The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-10-14

DR. AIN The MARSHES
Engineer Vermeule's Sug-
gestions for Retaining
the Meadows for Pub
lie Improvements.
WOULD DANISH THE 'sKEETBR"
Paper Read Before the Newark
Board Of Trade Last Night
Practical Ideas.
WOULD DANISH THE 'ssKEETBR

meuie, one of the experts who recently
drew up the specifications for a water
supply for Jersey City, made an address
before the Board of Trade of this city
last night on the best way of retaining
the marshes between Jersey City and
Newark. There was a representative
gathering present who thoroughly appre-
eiated the very interesting speech.
Mr.. Vermeule in opening pointed out
| that Newark had grown with marked ra-
pidity in population and wealth. 1t now
has a population of 10000 and ranks as
the seventeenth city of the Union, this
rank being higher now than at any time
in the first half of the century. Attention
was also called to the fact that a greater
Newark exists today in fact, comprised
of communities Immediately contiguous
and having common interests with a total
population of $50 1000 and ranking as the
eighth city of the Union. Then coming
| to the main subject he said
Lying between the Orange Mountains
and the Hudson River and extending from
Elizabeth northerly to Hackensack, a dis
/ trict twelve miles wide by eighteen miles
long, contains one million inhabitants.
This we will designate as the metropolitan
district of New Jersey. As it is growing
not from one but from a score OF centers,
and has great natural advantages, with
| excellent facilities of communication with
the business centre of New York, 1t shows
the rapid rate of forty per cent. increase
each ten years. If we would maintain
| this great prosperity in the future we
must exercise the same keen foresight
which has built up the admirable system
of wharyes, the parks and other public
works of New York city. Such a policy
| will shortly build up in New Jersey a very
respectable rival of the great metropolis
across the Hudson.
"While we are in advance of the time
when consolidation of this whole area into
| one city is advisable or wise, problems
like that of the Hackensack meadows
Improvement, the publication of the Pas
| sale, the establishing of an adequate sys-
tenn of parks and the future water supply
of the district are arising and will con-
| tinue to present themselves, which it will
be found more and more necessary to
handle comprehensively. Similar con-
ditions about Boston have resulted in the
| establishment of metropolitan commits
sions created by the State to carry out
general systems of public works and
assess the cost upon the communities
benefited. This is entirely different from
| State aid, the cost of the work being paid
for as they hould be by the munich
palities.
THE tide marshes extend right through
the heart of his metropolitan district in
a broad belt four miles wide; a worthless
tract of 27,000 acres, unsightly, unfit for
habitation, cutting off business from the
water front. breeding mosquitoes and in
viting manure piles and similar nuisanees.
| On account of its very fatness, if this dis
trict should be improved. 1t would be adj
mirably adapte to become the ommer-
cial and manufacturing centre of the
metropolitan district.
ITO illustrate the possibilities of the
marshes let us take the case of Newark
alone. The city includes about 1900 acres
of upland and 1000 acres of tide marsh.
The upland Is pretty well occupied. The
Improvement of the tide marsh will. add
fifty per cent. to your available territory
and a larger percentage to your future
possibilities. Your water front already
occupied measures about three and one,
half miles. Improve the eadow and
you add five and one-half miles of better
frontage, with an abundance of level land
adjacent thereto where large factories
may locate and have shipping facilities
both by rail and water, This new water
frontage lies on the average as near the
sea as the West Shore docks at Weehaw-
ken. as Fifty-ninth street, New York, OF
as Hunters Point on the East River. AL
the , equally accessible and available
water frontage about New York is now
occupied. There exists a channel depth OF
80 feet at mean low water to within two
and one-half miles of the city limits. and
of Is feet practically up to the southern
the channel and water front so as to Sc
cure IS feet at mean low water is entirely
feasible.
quire this frontage Immediately and i'm
prove it as. fast as wharves can be leased
it was pointed out how profitable a
has been. To illustrate how Comparatively
easy 1t is to effect such an improvement
the improvements of the Clyde by tbs
city of Glasgow was cited. There 1t had
been necessary to improve sixteen miles
of river against two or three miles in the
case of Newark, and there the Original
whereas the present depth along the
Newark water front is 10 feet. The i'm.
provement of the Clyde has made 1t pos
to the docks of Glasgow and has bull
that city up from a POPULATION of 7,O0(
Inhabitants to over 500, 000. The improved
Clyde is only. about one-third the width Of
XII Won Kun.
Improve your meadows and make then
habitable; bring your city down to the
Newark take its place as a seaport. 1t is
worth while ever to be able to reach BY
water the markets and shipping points Of
fifteen nun miles Of the New York City Hall
The water front of New York and Brook.
lyn Is becoming too valuable and the
available space too limited for large fac
tories. 1t IS time hat the water front o.
Newark Bay, the Passaic and Hacken'
sack Rivers is put into condition to re
ceive the overflow, or these Industries may
be driven to more distant points.
But in order to make this water from
valuable or to create a market for an i'm.
portant part of the tide marshes we mus
first ~inaugurate wholesome sanitary con
ditions and Danish the mosquitoes ovel
the whole meadow district. thereby in,
spring confidence in the future. This may
best be done by embanking the marshes
SO as to exclude the tides. constructing
the water by sluices at first and by pump
ing after the marshes are shrunk. Steps
should then be taken Immediately to havs
the whole brought into cultivation, a.
least to the extent of converting then
into grazing lands. This was urged no
as an agricultural measure. but to ge
rid of the present stagnant poolseof water
and rank growth of worthless vegetation
~establish wholesome sanitary condition.
occupants. The cost of the necessar.
works for the whole district was esti
mated atone and one-quarter million dol
lars. or $47 per acre. Having made thu
district attractive 1t was urged that It'll
further Improvement would largely TAKE
care of itself; that this preliminary i'm
provement would place It practically o.
Ultimately d belt three or four hundred
feet wide along the water front shoult
be filled up level with the docks, but thi.
need only be done as the wharves are con
structed and as a market is obtained fOl
the property. This broad belt or films