The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-01-22

possible that 1t has buried its head too
deep in its ledger and day book, and fails
TO see how much larger and broader the
world is, and how much bigger humanity
Is than even business itself?
What You ask. is the remedy for this
apparent antagonisrn between business and
politics. Ny friends, as best / can see, il
follows the cid worn path of the, golden
rule, which IN laying down standard by
which we shall be guided in our dealings
With our fellow man, embraces our duty
lively
to the toast, New Jersey: Its Record as
State'' He took the place of Congress
man Pitney and his speech was short and
witty and we'll received.
Mayor Seymour came next and spoke on
"Our City: Newark" He said, in part
I'VE blow our horn very modestly in
Newark considering all there is here of a
substantial nature to speak of without
boasting. Yet our advantages are of the
solid. not the snowy, sort, and our prog
ress is steady and certain, not brilliant and
evanescent. Against a few imposing
buildings, plastered with mortgages, and
yielding a deficit each year, instead OF a
profit, such as characterize many unfor-
tunate towns, we can exhibit row after
row of comfortable dwellings, owned by
Industrious citizens, whose minds are at
peace because their debts are paid. It's
true we have no City Hall which we can
boast of as an architectural triumph, but
we have, in comparison with Chicago,
nearly one-third more school accommoda-
tions. in proportion to our population, and
are quite as liberal in the same line as
Boston.
Neither Philadelphia, New York,
Brooklyn nor any Eastern city will ever
be able to obtain a supply OF water as pure
or refreshing as that which we gather in
the uninhabited Pequannock Valley, and
send down by splendid system of aera-
ton over miles of rocks to the intake at
Butler. As to our debt and credit / have
frequently spoken before of these details
of our greatness. According to our Comp
trollers latest report, our obligations are
a little less than S11, 900, 600. Municipal
financiers have agreed that no city of any
size may safely issue bonds for more than
10 per cent. of its tax ratables.
Though 1 do not wish to cast any re-
Elections upon another municipality, 1t
ample ample of the short sighted policy in dis
regarding this rule. That city has even
greater natural and most 9f the artificial c
advantages OF Newark. IT is contmgu-
'front.' and is the terminus of many rail-
reads. Yet a big debt, aggregating $1S,-
ooo. .ooo and tax rate a Of nearly az three three
causes, combined to retard its growth
and restrict its prosperity to such an ex-
tent that it has been far outstripped by
'sBut we are first in the State, and there
is no danger that we will not remain in
the van. Annexation of our suburbs al
population. In my. humble Judgment we
ought to go. slow in this line, weighing
each proposition carefully A movement
to annex Orange and East Orange would
stand upon a very different basis from a
suggestion to extend our lines around
some struggling township, nearly desti-
tute of Improvements and meagrely
populated Our own citizens in some
of the outlying wards, notably the Tenth
Twelfth and Eleventh. have been paying
taxes into our treasury for years and
years and have as yet received only a
small return therefor. When all our
streets are paved, severed and lighted
when the city is properly patrolled at
night by policemen. and there is money
enough to clean every street each week
as it ought to be cleaned, it VIII be time
enough to offer the same advantages to
strangers who have heretofore provided
none for themselves. But our first duty
is to our own taxpayers. New York did
not begin the conquering of new worlds
until she had put things nearly to rights
at home, and New Yorlx's example in this
respect is a better one to follow than that
of Chicago