried out, about l.
500.GM gallons of water which Newark
might use every day for $50 days in the
yzar wiz be sold by the East Jersey
named at $43 a million gallons. That is
to say, for $50 days in the year the East
Jersey Water Company will sell daily
4,50o,0 600 gallons of water. that Newark
communities over the Passaic at a daily
Income of $685. In $50 days that would
| amount to SCI, 725. IF Newark for ten days
in the year got 100000 gallons of water
| a day in excess Of its q. 500. e9o daily sup
the sale of that 30.e99.6 600 gallons of water
| the company would be out $1,2se. 1t is
here submitted that any Board of Works
which considers the consumption of about
| S,g00.U0e gallons of water a dav in excess
as a difficult thing to adjust in the face of
the daily grant of 4,599. 900 gallons of water
which the city will make to the East Jer-
sey Company for $50 days in the year,
must be deficient in business acuteness.
But there is another solution of this
| trivial matter. 1t is strange, indeed. thai
the Water Board, instead of spending. a
| week in screwing up its courage to make
a semi-surrender to the East Jersey Com
panv. had not vote a few hours tc
statistics of water consumption in the
various cities round about. The daily
consumption of water by each individual
in Newark averages over ninety gallons
| There are very few cities in the United
States, and probably none in Europe
where so much water is used and wasted
represents a. maximum limit of daily con
sumption. The other extreme is fifty
| Ave gallons a day per Individual. This
economy is secured through the intro.