The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-07-10
FINANCIBRS HELD Up.
Street and Water Board Make
Requests for Money Right
Away Quick.

The Finance Commissioners were caught
in a nice trap yesterday afternoon by the
Street and Water Commissioners, but
with characteristic diplomacy they man
aged TO wriggle out of it in a very credit
able manner The conference on the
South Cove matter had just ended when
Street and Water Commissioner Heintze
rose, and turning to the Financiers, said:
Il haven't got any money to pay off the
laborers on the streets. I ask for $500
for the Steuben street sewer. It's brok-
en- in three places and it must be repaired
at once. 1 would ask you gentlemen to
give me $4,000 out of the license money
TO repair the streets. I am short on last
months payroll, and will be on this, and
if you don't give me the money will
have to turn the men off tomorrow
night
Mr.. Reuben Simpson was the first one to
recover himself from this official hold-up,
and he assured Mr.Heintze that President
Brautigam had said that it would be all
right. "a
THAT is, so far as the sewer is con-
cerned,'' persisted Mr.. Heintze, hopping
his brow with his handkerchief. That
money will come out Of the emergency
money; but do ask for the $4,000
Commissioners Simpson and Bailey as
sured the Commissioner that his request
would be considered at next weeks meet
ing Then when that subject was dropped
Commissioner Hauck threw his bomb.
He, too, wanted money, not for sewers,
however, but for seats in the parks.
There were no seats and at this time it
81
Street and Water Board had neither seats
nor money to buy them. Wouldn't the
Board of Finance graciously open their
purse strings and spare a little for seats?
Where are benches you had last year?''
asked Mayor Hoos.
Mr.. Haucl said they were sent to the
citys stables to be painted, but We're all
broken and useless President Boltwood
corroborated this and said, with much
warmth, that it was a crying shame that
the city should allow women carrying ba-
bies backwards and forwards through the
parks and no seats for them to rest on
during these hot nights. 1t made his,
Mr.. Boltwood's, heart sore to see it.
Isn't it fact that men occupy these
seats exclusively" asked the Mayor.
President Beltwood replied that there
were so few seats that they couldn't
Then turning to Mr.. Simpson he
asked if the Finance Board couldn' t
transfer $500 to buy seats.
81 understand, Mr.. Boltwood," inter-
posed Mr.. Midlige, that you have an ap-
preparation left over. Couldn't you utilize
some of that?"
Commissioner Nolan hastily replied that
the sum alluded to had not vet been de-
termined. They didn't even know If they
had surplus.
Then Finance Commissioner Reuben
Simpson proceeded to disillusion the
minds of the gentlemen of the Street and
Water Board as to the belief that the FL
nance Boards purse was like that of
Fortunatus. That belonging to the city
unfortunately had a limit and that limit
had been nearly reached. Mr. Simpson
then made the comforting statement that
the city was loaded down to the last
notch with temporary loan bonds. and he
and his colleagues couldn't see their way
clear to appropriate any more money un-
less the taxes had to be issued, and then
the people would kick. The Financiers,
he said, had a hard problem to solve to
make both ends meet, and it was a mis-
take to suppose that they had money to
burn.
Commissioners Bailey and Kellers en-
dorsed their colleagues views, and as
sured the Street and Water Commissions
ers that their requests will be considered
at next weeks meeting. The $500 will be
given out of the license money and the
people will get their seats