The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-08-03

These amounts are still further increaS-
ed by the enforcement of the compulsory
legislation providing for full paid fire
department and by the creation of the
Board of Appeals and City Hall Commis-
the increase been due except in the case
of the Sinking Fund to higher salaries
but to more employees.
:. If we are to have complete fire and po-
lice protection we have to pay for it,
and every new school increases the cost
of the educational department. These are
increases that are to be expected and for
which every one is satisfied to pay. So
that of the increase of some $780, in the
salary account in 1S96-1S97 over 1S91-1S92,
to which you have recently called atten-
ton, some $114, 20S.2S is for the police,
fire and educational departments.
Your Honor's inconsistency continually
surprises us. AS has already been stated
you haye recently called public attention
to what you evidently consider an alarm
ing increase in the salary account of the
city, government and which has just been
acts was to appoint an Assistant Corpor-
alton Attorney at a salary of 81 800 per
annum thereby creating a new office
and an addition to the salary account
without any return to the city for the
expenditure. Neither the Corporation
Counsel or Attorney has asked for as
s3ssanee shaa er ana nc they they 40 not pretend that
believe that your Honor would attempt
to compensate anyone for political or
personal advantage by insisting upon
Your Honor's suddenly discovered oppo-
sltion to the parks is a. revelation to this
Board as warrants providing for the pay
ment for the land acquired We're signed
by you, after a lengthy investigation If
you were opposed to the purchase of the
park sites you could very easily have re-
1uSed TO sign the warrants or vetoed
them, as you are empowered to do by
Chapter CCCXXI, Laws of 1896 page 639
If we are to have parks the land must
be, purchased while it is not very yalu-
able. Do you think that the city could
afford, if Hamilton or Van Worst Parks
did not exist, to pay at the present time
land they. now occupy? In addition when
you consider that the land surrounding
these park sites is so enhanced in value
that the annual interest upon the bonds
issued fo rtheir purchase and the pro
vision for their redemption is more than
made up, the city is more than compen-
stated for the outlay.
In the matter of improvements the
answer to your charge that no provision
has been made for the portion of their
costs assessed upon the city is that until
it was carried by the assessment ac-
count Even at the present time it
amounts to some s16,0OO and will be pro-
vided for in the next tax levy, not so
startling a condition of affairs when the
truth is known.
As to your proposition that existing
below the amount fixed by those statutes,
we feel that we are not above the die
tation of the people of this city. The
was fixed by legislation and then ac-
cepted by popular vote. Our public school
teachers and principals are not well paid
and as rule, with a few certain excep-
tions, city officials are not overpaid, at
least those provided for in the tax levy.
When the tax levy is presented to your
Honor, if yoH desire to declare what each
official. fremen, policemen and school
teacher should be paid without regard to
the provisions of existing statutes, that
is your privilege. We must decline to so
endanger the legality of the tax levy.
We must also decline to involve the city
into such an era of useless and expensive
litigation. Such a proposition might have
been made more becomingly by a litiga-
ton seeking lawyer. Its absurdity is so
great that we decline to further discuss
it or your communication.
Respectfully submitted
HENRY BRAUTIGAM
JAMES S. BAILEY,
H. L. KELLERS
REUBEN SIMPSON.