The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-12-01
VETO CRITICIZED.
Board of Finance Will To.
night Defend the Water
Specifications.
MAYOR HooS ANSWERED
Report Will Say That His Houors
Suggestions, If Carried out,
Would iijare Jersey NJ

The Mayors veto to the water specifi-
cations will be taken up by the Board
of Finance at tonight's meeting, when
the Committee of the Whole will make an
exceedingly spicy report. This report will
criticize the Mayors objections contained
in his communication of November 10. In
a word the Finance Board will tell HIS
Honor that if these objections were in
cluded in the plans and specifications the
latter would be worthless and the city
would be driven into the arms OF the
East Jersey Water Company. This means
that on the water question the Boards or
Finance and Street and Water Commis-
sioners have joined issue with Mayor
Hoos
1t will be remembered that there were
three schemes proposed by Messrs. Ver-
meule and Ferris and approved by the
Boards of Finance and Street and Water
Commissioners, respectively A, B and c,
and they were
Il The supply of fifty million gallons
per day at an elevation of two hundred
and ten feet.
gallons per day at the same elevation.
III. The supply OF seventy million gal-
Ions per day at an elevation OF one nun
dred and tWenty-Seven feet.
The Mayor in his comments said at the
outset concerning these schemes =" Plans
A, B and c. 1 think the city should ad-
Vertise for what it wants. Plan A does
this, and 1 recommend that the other
plans be stricken from the specifications" "
His objection to Plan was summed up
in the simple word absolutely worth
less
The report to be made tonight takes up
this criticism and points out that on the
face of it to dismiss the TWO schemes u
and e. would be ridiculous and foolish
and would defeat the sound practice Of
permitting ali who had water to sell to
come in. Continuing, the report will show
that to follow the Mayors suggestions
respecting the right to purchase the plant
would at the present mean to impose
could not bear The specifications give
the city ample opportunity to purchase
the plant If desirable, so the report says;
but TO fence in and restrict, as the Mayor
suggested. would mean that in contract
ing for any. supply the city would be
compelled to buy the works, willy nilly..
The report will next take up the Mayor S
remarks about Bidders under Plan A. .
and show that the criticisms were abb
surd. His Honor found fault with this
paragraph, which he said ought to be
Stricken from the specifications:-"B Bid
t.ers under Plan A must also state a price
ior which the city can buy and own the
lands, right of way and all appurtenances
ard easements necessary TO fulfill the re-
quirements of this specification to the
extent of fifty million gallons of water
daily; said purchase to take effect on COM
pietion and acceptance of the works if
tie city shall give notice of its intention
to pdrehase within one year after date OF
contract"
One principal denunciation by the Mayor
respecting the specifications was that, in
his opinion, they were faulty because
they did not provide that the source of
supply should be wholly within the State
of New Jersey, and thus the State could
prevent any pollution of the water. The
Finance Board will tell the Mayor that
the speciiica tions empha tically declare
that the reservoirs must be in the State
and thus subject TO its control
Finally, the report will inform the May
or that his criticisms respecting the area
of watershed required, the amount of
storage necessary to be provided, the
character of the materials and the work
rnanship demanded are ill-advised and in
judicious. All these points were framed,
the report will say, with great care by
two experts. who knew what they were
doing, and that the city's interests>are
carefully protected throughout. To
amend the specifications, as suggested by
the Mayor, the report will say will mean,
to work great injury to the city, and for
these reasons the Board will reject His
Honor'S suggestions