The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-11-25
TEE JOURNAL" SCORED
Aldermen Resent Its State
ment That Money Was
Used to Pass the Pros
duce Ordinance.
THE MAYOR YEToEs THE LAW
He Says lis Effect Would Be To
Drive Trade Away for the
Local Dealers.

LVCdl OCdtUAcs
The Aldermen at their meeting last
night received Mayor Wanser's veto of
the produce ordinance. The message was
as follows
To the Honorable Board of Aldermen
Gentlemen-I herewith return without
my approval the ordinance passed by your
honorable Board at your meeting held
November 10. 1886, TO Wit
AN ORDINANCE
to regulate and license produce dealers.
The Mayor and Aldermen of the City
.-HJersey City do ordain as follows
lacte lection L That from and after the
= No ssage of this ordinance 1t shall not be
: sSvfui for any person or persons. COM
or corporation, to engage in the
business OF vending or selling al retail
'pfrom railroad cars, railroad yards, docks,
wharves OF boats, any meats. fish, .vege-
tables, fruit. bundlewood or general pro-
duce, without having first obtained a
license for that purpose.
Sec. 3. That such license shall be issued
on proper petition therefor, signed by the
applicant and at least six reputable free
holders. who shah certify 10 the nature
OF the business which the applicant pur-
poses to conduct. and the place where II
Is ~purposed TO conduct the same, which
petition h be accompanied by a license
dee OF S24a. That the license when granted
shall authorize the holde thereof to
conduct his business at the place or places
80 1l-+LaF y AAt HN& ABA VI 04G EtoA
from the date of issue of such license.
Sec. g. That any person offending
against the provisions of this ordinance
shall be subject TO a fine of twenty-five
dollars for each day that such person
shall continue to do business without a
license, provided that the provisions of
stores or to licensed vendors selling from
wagons or trucks upon the public streets.
Sec. a. That all ordinances and parts
OF ordinances inconsistent herewith, be
and the same are hereby repealed.
Prior to the enactment and adoption of
the 1889 Charter your Honorable Board
was the legislative body of our city gov
eminent. The Charter of 1889 and sub
sequent legislation have been directed in
SUCH q manner as to gradually deprive
your Board of these legislative functions
to such an extent that at the present
time your powers are confined to the
supervision of the necessary expenses in
granting OF trade, musician, liquor IL
censes. etc. The ordinance which 1 here
with return without approval has for its
OBJECT the imposition of an annual license
of $500 upon any person or persons, com
pany or corporations engaged in the bust
ness of vending or selling at retail from
railroad cars, railroad yards, DOCKS,
Wharves or boats, any meats, fish, vege-
tables, fruit, bundl wood or general
produces; it also stipulates a penalty of
80 per day for every violation of
operation all grocery storekeepers or
licensed vendors who sell from wagons
or trucks upon the public streets.
The latter provision might make It ap-
pear that by the enactment of this or
dlnance your Board was attempting to
protect the two GLASSES of business men
mentloned: the grocery store keeper and
licensed yender. If that We're so, the or
dinance itself defeats the purpose. It
rails to define the distinction between the
sale "at retaiT' of produce. fish. meats.
etc. and "at Wholesale" / cannot be,
lieve that this ordinance received at
your hands the mature consideration it
merited- Our city is so located geo
graphically that we are the terminus Of
nearly all the largest railroads of the
country. The advantage of that location
Is That we are in a position to obtain
OF the East at lower prices than other
cities. The effect of this ordinance to
my mind would be to restrict the en-
Joyment and benefits of that advantage
to our citizens. If the tax provided for
IN this ordinance be enforced, it is the
consumer who has to make it up to the
Vender in the increased cost Of the sta
PIES Tor the privilege of selling which
the latter is taxed. Governing bodies of
munlcipalltie should consider well the
erect and be slow to enact legislation
Wnleh directly or indirectly affects the
sale or purchase of commodities. To
my mind unnecessary Interference on the
part of political bodies with trades or
business problems should be avoided. My
consideration of it compels me to the be-
Ief that municipal legislation of the
character of that contemplated by this
ordinance cannot do otherwise than es-
tablish a precedent absolutely detrimental
TO every enterprise of a competitive ma
ture in the staple necessities in our city.
II IL was the intention of your Board or
81 the promoters OF this ordinance 10
drive trade away from our local
merchants. who deal in the articles
referred to therein and to compel our
citizens to deal with the merchants of
New York and of other adjacent cities
not only for these articles but for others.
no more cunning method OF producing
that result could lave been devised.
since It's passage by your Board not a
grocery S~torekeeper nor licensed vender,
elmer by letter or in person, has re-
9uested me to approve this ordinance.
On the contrary l am in receipt of numer-
Gus protests against il and have been
waited upon by many delegations of our
catizens who are opposed TO 1t. II has
peen the general complaint for years in
this city that our proximity to the great
metropolis has had a deterrent effect upon
the ability of our merchants and shop
keepers 10 control and retain the trade
OF our people. Those who have appeared
before me have contended that whether
u was clear to your Board or not the
erect OF the enactment of this Ordinance
would be to create a sort OF trust or
monopoly in the different branches Of
the trades affected by It, to the detri-
TAI, OF the consumer and even of the
grocery storekeeper and licensed vender
Inc opponents of this ordinance contend
TURNER that the great department stores
OF New York, of whose existence and
scope. you must be aware, work meal
culable injury TO storekeepers who dea,
Dniy in certain lines of goods, produce ar
merchandise. The press of this citv onIv
a lew weeks ago recorded the Intense
eppositlon with which a project, un-
aerstand it was only a suggestion. in
favor of the establishment of such a store
fn this city, was met in a meeting of oi,r
ioeai merchants. In line with that con-
~tention, consider what effect your ordi-
nance would have in the event that If
became operative upon those who can
now procure that merchandise or
those products at low prices in this civ
When The cost would be increased there.
Dy- The consumer who now has the ad-
santdge OF purchasing meat. fish, yege-
tables. fruit, bundle wood or general NO
luce from railroad cars. railroad yards
hooks, wharves or boats. at the low prices
Nhleh suit his purse, would then be COM
PEELED 10 go to these large department
stores in New York. where even now