The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-08-08
TO PURIFY THE PAssAlc.
Views of William T. Hunt, One Of
the Commissioners on the Subject.

| also one of the commissioners recently
| appointed by Governor Voorhees, to con-
slider plans for purifying the Passaic, has
this to say on the subject
| Governor Voorhees, last week appointed
a new commission of eight citizens to go
over the question of Passaie River poll
| luton once more, under an act passed by
the late Legislature. The subject was
first considered with care by commits
sion of three whose report in February,
1897, recommended the enactment Of a law
for the creation of working commis-
sion, whose duty it was to be to remove
the pollution. A draft of the proposed
| was comprehensive and effective, 1t con-
veyed powers so great that no effort was
made to pass it, the opinion being that
no urgence should be used until public
/ sentiment had shown definitely that it
| was prepared to face so great and ex-
pensive a task, and to permit small
body Of men to spend a large amount Of
| money on behalf of a dozen different
| municipalities. The report also expressed
| the opinion that the sole effective remedy
| for the pollution was the construction of
a trunk sewer to take the sewage of the
entire district extending from Passaic
Falls to and including Newark, deposit-
| ing the sewage in Newark Bay for the
| present, with such notifications and ex-
| tensions as might be necessary. As a
| final recourse, the engineers suggested
| an extension of the sewer to New York
| Bay. The decisions reached were large
| ly by process of exclusion, which set
aside as impraeticable numerous plans
which were proposed, and which covered
| pretty nearly every known scheme, from
those practical in engineering but too
| expensive, down to the most absurd of
| ignorant suggestions. The decision in
favor of a trunk-line sewer, and for a de-
posit at Newark Bay, was reached by the
commissioners, who had examined the
subject Independently and by their engi-
neers, Alphonse Fteley and the late Chas.
| E. A. Jacobsen, and 1t was endorsed by
eminent engineers. such as Rudolph Her.
ing, by the New Jersey Sanitary Asso-
citation, and by others having special
knowledge.
The commissions estimate of the cost
of the work was s6oo0,0oo, with perhaps
| 100000 additional in case certain fea-
lures were adopted. The purpose was
avowedly TO put the cost at liberal fig
ure and to have no concealments. The
amount required startled the commune
ties affected and objections raised by
Bayonne and other communities on New
ark Bay to the use of the bay as place
of even temporary deposit were seized
upon as an excuse for delay. Those famil-
lar with Such enterprises have long per-
ceived how extremely difficult 1t is to get
| anything like united opinion in favor of
great and costly public works. especially
| in sewerage, of which less is known than
most branches of public service; and the
multiplying objections caused no sur
| prise. A legislative committee investiga-
| ting the subject a year later than The re-
| port found the communities concerned
| appalled, by the expense, and looking anx-
| iously for some cheap solution and one
| to which nobody would object. Meanwhile,
! high water in the river had lessened the
nuisance temporarily, and the suggestion
| for further delay and more investigation
! met with general approval, except from
| those who knew that action was newt
able sooner or later, and feared the effects
Of procrastfnation. Even these recognized
the delays was the one common character
istic of all such works.
Although the act for new commission
was passed early last April, It was not
until August 2 that the Commissioners
were named AS named by the Governor
they include three members of the old
commission, with five new members. Inc
new members are Mayor Hinchliffe, Oh
Paterson; DR. Exton. of Arlington; Law
yer c. w. Fuller, of Bayonne; Mi Will
lam Kent, of Passaic, and ex-Assembly-
man Harrington, of Bergen. The MEMBER
shin represents all the counties interested
and most of the sewerage districts, SO lar
as they can be said to be divided On-
der the law, the commissioners nave pow
er to raise $4,000 by taxation upon the
towns and cities in the locality affected'
according to population. and commission
ers are to be paid salaries of not more
| ceived no pay.
Pending legislative action, two Chancery
suits have been begun by citizen Whlch
may have an important bearing upon the
whole question. One is directed against
the civ of Paterson to compel it to cease
noIlutine the river with it's present dis
charge; and the other is against Newark
to prevent the construction OF a new
sewer on the grounds that more pollution
would create a nuisance which should be
enioined. II decisions in these cases should
demonstrate the rights of the private
property owner to protection from the
nuisance created by cities discharging
sewage into a natural stream, action to
remove pollation would become impera-
tive. Every owner of river front would
have a damage suit unless relief without
unnecessary delay was provided. The ex-
pected diversion of a large quantity Of
water from the river by the East Jersey
Water Company is also given as a reason
for measures of relief; but the fact that
the pollution is now nuisance and that
it must be soon removed does not need
these new features for its sufficient
demonstration. They may prod action.
however.
The whole subject is. of course. com
plicated by many details. Besides the
heavy cost, the honest differences as to
methods, the questions as to relative
share of expense, and the very intricate
legal questions, there are personal preju-
dices and the usual opposition to any and
every plan of public improvement, which
newspapers and individuals delight in
manifesting BY the time the new com
mission is ready to report full three years
since the subject began to be officially
considered will have elapsed, and II Will
surely be time to take definite action.
The report of the eight commissioners.
if action Is harmonious, as it should
be. will be made to the next Leg
,o1.a t,t~a and while the time is short for