The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-01-16

Anoshsr East Jersey Cold brick.
As such propositions go. the one made
BY the East Jersey Water Company to
the street and Water Board. yesterday,
Is intended to be fair. 1t is the effort OF
men who feel they are in a hopeless
plight to ave something out of the wreck
OF their enterprise, and who feel that the
only way to do it is by getting up an APP
pearance Of excessive generosity.
There is, however, nothing Of the least
advantage to Jersey City in the PROPOSE
tons made. Taking these at their full
face value-and circumstances would JUS
tify the biggest kind of d~iscount-we are
not offered a full supply until some time
in the fall of 1896, that is to say, we are
told we will get the new water just about
the time we cease to need 1t. After en-
during the summer horrors Of the Pas
safe. We will be taxed for Pequannock
right at the time when Passaic becomes
disable for a period of nine months.
Meantime we are asked to pay $40 a mill
lion gallons for all the ~Peouannock water
which the Company voluntarily fur
nishes in Hudson County, and which we
use ourselves. and s4s a million gallons
for so much of it as we sell to other mu-
nicipalities. This is how this proposition
would fgure out. We are getting about
eight million gallons a day, 1t is alleged.
OF this we sell about $500, 900 to Bayonne,
Harrison. and Kearny, and we are to pay
for it s4s a million, or about $50 a day.
The rest 9, 500, 900, more or less, which we
use. is to cost us at the rate Of so a mil
lion, or $50 a day. Thus we are to pay
$40 a day. or sS7. 800 q year.
But as we must keep on pumping L.
0oDy 900 gallons a day, and maintain our
High Service plant at its full activity. the
saving on the present rate of expense can
hardly exceed 10000 a year chiefly on coal
and oil. The net increase in the cost of
our water supply, therefore. would pc
about $s7. 900 a year.
And what would we get for it?
A mixture of eight parts of pure water
to fifteen Of Psssaic mud.
All said that can be said, the question
remains whether this new offer is made
in good faith for the purpose which APP
pears on its face. If the document reads
correctly, and it was printed yesterday
from typewriter copies, furnished from
Messrs. Collins & Corbin's Office, the Com
pany guarantees to at once construct a
pipe which will bring 5o.0oo.o 900 gallons to
Belleville without fail. This seems to in
voiye the immediate abandonment of the
pending negotiation with Newark for the
construction of a much larger pipe, half
the cost of which was to be paid by that
city. Is the Company taking this step on
the mere hope of supplying Jersey City
from year to year for two or three years
at most.
There are some other suspicious points.
We are now told that Newark is using
At mcst 5000 900 q day. Last week Mr..
Hirschel seemed to think she was using
TAR more Thar her legitimate 27.5O0,00C
gallons. He thought that If she were
confined to that amount she would have
to pump Passaic.. It looks as If Mr..
Hirschel told a lot of awkward truths
on that memorable OCCASION, and some
of the latter figures are painfully like
-~..ssaa ,,araaifv
Only one thing is unmistakable, the
bitterness of the Company towards New
ark. That city has been cruel enough to
insist on the literal fulhllment OF its
contract, and so the Company is willing
to do an~ything-eyen give us the water
free--to spite it. Perhaps this may CIV
our officials light as to what we might
expect when we came to insist upon our
pound Of flesh.
The duty Of the Mayor and the Boards
IN the premises. is emphatic. They
should insist on the annulment of the
contract the moment there is a legal de.
fault from Its terms. In the meanwhile
they should decline all embarrassing IA.
vors, with thanks.
k<4Tra 4xA.ounanx ttCnart Hoaanrof ~