The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-12-28

TWO N1OES OVERRULED
Aldermen Pass Building In
spector and Weights and
Measures Ordinance.
ONLY TWO VOTE FOR THE MAYOR
Alderman Calnon Thinks the
Mayors Action in These
Gases Peculiar.
ONLY TWO VOTE FOR THE MAYOR

The Aldermen met last night, passed
the Inspector of Scales, Weights anu
Measures ordinance over the Mayors
veto. and passed the ordinance revolu-
tionizing the building department ana
placing it upon a self-sustaining basis
The Mayors veto of the Inspector OF
Scales. Weights and Measures ordnance,
which has been published, was first taken
from the table. Before any action was
taken on it City Clerk M. j. ODonnefl
read a letter from Crichton & Grandl-
son and l25 other merchants, asking the
Board to sustain the Mayors veto. Inc
petitioners set forth that as
the public are the beneficiaries under the
ordinance, they, and not the merchants,
should bear the expense that is attacheo;
secondly, tina the merchants are me
servants of the public, and for that rea-
SON could see no reason why they should
pay a special tax into the city treas
ury for the benefit of the public. The
communication was referred. The orcIi-
nance had been made a caucus measure,
and when noses were counted it was
found that there were enough supporters
of the measure on hand to override the
Mayors veto.
In the capacity of leader of the ma
jority Alderman Calnon moved that the
Mayors veto be- taken up for disposl-
ton. In moving that it be not sustained,
he said
Before a vote is taken on this ordi-
nance / would like to say a few words
in connection with its introduction on
October Is, 1897. His Honor the Mayor
sent a communication to this Board rei-
alive to the Building Inspector. He
deemed it of such Importance that he
again,Non May 16, 1895, directed the
Boards attention to it. In it he said,
among other things, that that officer was
an ornamental and STRENGTHENING one
and should be made self-sustaining by
charging a fee for the permits to erect
or alter buildings Believing the Mayor
to be sincere in this matter, the Board
determined to place the office of Inspec-
tor of Scales on the same footing as the
Building Inspector, namely, self-sustain-
ing. This ordinance was passed once be-
fore, but was vetoed by the Mayor, and
we were given 10 understand that, with
the amendments embodied in the present
ordinance now before us, it would meet
with his approval. From the veto Of this
ordinance it would appear that we were
1HlSl11Oil lcO VI AiO 4ioJHA AoN SANH6~o
his mind.
THE Merchants Protective Association
has shown unusual activity in OPPOSE
ton to this ordinance, giving as their
reasons that competition with the large
department stores in New York is i'm
possible and that they are obliged to pay
personal taxes. They also stated, I be-
lieve. that there was about five thou
N - - l. 4 ~ NH
statement I hope to be so, but I do not
believe it. If it is so, what has become
of the 400 other ~storekeepers who are
not members Of this protective league?
If there are 5000 stores, I venture the
guess tina not five hundred of them, ex-
cept saloons, pay a personal tax; and
Furthermore, the trading with the New
York store is confined only to those who
can afford to go to them, There are
thousands and thousands of people and
families in this city who are too poor to
pay the carfare and ferriage to go there
and for those people the ordinance is
generally introduced. The fees charged
are so small that it is hardly worth
speaking about in view of the fact that
the average fee will not be over seventy
five cents to 81 a year. 1t is also true
lAdb Dlly d lew VI our SlDTES VIII nave
to pay a trifie more, but the average will
not be more than l have stated. ] cam
not understand the attitude of His Honor
In the case, in view of the communication
/ have referred to. Why he thinks one
office should be self-sustaining and an
other not, l do not know
The ordinance was then taken up, and,
Notwithstanding the Mayors objections,
Tanc13 H. &c sc -
chants, it is reported, will endeavor to
rave it set aside.
The Building Inspectors ordinance was
next taken up. The document a been
amended, as suggested at the public
hearing of builders held last Friday night.
Notwithstanding this fact, Alderman
Stoll opposed it for the reason that it
does not justly discriminate in the erec-
ton of houses in the thickly populated
sections and the outside districts. He
COMMENCED that some of the requirements
are fmpractcable. He said the fee system
was wrong, as it will interfere with men
who desire to increase the city's rata
Dles. He thought the ordinance would
be an injustice to the en~terprising men of
the city. There was no further discussion
m the ordinance passed by a votef of
tive.
The only remonstrance against the or
dinance was presented by n, g Vreeland,
SCAtld4 fldtld6Cl t1V lOIlt hui
Company. He insisted that the ordinance
imposed an unreasonable tax on prop
erty owners. and that is against public
policy. He pointed out that a builder is
confronted first with a charge Of So to
connect with a sewer, next from 50 to S25
for repaving, from IS to IS for a Health
Board permit. He said he alone had
erected forty new houses, adding $4,000
to the city's ratables, and for doing it he
had paid S100 for permits. He objected
to having to ray from 80 to $500 more a
year
in the same connection a petition asking
for the appointment of a clerk to the
a year. The petition was signed by
James Ellington, Gregory Judge, L. H.
Broome. Edward NJ. Patterson, Patrick
Condor, Michael Garvin,. James Lindsay,
Henry Nibiett. Rudolph Saiiers q. c.
Dons, E. F. Long. Hugh, Roberts J.
Jewkes & Son, n. e. Smith, J. F. Wheeli-
han. The petition was referred.