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

I ard Oil Company and the Sugar Trust.
Every manufacturing industry has been
driven away. or In obedience to the laws
lof commerce has been forced to seek
cheaper localities. Now, am not here
to say that the railroad companies ac-
Wtnont payns psee for Of h Il sy oa cg
for 1t two and three times over. There
| is between five and six hundred miles of
water front In the State. of New Jersey.
In Hudson county there is about twelve
miles. The total receipts for the lands
! under water have been $685. 600. and of
that amount they received from Hudson
county $S 665, 900. and of that latter amount
S2,9ol 900 from Jersey City or more than
one-half of the total. In fact when you
speak of the moneys received from ripar-
ian grants you may say Jersey City and
Hudson county furnished It all.
| Jersey city is now practically taken up
| with railroads, and every person that can
move away moves up on the hill. The
business section is still there and in the
course OF a few years it will come to be
nothing but business places and tenements.
And the time is coming when we of the
| hill will simply be shot down to the fer
| ries through narrow tunnels to get over
way of that progress. See the position,
though, that we are in in our city. Every
city has a period of growth. Camden has
| had it; Trenton has had it, Hoboken has
| had it, and when these sbooms come on
| and the land is taken up, the people re,
| joice The city proSpers, and especially ii
| the boom last long the lands are the great
| est development. The potteries are the in
| dustries of Trenton. But think of the po-
sition we are in In Jersey City. Our only
| line of development is in the line of rail-
| roads, and yet every new line of railroad
that comes into Jersey City, every piece
| of property that is taken up and improved
! renders the balance of the city so much
| the less valuable. 1t is taken out of our
tax rate The coming of the Lehigh Val
ley railroad which proposes to budld d.
| den on the land that remains
SO much greater. There is where
| the trouble comes in. In 1888 they
| had a wise old Governor in the State of
| New York who gave a charter to the City
| of New York, and in giving that charter
| he is remembered by the fact that the
| State of New York granted TO the City
| of New York all the water rights sur
rounding the city 1t is now a source of
| income of about $4,0O0000 a year. In Jersey
| City, the State instead OF granting 9hls
| property to Bt, has granted 1t to the var1-
GUS corporations. who have acquired the
| title to the upland adjoining. So long as It
| belonged to the State dt could not be taxed,
| but the moment it leaves the title OF the
| State it becomes part OF the city Why
| 1T is adding insult to injury to say TO Jer-
| sey City first we will sell that land away
| from you and take THE proceeds for the
| benefit of the State and you must give
| it fire and police protection forever and
| yet not collect a dollar Of taxes from 1t.
Now, gentlemen, do not be led away
| with the idea that the railroads develop
ed Jersey City; that the railroads have
know that it would have grown in spite
of them The period of greatest develop
ment in railroads was between the years
| 1885 and 1885, During that time the State
only grew IS per cent. Oh! but that's
| because Its in Hudson county, hear you
say. Do you know what Hudson county
| has grown? 81 per cent. in that decade
Here is the trouble. Jersey City is
| compelled to furnish terminf not for its
own use but for the western world In
Jersey City the main terminal properly OF pert
| 600. That is the terminal that Jersey City
1 has to furnish for the use of that great
| trunk lire. We have a local station for
| the Lehigh Valley Railroad which would
| furnish the entire accommodation for
Jersey City itself, and 1t is valued at
about S66, $780, So you see we furnish this
small sum for local purposes :, put 1s1 zoo Tor
I'VE are aiming. to make great ma
tion,, interposed Mr.. Derousse, mem
Der OF the committee.
Mr.. Edwards replied:-'eWe are aiming
to make a great nation, but we want to
have the great nation aid us in protecting
property. We do not want to be compel
of the world in Jersey City. We do not
ask If they are willing to pay their fair
share of the government of our city.
They are welcome and we are perfectly
property as any other part of the State.
But it is an injustice when we are COM
PEELED to furnish out of our docks ter
| mini for the benefit of the Mississippi
Valley 81, 900, 900 of a single railroad.
II remember when this Railroad Tax
alton Commission was appointed by Cover
| nor Griggs. -Four of the gentlemen came
to Jersey City, thinking we were simply
calamity howlers. But before they came
away they had their eyes opened and they
all agreed that Jersey City is entitled to
the whole of the tax upon the second
class property.
'Rennember one thing, Jersey City does
not want this money because the State is
rich and Jersey City is poor. We won't
take 1t on that ground. We don't want you
to give 1T to US unless you think we are
entkled to 1t. But think can show you
that the State can easily give 1t up, with
out feeling the loss very much. I have.
been travelling about the State House here
for some fifteen or sixteen years and
used to have an idea that New Jersey was
economically governed But do not think
so now. And want to call your attention
State can afford to give up this s2o5 900.
Why, 1T could afford to do it If 1t did not
have a dollar in its treasury, for there
never was a State that could mot afford to
attention to how the State does
its business. You know in munici-
palities, when they start to make
| up tax levy, they figure up how much
money tney nave 5VL W SpSirl diiu 3uiieii
they vote for it. But that is not the way
that Bt is done in the grand old State of
New Jersey. In New Jersey they figure up
we are going to get 80 much from rail-
roads, so much from miscellaneous cor
porations so much from collateral inherit-
ance tax, ETC., we are going to get SO
much altogether, and then they start at
once to spend it. In 1884 the State of New
Jersey raised 81 ,066, 600 and she spent it.
She spent $1,120000 In 1885. In 1886 she
raised 81. 900. She was entirely equal to
she raised 81, 900 and she spent 81, 7S0 900.
In 1895 she raised 500 and she spent
| 50, ,269. .000."
sIs that the year the Jersey City Ar
mory was built?" asked Chairman Roll
of the committee.
Mr. Edwards responded:-'I do not
know. I think any city that wants an.
armory should build it itself. 1t does not
make any difference what the excuse IS,
the question is what is the right thing
to do. Since 1884 the expense of the gov
ernment of the State has increased 102 per
cent. The State has grown al little over
80 per cent and the extravaganza has
grown over 70 per cent. Now all that is
needed is that the State shall live within
its income for a year or two and they
can spare this $205, 900 without any trouble.
In 1885 the population. of the State was
| 1278 900 and in 1895 it had grown to /, ,672 =
| 900. In 1885 there were in Jersey City.
15S, 900 people, and in 1895 there were 1870 600.
| In 1885 the expenses of Jersey City were
| 50, ,06S, 900 and in 1895 they were So, ,772 900.
The State has grown 80 per cent. and its
expenses have increased 102 per cent;
Jersey City has grown is per cent. and
her expenses have grown "a per cent.
R11t in that 34 Der cent. at least 16 has