The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-01-24


4 have said that, with proper economy.
4 ...us, .ne entire amount collected under the
/ i work ol. ef the Commissioners of Adjustment
/ the CITY debit. and now l am going a
i e step, , further and express belief that
/ the taxpayers Of this city during the
4 past ten years had been added to the re-
1 ceipts under the Martin Act. and the
/ City could have reduced her bonded debt
4 g a, shadow instead of maintaining 1t as
a. Increasing eio9d T. Justify this
\ Of the tax levy for the year ending Decem-
i Der !. 1885. with that for the year ending
4 for. several reasons. First. am familiar
i with the lines of economy on which the
| ilevysfo l 1855 was made. Second, because
I the city was that year obliged to. rely for
| Its, income almost wholly upon the taxes
/ collected from individual owners. the law
/ for the taxation of railroad and canal
1 property not having yet brought a single
| dollar to the city treasury. Third be-
| cause that year the amount received from
/ ltQuQr licenses was comparatively small
! the total amount received from all licenses
/ and fines amounting to but $62, 1877 Fourth
/ because the TAX levy for 1885 was. with
+ its date. on the consolidated city. Fifth,
+ because the present year Is the one , IN IN
alg ehH nn;nt y and nd IFS
penses exclusive of interest on the
bonded debD the highest figure yet at
The total amount levied upon the tax
/ payers Of Jersey City, for, all municipal
! purposes, for the year ending December
4 levied to pay interest and city bonds,
so that sthe net amount the taxpayers
/ We're called upon to 60 contribute that yea year
| was $f53, 459, the assessed valuation OF all
property being $64, l76, ,457.
Let US compare these figures with the
cost of municipal government for the
year ending December l, 1896 The
amount receivable from licenses has in
creased to $2i0, COO, and the amount receiv-
canal property has grown from nothing
to $225,090, a total increase of nearly
Speaking from a knowledge of the proper
cost of municipal government, say that
these additional revenues are. sufficient
to meet any increased necessities of our
Igovernment, and that there is no reason
/ to Justify the placing in the tax levy
ifof the present year any such amount as
dinary expenses. Every city must in
Grease It's expenses year by y y year but s
sala nereass e e. should ono De guarded py the
dent men in their personal affairs. In
+ 1885 the appropriation for all departments
ecounf) was $753, 49, For the present year
Fit is $,374,892 an increase of $621, 49, or
Aoyer eiahty per cent. need not. com
sbe understood as charging all the in
crease upon the present administration,
but am bound to notice that the salary
list for the year ending December l.
1896, exceeds the salary list for the year
ending December 1, 1892 by over, sl15,-
Qqo and an am m bound 1t, to further add that
cember i, 1892, was entirely too extrava-
CANT for our municipal proportions. J
am am stating 5ln facts. You may draw your
have not intended to reflect upon the in
tegrity. Of any man or set of men, and
have determined to be cautious to the
point of brevfty, lest my utterance should
flavor of partisanship. ] am not speak
ing as partisan, but as a citizen, in
whose advancement must be to my adj
q The city has received over 81, 100000
from the State since 1887. for taxes on
railroad and canal property, and over
million of increased revenue from license
fees: II you add to these the IS, 600, 900
and assessments, you will get an idea
oI What has been possible, in the way
OF debt reduction. since the. first of Jan
Larry. l8s7s and your appreciation of that
possibility will be enlarged when you add
to your premises the fact that the val
luation of the city. for taxation purposes,
cent. in the last ten years.
II speak because believe that Jersey
lished during the past ten years. BY
received from the compromise of taxes taxes
by Juggling with sinking funds, the
financial path for the. gentlemen in
q charge has as undoubtedly been made one
by living on our capital stock and not
on our income. The Martin Act will
fture nof supply pesh9ra Of funds for the
within her income, as the same is de-
fined HL d., in the tax levy, and that levy
Jigent economy This rv Being y done on iiitfle the
normal increase in ratables will admit Of
annual a reductions m Of the city debt, or of
ments without the further Issuance rps oso Of
bonds, WITHOUT further borrowing from
sinking funds.
am not pessimistic. Nature has been |
kind to US. She gave us the Hudson on
the he east sa and the Hackensaek on the west,
vitation as to the Hudson pass us BY un-
tn lts words We're heard and needed by |
Iorelgn corporations; we have only had |
spasmodlc aWakenings as to the river on |
the west. Nature gave US the Passaic. |
and we have watched its annually In
aMs of Naura a though w sss
a city. hall built on piling at a cost Of /
a million dollars. placing BY reason Of |
mountable barrier to the unification Of
our county under one municipal govern
ment: We have followed a financial
out merit, and we have expended mill |
IONS IN improvements" that did not
9mpr9ye aasge hears,,, we have, on more than one
\
now valued at over eighty millions. to |
the Keeping of those who had given no
evidence of capacity. All these things
nave we seen and done, and yet We
live, deserving to have died Let us he
cheerful that we live, and being cheer
ful. let us resolve that this town shall |
pc conducted on improved lines. All
tnal IS necessary to bring about good
government in any municipality is TO I
eeach its citizens to think; to refrain
from praising, for partisan purposes. nau.
nlclpai government that is not worthy Of
praise; Some day we will have good
nlunlcipat government, not only in Jer-
ssey City. but IN every municipality in
those things which are promised before
election and neglected afterward. Thai
some day" will arrive when the peo-
pie have learned that a municipalitv
worth living in is worth thinking about.
Mr.. McDermott's speech. aItholgh nm
= topic Which is hard to make inferesf
ng. was however listened to with fhe
Utmost attention and at its termination
ne was loudly applauded 1t was mas
.erly y array Of figures displayed in a
Wilder of New York, was a humor-
'us talk on every subject from The
apotheosis of Goo Gooisfn to a serious |
les In Venezuela and the TransvaaI
Mr Wilder put in a plea for Perfidious
albion and added that there would be
10 war because 1t was too expensive. He
'eferred to the growing pension list and
'ald that It costs about $3.50 600 per diem
% pay off the veterans. These fieures
I, loml NJ ne. he added, although. he had