The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-12-18

posals which do not require competitive
bids upon the same definite basis.
That your attitude favoring thorough
study and investigation of all available
sources and methods of supply, with
municipal ownership of works as the end
in view, and eschewing all relations to
syndicates and promoters, has commend
ed itself fully to the people of Jersey
City is my sincere conviction.
When you have crushed as l belleve
you will, the present attempt to thWart
your purpose to serve the city's best
interests, those most deeply concerned
in the city's welfare will not fail to ac-
cept your leadership in a practical move
ment to provide supply of pure and
wholesome water.
1 enclose you a memorandum which
gives my idea of the status of this queS-
tion.
Yours truly,
THoS. MEWAN, Jr.
INCLOSURE.
l. Jersey City, to protect itself against
the water syndicates, should accept the
"Act to enable cities to supply the in
habitants thereof with pure and whole
some WATER passed April q, 1876. That
act having been first assented to by
majority of the legal electors, the city
authorities will be in a position to exer-
else their discretion as to the WlseSt
course to pursue in order to attain the
end of providing and maintaining a sup
ply of pure and wholesome water. The
apprehension that the act permits the
by workmen carried upon the city's pay
rolls, or allows the purchase of mate
rials and allotment of contracts with
merely nominal competition or none, is
unfounded. The act provides safeguards
in this respect quite as stringent as those
of the city charter itself, except for the
compensation of engineers to direct the
work no expenditure of over five hundred
dollars can be made otherwise than by
contract. Section of the Act reads as
follOws:-
Sec. 5. That whenever any work to
be performed or materials to be fur
nished under the provisions of this
act may involve an expenditure OF any
sum exceeding five hundred dollars,
the said Boar0 of Aldermen, Councu
or other legislative body OF said city
shall designate time when they will
meet, at their usual place of meeting,
to receive proposals In writing Tor DO
ing such work or furnishing such ma
teriais, as the case may be, and shall
thereupon order the clerk or some
other officer of said city to give no
tice thereof, by advertisements put up
in ten of the most public places or
the said city, and by advertising the
same in one or more newspapers print
ed and published in said city, at
least two weeks before the time OF
such meetings, which advertisements
shall specify the dimensions and quail
ity of the work to be done or mate
rials to be furnished: that all such
proposals shall be publicly opened in
the presence of those who choose to
attend: that not more than one pro-
posal shall be received from any one
person for the same contract, direct
ly or indirectly, and that said body
shall be empowered to reject any or
all of said proposals, and to advertise
for new proposals, and to accept such
as shall, in the opinion of a majority
of said body be deemed most advan-
tageous for said city; provided, the
contract for such work and materials,
when awarded, shall be awarded to
h
and compel the performance OF all nee
essary and proper contracts for the
doing of such work or furnishing such
materials Gen. Stat, 64S)
2. The present joint control exercised by
the Board of Finance over the expendl-
tura of money and the making OF con-
tracts for, work and materials py tne
Water Board will remain IN fulI force
as check to extravaganza and corrup-
tion in contracts for the construction OF
water works under the Act OF 1876 Ihe
executive powers conferred by that acI
are vested in the Board OF Aldermen.
Council or legislative body of any city
which shall adopt the act, and 1t alse
provided that any city now owning water il
works, may enjoy iand exercise al the
powers conferred by the act SO far "a, as
the same may be applicable, and with
no other restrictions than are therein
contained and specified. The described
Board Act of 1891, transferred in first
class cities to the Street and Water
Board. and in Jersey City (under the de-
cision of the Supreme Court IN van
Reipen VS.. Jersey City, the control OF the
water Department is now lodged in the
Board of Street and Water Commission
ers and the Board of Finance. The Court
held in that case as follows
Bv the act of 1874 p. sos, sec. 8, the
Board of Public Works of Jersey City
cannot make contract for the pay
ment of any sum of money which ex-
ceeds $1,000 without the concurrence
d. 1ofL ,aan md
The department in Jersey City IN
which, at the time of the. passage OF
the act of 1888, control of the water
supply was lodged, was the Board or
Public works and the Board of Fi-
nance and Taxation. GAIL Rep. Vol.
33, p. 74)
Section of the Street and Water Board
act, provides as follows:-
Sec. 2. That the board of :, said
street and water commissioners here
in provided for, in any city aforesa1o,
shall be substituted for and become
vested with and shall perform AL the
powers rights, duties and authority
as are or may be by law vested in
and imposed upon, or exercised by
the Board of Aldermen. Common Coun-
ell or other governing body or board
of such city respecting the con
troll, operation, construction, repair
maintenance of public water works
and the public water supply and dis
tribution, sale and use of water. (Gen.
Stat, p. 46S)
8. The power to issue bonds to carry
out the purpose of the act of 1876 Origin
ally limited to $4,000, but increased by
the supplement of 1877 to S1,000,000) was
enlarged by the act of April !, 1895 (P. L..
1895, p. 1862, so as to permit bonds to be
issued and sold to the extent that may
be necessary for the procuring of an ade-
quate supply of pure and wholesome
water, but upon the condition that any
issue of bonds under the act should first
be assented to by majority of the legal
electors of the city. The direct ratification
by a majority of the legal electors being
a condition precedent to the validity of the
obligation, it is plainly impossible that an
excessive bonded Indebtedness should be
surreptitously created. The doubts of
some persons as to the suf1icency of this
by the following expression of the N. J.
Supreme Court IN Green " Cape May; II
Vroom, 45.
The rule that an express grant of
power carries with 1t a grant of those
powers necessarily or fairly implied in
or incident to the power expressly
granted is indisputable. q Dillon on
Nun. Cor, 1st ed, par. 55.)
A. BY proceedings under the act of 1876,
in its own name and in its own interest
exclusively, the city will be in position
to exercise the power of eminent domain
conferred upon it in that act, and again
by the act of 1895 (P L. 1895, p. 769). 1t
has been contended that the city could
delegate it's power of condemnation to a
contractor for furnishing q water supply,
as was done by the City of Newark in the
case Of the Pequannock Aqueduct and ap-
proved by the Supreme Court in Singer
lsnd VS.. Newark (2S Atl Rep, 129}. But
the power of eminent domain does not ex-
tend to the taking of property for private