The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-12-02


and six months before September, 1900.
| when 1t will lose the Pequannoek sup
ply, and by allowing this extra time I9r or
| building, a very much lower DID Wouia
undoubtedly be received.
PENALTY.
In urging that the penalty be increased
/ from 5000 to $1,000 daily, His Honor mas
probably overlooked the fact, that when
the works near completion. the contractor
will have invested, and will be paying
interest on the whole cost of the works.
He will therefore be under the total
| penalty of $1,000 per day for every days
delay. If the city intended to pay on
account during the progress OF the work;
of course much larger penalty would
| be proper; but such payments are I'M,
possible. Your committee while satlshed
that the penalty now provided for IS
/ sufficient will not object to reasonable
| inerease, in the amount, but cannot con-
sent to recommend the sum of $1,000 per
diem. This would make the specifications
| impossible for unlimited competition.
| Next. as to the objection to the sec
| ton under abandonment of contract,
! it must have been made without proper
this is common to all important CON
| tracts. His Honor is entirely wrong IN
saying that this section means that II
the contractor shall abandon the WORK
/ the city shall complete it. II the con
| tractor abandonS his contract and 1alls
| to carry out it's provisions, the veriest
| tyro in the law knows that the contract
loses all its force in SO far as creating
an obligation for the city to perform ana
| if it chooses to do so, the city can ignore
| the contract and get water elSeWhere.
| But the clause in question simply gives
the city the power and right, If it shall
seem most expedient so to do, to make up
the unfinished work, and complete It
under new contract; the clause Sc
says land said Board shall
| tfereupon have power to relet the work,
| or any part thereof, and to complete the
ePhe The eng cty Would then have
| exactly the same right to relet or make
new contract for this purpose, that 1t now
/ has to make an original contract, should 1t
| elect so to do then, instead of throwing up
| the whole contract. In addition the city
would have a bond given by the contrac-
| dollars, and should the work be apan-
| doned the bond would be forfeited to the
! city. In any event the city would be en-.
| titled to damages for non-fulfillment OF
| contract equal to the loss it sustains by
the delay caused by the failure to com
plete the works. As a guarantee for the
payment of these damages 1t holds the
| bonds as already stated.
EFFECT OF COMBINING SOURCE OF
SUPPLY.
The suggestion that the source of sup
| ply should be entirely within the State of
New Jersey if adopted, would again con-
fine all bids to the R9ekaWaSy ,NiaS rdv Klver,
I ion for delivery at High Service at an ele-
walton of 21O feet would leave the city alb
| Water Company His Honor contends in
order to support this proposition, that it
| is absolutely necessary in order to give
power to prevent pollution of the water.
! The moment that the city begins to draw
| its supply from any of these streams it
| becomes riparitn owner OF the stream,
and the legislatures of all the States are
| continually enacting very sweeping laws
| for the protection of their waters from
| pollution. Moreover the pollution section
| of the specifcati tions is sufficiently strong
| to meet that objection.
| OBJECTION TO MINIMUM OF (2Q
| MILLION GALLONS.
oh mo hu
| fixing the minimum supply which the city
| agrees to take at 20 million gallons OF
pure water daily does not appear to
| have much force. 1t would certainly be
| unwise to compel the city to take more
| water than it might need, should it in
| stitute economies in consumption. We
| think His Honor does not understand the
| conditions under which such bids would
| be made up. The work as planned by the
tain amount of money. 1t is plain that
| the price per million gallons must be so
adjusted as to pay the interest on the
| mean higher price at 20 million gallons
| and a gradually decreasing price as the
amount used by the city increases. The
changing Of TINS minimum 1ha st eouid nave no no
| city, if the city should use 25 or 26
million gallons, daily. The price would
stated, and would not be any more for
| 25 million gallons, with minimum of
| twenty, than it would be for twenty-five
d
| ty-five million gallons.
RIGHT OF WAY.
AS to the width of right of way, GER
which is now public document, printed
and accessible to everybody, should have
been consulted by His Honor the Mayor
but the East Jersey Water Company al
lowed that city thirty-three feet.
This right of way must not only be
sufficient to allow at least two pines and
provide for slopes of cuts and embank-
| ments. but it should also provide an ample
gate houses, and sufficient room to allow
a new pipe at any time in the. future
when it shall be necessary to replace one
or both pipes when in use. There should
be talent enough in Jersey City, at least
with the assistance of two experts to de-
termine this necessary width without ap-
pealing to the city officials of Newark,
who had it determined for them by the
contractors (the East Jersey Water Com
pany).
mitted is hardly necessary-if the scale be
Zen miles to the inch it is as easy to fol-
low as if it Were but one mile to the
| inch.
The natural deduction from the line of
reasoning followed out by your commits
Honor the Mayor, is then, that to adopt
his suggestions would result in the main
in placing the city absolutely at the
mercy Of one of the water companies
We would suggest that it is our own ex-
perience that the only company now in a
| position to complete the works in the time
| suggested by him according to Plan A.
| which he APPROVES. with right of way for
| a pipe line already owned by them, of
width less than required by the specifica-
| tions heretofore adopted, running from
| point within easy distance of the Rocka-
way shed, into the city of Newark, and
in fact, to the Bellevue Water Works, the
only organized company able to meet
| with composure the penalty clause of one
thousand dollars per diem, the company
| which has always objected to the anti
| pollution clauses, and any freedom Of
| cope in the location of reservoirs is the
| one now furnishing the city with the tenn
| porary supply.
Your committee cannot and will not
| believe that the Mayor realized the effect
| his veto would have upon this matter
| or it would not have been signed by him
| 1t is with sincere regret that your COM
mittee view this new imposition which
| has been practiced upon him. Your com
mittee have been at work upon this mat
| ter and have had to deal with it for
| 1t is particularly unfortunate that the
suggestions made by him in his veto
| did not occur to him some seventy-fiye
| days ago when these specifications were
| placed in his hands by the experts en-
ployed by the Street and Water Board
| with the concurrence of your Board and
without any objection by him, or that
| he did not make them known to the
| Board of Street and Water Commission
ers and your Board when invited by both
| Boards to do so before their adoption this
| is especially unfortunate, in view of the
| fact that since 1898 the Mayor and the