The Jersey City news., 1898-04-20
PATERSON'S SEW AGE
Counselor Stevenson's Plea
for His City's Right to
Pol1ute the Passalc
At Will.
JERSEY fla' AUDAcITY
4 Particeps t...-...s IN Stealing
Passaic Water s. Today's
Chancery Proceedings.

Although the demurrer fled by the
Mayor and Aldermen of the city
Of Paterson to the bill for in
junction to restrain them from pol
luting the Passaic River was set down
for argument in the next term OF the
/ Court of Chancery. yet by the consent OF
i counsel it was argued yesterday AFTER
room in Chancery Chambers before Cham
/ celor McGill, after the argument on the
| return of the rule to show cause, an ac-
count of which appeared in yesterday
| News"
Counselor Eugene Stevenson, for the
Mayor and Aldermen opened the argu-
j lnent putting forth as his main point tnat
the objection in the demurrer as 70 the
misjoinder of the parties to the bill, was
absolutely fatal to the bill. and he cited
| a decision ON that point handed down by
Lord Eldon.
Chancellor McGin interrupted at this
point by saying that in case OF ROW
botham against Jones in first Dlchinson'
| where a number of parties joined 10 pre-
vent the shouting of a lot of lunatlcs' ne
held that it was not misjoinder, and the
| Court of Appeals sustained His Honor
/ decision.
.There never was such an omnibus Dill
said Counselor Stevenson, dumping into
the court such diverse complaints
aWeu. let us see, said the Chancellor.
IT don't find the diversity which you
complain of. In the first place. Jersey
i City. by right of the, Legislature, COM
plains of the impurity OF tie water. Inc
Attorney General appears for the pubic,
who complain of the noxious odors ana
the impurity of the water. Then one
class of individuals above tide water
complains of impurity of water, and the
| other individuals are entitled to pure ar.
So YOU see, there are really only two NUS
ances, .impurty OF water ana n01A'ou'
s': And injury to health" added Mr.
/ Stevenson. ..,, s.id
the Chancellor. 'and consequently there
| is NOT a multitude of complaints. ,xu
MY dftlculty is right here, ev eiaases Sala M1 81
legal questions here that ! ask now rf,i,t ar+
| We going to try them? We nave ai risii.
to inquire into Jersey CITY rign,s, ms,
what were they and whether II was Only
grant by the Legislature. What Ilsl.ts @
| has Newark and / say mere NeWaTh nds
right TO pollute the river er asaslisSs dared 70
| bring Newark into this court ana festraai ~
her from pouring 34,oc0O COZ gallons ..
Sewage daily doubt r. sna5 cause causes @ Of
action in individual cases 1,u,,ao,,
Counselor Stevenson cited the Pruden
case and Chancellor laprlski5e qeGsstp. - tHa
il that matter, and contenGed that II lae 1s
misjoilider was overruleu thea eysify eysi So.ss s+
| would have to go out OF court until pVtn st
ssin,mond's ice business, and wnen Jersey
/ (,iry's case came up then another Isnse
would ensue, and so on with eacn q
the cases OF the individual compialnants-
at won't be necessary to go INTO MI NE.
! Simnnond's ice business" said the Cnan.
cellor that is merely an illustration q
~ .st,nf i' he complains that his business Is
/ ruined. and we must go into facts. salq
Mr. Stevenson. II conclude my afgualeilff s.;an ~
this bill is the assumption that the sewers
/ of Paterson are the one cause OF the con-
diticn of the Passaic River va want =, 70 70
say we are not trying to laugn tnls cas- lss
out of court. We are all conlronleu ~. ~
| this problem which affects everyone nv
ing in the Passaie valley. 10 aid ons tbis fl,is
court is not the place, We must go TO the
Legislature. Perusing this 6iil you
woI1ld never know that between Paterson
and Jersey City there was a clIy caiiea esf
Passaic which poured len mlihons OF
sewage into the river daily Ieu Wpula l'a
never know by reading this bill that +, tneae s3 re
was city called Newark pouring in ~ or or
10 GOO 900 gallons of sewage daily. Z ou
would never know that it was the n city oa oa
problem of Passaic pollution to the pupllc.
It is this wicked Paterson that mas mas
caused all this evil, and say tlAl lnis ?
| story in the bill is a grotesque travesty OF
the facts AS for Jersey, City. her ap-
pearance here is a sham. -
Ex-Attorney General stockton ! lIler7 haa,,
| runted to say that the bill mad peen
drawn in the proper. way by the Engl,s;n 81; a 4
practice which had been followed n TINS
State as witness the, the american An; iPoadeo Repy
ing to Mr.. Stevensons opJectlon tnas - ele ~
bill was wrongly drawn. he read the prac-
tice which Is fba aae and b on
the complaint of the REALTORS or com
, plainants. (,,,,sa,a,.
stevenson. that I am amazed at the
Colossal audacity of Jersey City, who IS a
particeps criminis with the East Jersey
every day twenty million gallons Of wa
. ter which ought to flow on past FateTsol
and vet she comes here and accuses fat-
erson Of putting more sewage lhto ehe
aout of the river?" asked Mr.. Stock
YES replied Mr.. Stevenson. the East
Jersey Water Company Is divertlng water
from the Pequannock, sc, ,oOo;oO0 gall,.oens
daily, part Of which goes TO @ Jersey ~ Iley'
.. the Passaic River. You say that the
danger is the relative proportion of sew
age in the water, and you anege s,1 {haI iaore We
fhe fact that decreasing the volume OF
water as Jersey City does. is the real
Of the m the fae sifv Il Pate sap
'
SON has right to its sewer discharge
| into the river. -
sThe LEGISLATURE. merely gives you the
| right to build a sewer system, but 1t does
! not give you the right to pour your sew
age On the States highway, does it"
, II contend that that was the meaning
: of ii. II has prescriptive right to DO 60
I Just as one uses path through the Woods
t | or drives over the property of another, :
| replied Mr.. Stevenson. Our assessment
: / plan Of sewers gives the inhabitants q
, ii.ight TO these sewers and the city OF Pat
( erson can't stop them using their sew
r ssBut the city owns the sewers?" asked
: the Chancellor. -
I Eyes, but the plans of these sewers
/ were all aid down in the act which gave
! the city. the right replied the lawyer.
haf1ifants sewer into the cesspools and
! | the distribution Of that is the duty OF the
cityY' said the Chancellor.
Mr.. Stevenson thought not. ard insist
ed that the city had the coro-non law righ'
:, "a sewer into the Passaic Rive~
e An adjournment was here taken unit
E this morning.