The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-08-26
SOUTH cove CASE.
Conference Between the City
Officials in the Mayors
Office This Afternoon.
Mr.. EDWARDS HAS a PROPOSITION
New FORK Syndicate Anxious 10
Build Docks on a Long
Lease from This City.
Mr.. EDWARDS HAS A PROPOSITION

AS 1.-THE News goes to press this after
| noon, members of the Boards of Finance
| and Street and Water Commissioners are
| holding a conference in the Mayors office
about the South Cove property. Besides
| the officials, including the Mayor, Mr.. W.
| D.. Edwards is present, and he is to give
them an account of the property lately
| acquired by the city through the instru-
mentality Of Mr.. Edwards.
The conference is s~naadjourned meeting
| from last month, when the member or
| the Street and Water Board invited the
| Mayor and the Finance Board to meet
and determine what Board should nave
control of the property absolutely. A.
| that time, Mr.. Edwards, who was the
| city's special counsel, appointed by the
| Board of Finance, was absent in Califor-
MIA, and an adjournment was taken so tina
on his return he might lay before them
what had been done and what should De
done with the valuable tract OF iano
known as the South Cove grant.
Since the city acquired title III the tract
the railroad companies, spectators. az
joining property owners and others nave
been asking, What is Jersey City gong
to do with it?" The Lehigh Valley, Cen
trail and Baltimore Railroad Companies,
it is said, are extremely anxious to secure
a lease of the property to build DOCKS
and freight yards. Some New York CAPT
talists are after it, too, and are READY
with a proposition which Mr.. EDWARDS
will submit at this afternoons conference.
Jersey City, the officials say, is not IN
a position to build docks for itself, ana
that is the most profitable use to Wnicn
the property could be put. Hence II
must consider offers from corporations
to thu end.
81 am in favor of giving a lease to some
corporation for a term of years, not a
long term, and let it either build docks,
freight yards or storage warehouses at a
moderate rental per yeac," is the view OF
President Boltwood, of the Street and
Water Board.
II wish we could build a big basin
there for shipping. 1t would be a great
thing for Jersey City," said Finance Com
missioner Reuben Simpson.
1T is a difflcult matter TO know what 70
do with that strip SO that Jersey City
shall reap the most profits from it,. For
us to build docks is out of the question:, l
am afraid. We have to seek outside
aid" remarked Finance Commissioner II.
L. Kellers, at the last conference.
Mr.. Edwards, it is understood, will pre-
sent a dehnite offer this afternoon from
certain well known inanciers, who will
build a huge dock, giving Jersey CITY half
and their corporation shall retain the
other half for a certain term of years, at
the expiration of which the dock will fall
into the possession of the city. To build
such a. dock will, of course, require a
large amount of capital, and those invest
ing it will necessarily want a long lease.
The city officials have every confidence
of Mr.. Edwards to bring the tract into
the market. Throughout the long suit
to regain the property Mr.. Edwards
fought the city's case with singular abii-
ity, and ultimately wrested the lands
from the Central Railroad Company, who
had long reaped great profit from it, n
who now seek to become the citys ten
ants