The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-12-07

dIIU EIA IHGHLI5 UEIOTE 5EpLGI1DET I900,
when It viii lose the P~equannock sup
ply, and by allowing this extra time for
building, a very much lower bid would
undoubtedly be received /
In urging that the penalty be increased
from 900 to $1,000 daily, His Honor has
probably overlooked the fact, that when
the works near completion. the contractor
VIII have invested, and will be paying
Interest on the whole cost Of the works;
penalty of $1,000 per day for every days
delay. II the city intended to pay on
account during the progress of the work..
" course d nlucn iafsef pehalty Woulu
be proper; but such payments are inn
possible. Your committee while satisfied
that the penalty now provided for is
sufficient win not object to a reasonable
increase, in the amount, but cannot con-
sent to recommend the sum of $1,000 per
diem. This would make the specifications
impossible for unlimited competition
Next, as to the objection to the sec
tion under abandonment of contract"
it must have been made without proper
study of the section. Such a clause as
tracts. His Honor is entirely wrong in
saying that this section means that if
the contractor shall abandon the work,
the city shall complete it. If the con-
tractor abandons his contract and fails
to carry out its provisions, the yerfeSt
tyro in the law knows that the contract
loses all its force in SO far as creating
an obligation for the city to perform, and
if it chooses to do so, the city can ignore
the contract and get water elsewhere.
But the claus in question simply gives
the city the power and right, If it shall
seem most expedient so to do, to take up
the unfinished work, and c2npiete II
under a new contract the d CLAUSE shs9
thereupon have power to relet the work,
or any part thereof, and to complete the
same at the cost and expense OF the
contractor The city would then nave
exactly the same right to relet or make
new contract for this purpose. that 1t now
has to make an original CONTRACT, should II
elect so to. do then, instead of throwing up
the whole contract. In addition the city
would have a bond given by the contrac7
tor in the sum of five hundred thousand
dollars, and should the work be aban-
doned the bond would be forfeited to the
city. In any event the city would be en-.
contract equal to the loss it sustains by
the delay caused by the failure to COM
plete the works. As a guarantee for the
payment of these damages it holds the
bonds as already stated:
The suggestion that the source of sup
ply should be entirely within the State OF
fine all bids to the eRockaway River,
which We have seen. oupled with provis-
ion for delivery at High Service at an ele-
walton of 30 feet, would leave the city alb
solutely at the mercy of the East Jersey
Water Company. His Honor contends in
order to support this proposition, that it
is absolutely necessary in order to give
power to prevent pollution of the water.
The moment that the city begins to draw
/ us supply from any OIL THESE STREAMS II
becomes a riparian owner of the stream,
and the legislatures of all the States are
continually enacting very sweeping laws
for the protection of their waters from
pollution. Moreover the pollution section
OF the specifications is sufficiently strong
to meet that objection.
MILLION GALLONS.
The objection made by His Honor to
fixing the minimum supply which the city
agrees to take at 20 million gallons of
water daily does not appear to
nave much force. 1t would certainly be
unwise to compel the city to take more
water than it might need, should 1T in
stitute economies in consumption. We
hin His Honor does not understand the
conditions under which such bids would
be made up. The works as planned by the
bidder would call for an outlay of a GER
tain amount of money. 1t is plain that
the price per million gallons must be 50
cost of the works. This would simply
mean a higher price at 20 million gallons
amount used by the city Increases. The
changing of this minimum could rave no
possible effect on the cost to the
mil million gallons d daily. The Price Would
be determined entirely as we have
stated, and would not be any more for
twenty, than it would be for twenty-five
million gallons, with a minimum of TWEEN
ty-five million gallons.
RIGHT OF WAY.
As to the width of right of way, GER
tainly a copy of the Newark contract,
which is now a public document, printed
been consulted by His Honor the Mayor
before making such criticism. There is
no width named in the Newark contract,
lowed that city t~hirty-three feet.
This right Of way must not only be
sufficient to allow at least two pipes and
provide for slopes of cuts and ernbank-
ments, but it should also provide an ample
roadway for delivering material, room for
gate houses. and sufficient room to allow
a new pipe at any time in the future
when it shall be necessary to replace one
or both pipes when in use. There should
be talent enough in Jersey City, at least
with the assistance of two experts to de-
termine this necessary width without APP
pealing to the city officials of Newark,
who had it determined for them by the
contractors (the East Jersey Water Com
pany).
The uniform scaling of the maps sub
mitted is hardly neeessary-if the scale be
ten miles to the inch it is as easy to fol-
low as if it were but one mile to the
inch.
reasoning followed out by. your commit
tee, in considering the objections of His
Honor the Mayor, is then, that to adopt
his suggestions would result in the main
in placing the city absolutely at the
mercy OF one of the water companies.
We would suggest that it is our own ex-
perience that the only company now in a
position to complete the works i'll the time
suggested by him according to Plan A,
WHICH ne APPROVES, Win a rlSAI OF way Tor
a pipe line already owned by them, of a
width less than required by the specifca-
tions heretofore adopted, running from a
point within easy distance of the Rocka-
way shed, into the city of Newark, and,
in fact, to the BeneVille Water Works, the
only organized company able to meet
with comp0suFe the penalty clause of one
thousand dolars per diem, the company
which has always objected to the anti
pollution clauses, and any freedom of
scope in the location of reservoirs, is the
one now furnishing the city with the tenn
porary supply.
Your committee cannot and will not
believe that the Mayor realized the effect
his veto would have upon this matter.
or it would not have been signed by him.
1t is with sincere regret his your com
mittee view this new imposition which
has been practiced Upon him. Your COM
mittee have been at work upon this mat
ter, and have had to deal with it for
several Years, he, for a few months.
1t is particularly unfortunate that the
suggestions made by him in his veto
did not occur to him some seventy-fve
days ago when these specifications were
placed in his hands by the experts en-
pleyed by the Board of Street
and Water Commissioners with the
without objection from him, or that
he did not make them known to the
Board of Street and Water Commission
ers and your Board when invited by both
Boards to do SO before their adoption, this
is especially unfortunate, in view of the
fact that since 1888 the Mayor and the
two Boards whether they agreed poiiti-
cally or not, have conferred upon this
matter, and have taken action according