The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-01-26

ing this and the cost of storage to the
Rockaway and Hudson bid we get
total of S1,336, 500 for the cost, at the
Rockaway and Hudson rate Of works of
the same capacity as those accepted, or
nearly $S5o,00o more than the accepted
pany would have bid as low as the East
Jersey If they had bid on one conduit.
What they must really have had in mind
was the saving of interest on the above
sum of $l062. 800, representing difference
on cost of conduits and storage. Said
interest amounts to over S63, 900 yearly and
might aggregate in all million of dol
lars saved to the contractor, yet his price
for water delivered is $40 per day higher
for every day of the contract period This.
disappointed bidder has made large claims
as to what he could have done If he had
bid on a single pipe line, but there is
no evidence in his bid to support these
statements
Now, let us see about the danger of one
conduit instead of two. Mr.. Rafter cites
several cases to prove that water works
are always built with a double line Of
pipes. I am more than surprised at some
OF his assertions. Among others he says
that the supply of the City of Rochester
from Hemlock Lake is by duplicate pipe.
Mr.. Rafter claims to be specially conver-
SAINT with this supply. Why did he not tell
US frankly the facts. namely, that the
Rochester water works were planned in
1872 and completed in 1876 with single
pipe line 27 miles long, and this single pipe
line served the city until 1894, when new
why did he not say that for IS years the
City of Rochester had depended upon
single line of pipe, with no difficulty as
to cutting off of supply? He cites also
the City of New York, but no one doubts
that the old Croton aqueduct was complet-
ed in 1912, and that the City of New York
depended upon that aqueduct alone for 90
years, or until her population reached one
and one-han millions with no serious in
terruption of her supply. Again, he cites
the City of Boston as having two aque-
ducts. Can anyone doubt that Mr.. Rafter
knew that the Coscituate aqueduet was
built in 1S48 and was the only line the
city had until 1878, or thirty years after
wards, and that she meanwhile suffered
no serious interruption of her supply? do
you doubt that Mr.. Rafter knew that the
large and growing City of Syracuse, next
his own City of Rochester has just COM
pleted new water works With single line
of pipe II miles long? Although he says
that the common practice is to construct
the conduit line in duplicate Mr.. Rafter
was fully aware that such practice is not
the rule but the exception. until towns be-
come very large and wealthy.
pipes if she had cared to pay for them;
The East Jersey Water Company offered
two pipes instead of one on this plan
from the Rockaway head-waters at an
additional expense of one million dollars
Mr.. Rafter's own estimates show that
the double line. would cost ss0Q,oOe mere
it is wise for your city to incur this ,eN-
pense, unnecessary at this time, when
your complaint is that the cost of the
saagis beagrs' pipe y 100 'Au'n io' 'n' 'i's "
Passing some minor points. this is the
next interesting section of the report:-
Again Mr.; Rafter says, En- ,Engineers of 9f
worked out methods of procedure, which
when faithfully followed lead to salts
factory results. The specifications in
cepted engineering practice OF the day.
Evidently in his hurried examination
that this method of obtaining a supply
by paying for the water delivered inro
the city reservoirs is an entirely new
not a single precedent for advertising
openly for bids for such supply: New
ark and other towns have obtained a
supply by private contract, so that this is
the first case where specifications con-
forming to the present conditions in New
Jersey have ever been prepared. Where,
then, did Mr.. Rafter find his abundance
of precedent? The undertaking is made
peculiarly difficult simply because there is
no precedent for the preparations of sueh
specifications. From time to time such
new departures in the experience of the
engineer necessarily arises because the
world moves on, but great many engi-
point of view, and it is largely from this
fact that Mr.. Rafter finds his great diff
Guilty in understanding the present speci-
ications
THE next point is long argument ap-
parently to show that a pipe of so million
gallons daily capacity will not deliver 60
million gallons in January and July. Did
Mr.. Rafter think that either your Board
or the city officials needed to be told that
sometimes we use more water than we do
at other times, and what has this whole
argument got to do with the case any
how? We have asked for works of so mill
lion gallons daily capacity. We did not ex-
pect when we SO asked that the bidder
would offer works of 60 million gallons
daily capacity. If the argument means
anything it means that my view as to the
wisdom of deferring the building of a
second pipe until we build one of the full
so million gallons capacity is the correct
view to take. He seems to try to show
here that we have not provided water
enough. 1t is not clear what he is trying
to show, but this is the general drift;
but in almost the next breath he proceeds
to show us how we can cut down con-
sumption so tha. II million gallons day
will answer our present requirements.
II have no serious fault to- find with
Mr.. Rafter,s estimate of cost, but do not
consider that it was very necessary for
him to estimate on basis of poorly con-
structed and well constructed works. If
struction of the Newark works, built
under exactly similar circumstances, he
would have had safe guide, and could
have reduced the labor of preparing his
u,
fairer in his conclusion. Some figures
strike me as a little odd, for instance,
the idea that a right of way 40 feet wide
can be obtained from the Great Notch to
Belleville at the rate of $3.50 per acre.
My experience has been that land there
is worth several hundred per cent. more
than this. Think of buying city lots at
the rate of $772 running mile. AS to
water rights, it is improper that l should,
at the present stage of proceedings, make
any statement as to what I think they
are worth, but should like Mr.. Rafter
to explain how he determined them to be
if the water was taken at Boonton Falls
they would be worth one million. Now.
for the present works we have to add
for all the mills from Boonton to Port
Dram, and also for the Morris Canal
rights. Does Mr.. Rafter value this at
S150000? I have had a fair amount of ex-
perience in damage suits of this char
acter. The city of Syracuse has SO far
paid $514,000 damages for diverting fifteen
million gallons daily, and the cases are
still unsettled. On top of this they have
1.-THE most peculiar thing in his report.
and something with which cannot agree
under any circumstances is his estimate
of operating expenses and the conclusions
he draws as to the enormous profits 10 be
realized Let us see where his figures
lead us. He estimates first that under
municipal ownership the annual cost Of
s31e. 90. v which IS $50 daily. OF course
the Interest charge and operating ex-
penses will be no less when using 20
million gallons from the same works.
Suppose then, we adopt Mr.. Rafter's
own suggestion In this same report, in