The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-08-03
CITY SOLVENT.
Board of Finance Replies
to Mayor Hoos'
Tocsin Letters.
ACERBI9Y AND ARITHMETIC
Cutting Criticism of His
Honor, and of Allan L.
McDermott as
His Ally.
THOROUGH FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
Tax Budgets and Tax Rates,
City Debt and Sinking Fund
Disseeted in Detail.
MARTIN ACT DOUBTS SETTLED
Charges of Extrayagance Repeiled
With An Array Of Figures
Assessments Not Inflated.
10n7 o
THE BUDGET OF 1878
warming Served on the Mayor That
He Must share the Responsible
fty for the Appropriations
In Their Final Form.

The Board of Finance met TINS MORN
ing AS foreshadowed in ''The News" the
Board approved the draft of its answer
to the letter in which Mayor Hoos at
tackled the citys whole financial system
Commissioner Midlige was at the meet
ing room, but when President Brautigam
called the Board to order he went out
His colleagues excused him, for the reason
that he is in no way concerned in the
controversy.
The report of the Committee of the
Whole and the Boards answer to the
Mayor are as follows:-
Hon. Board of Finance
Gentlemen-Your Committee of tne
cation dated July II. 1897, addressed 70
your honorable Board and signed Ed-
ward Hoos, Mayor" respectfuily report
that upon mature consideration we nave
determined that the document is sucn
remarkable one in its way as TO warrant
a reply from your Board, wnlcn we nave
prepared and herewith submit this report
When we were first apprised of the con-
tents of the paper referred TO, Wnlle en-
gagged in the transaction OF the BUSINESS
Of the meeting on July 14th last, II was
the sense of the four senior members OF
your Board, and so expressed that as
message from the Chief Executive II was
so peculiar in language, so pessimlstlc IN
tone, so lacking in the spirit o. civic
pride, SO pitiable an exhibition OF lgnor-
ance of the city government, SO mallc,paS- SaSs
of the present Board and so lnlmlcal 70
the credit and business honor of the city
that it appeared impossible OF Delle1 tnae
the present Executive could assume by
his signature the responsibility for It, In
our opinion it's Language, and matter are
more characteristic of the explosive Ut
terances of a defeated candidate for the
Mayoralty of some few years ago, alreaoy
publicly expressed, to whom time mas
brought no solace, but whom defeat ana
now attempts to delude under the cloak OF
the Executive signature. has so blinded
that he has refused to acknowledge the
existence of the era of local municipal
prosperity enjoyed by this city and his
fellow citizens during the last few years
because it has resulted from the admins
tration of a successful rival. His failure
to become the Moses to take the city out
of the wilderness of financial and munici-
embittered and warped his mind that he
refuses to believe that it has overcome
the storm of financial distress and has
brought safely into the harbOr of sound
financial prosperity by the advice and
through the efforts of another than him
self That such. result has been ac-
complished without him surprises his be-
lief -
When the Executive message of July "a
was first read to us, we were SO surprised
at its warlike tone, SO different indeed
from anything before expressed by the
present Executive to the members of your
Board, either by word OF mouth or IN
derstand whether he or we had been i'm
posed upon But the manifest ignorance,
document made it clear to our minds that
the imposition had been practiced upon
the Executive, and our first impulse was
to return the document for correction.
The whole trend of the statement being
so erroneous, we felt that it was prob
able that during the seventy-five days
mysticisms of municipal details. his
guide had not discovered to him The in
formation SO easy te obtain OBJ and which
the responsibility for such a message as
that presented to your Board. But the
enthusiasm displayed in sending forth its
contents to the corners of the earth by
carefully prepared and personally dellv-
cred copies to the daily local and even
metropolitan press compels the members
of this Board for the sake of the citys
honor and credit and out of consideration
for their individual regulations to spare
neither language nor the feelings of the
Executive, or his amanuensis in laying
before the public the truth in all its
nakedness and without play upon words,
sideration of municipal honor should be
foremost in our public actions and utter
ances. To defend that honor, we feel
to be a duty SO sacred that we would
/. trarnple down at any cost the ISLANDERS of
those base enough to prostitute it for any
temporary political advantage. We were
s indignant at the unwarranted manner in
which the most important body Of the
fore the bar of public criticism, without
any apparent reason. We will allow no
man to impugn our individual regulations
as honest business men, citizens and Off
cfals As Board and as individuals,
the welfare of the city is our pride, its
credit and prosperity our joy. Our busi-
ness interests, our homes and our pri-
waite fortunes are invested within its
confines. The official positions we hold
are not lucrative but honorable: we did
not solicit them, and many times the
ernolument could not recompense us in
financial way for the time and attention
devoted to its affairs, so that we have
come with deep regret to consider the
matter of this Communication of July A.
and have made our answer . narrative e TT Il,
fo flie Junior member Of this Board to say
that s.s we take it, while the communica-
tio5s wEs directed to the Board as O.