The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-06-07
UNANIMOUS VOTE.
Street and Water Board
Overruled Yesterday the
Mayors Telephone
Ordinance Veto.
COMMISSIONER HoLAH'S Spec H
History of the Hudson Com
pany's Efforts to Obtain
Executive Approval

AS the News stated last night che
Hudson Telephone ordinance was passed
over the Mayors veto by the Street and
Water Commissioners at their meeting
yesterday. There was no discussion
about it all members voting for its pass
age. On the motion to take up the ordip-
ance and place it on it's final passage, a
speech was made by Commissioner
James S. Nolan, who said
This is the second time that an effort
has been made by this Board to effect a
healthy competition in telephone ser
vice. Our first effort met with the
objection of His Honor the Mayor,
which objections were recited at
length, and contained also an epitome
of what, as the result of a conference
with His Honor. the representatives
of the company agreed to and the
Mayor would entertain. A new ordi-
nance. the present one, was drawn sub
stantially on the lines indicated to US,
n executive approval is yet lacking
Let me turn to the message of HIS
Honor, dated May Is, 1899, and present.
ed to the Board on the following day.
In that message, among other things, the
Mayor says
i" 'First-The company agrees to give
to the Mayor and Aldermen of Jersey
City 100 shares of it's capital stock.
=" .Second-The company agrees to place
in all offices connected witt the city
which are established. and which may
hereafter be established, telephones to be
used by The city free of cost.
" .Third-The company agrees to give
to the city / per cent. on the capital stock
annually, such amount to be paid to the
city before any dividends whatever are
paid to the stockholders of the company.
81 sugges tina a new ordinance be
drafted, incorporating the provisions OF
the old ordinance and also the above con-
cessions.
/" If such an ordinance is introduced and
passed by your Board it will meet with
my approval
Now let us see whether this ordinance
differs from the Mayors suggestions made
prior to the Introduction of the ordinance
which is now before us.
..The first insistment of His Honor,
that we AXE one hundred shares of the
stock of the ~petitioning company, and
thus place the city in the position of liza
bility for damages and debt, at least to
the extent of its limited ownership, is of
itself a sufficient reason for not incorpor-
ating that feature in the ordinance.
That we will thus place the city in the
position of being a competitor with a rival
concern, and a competitor with practical
ly no ability to dictate the policy of coia-
petition, would, we believe. also warrant
the exclusion of the clause suggested. We
believe in municipal ownership, but not
in a weak attempt at it. We want reality.
not semblance. and we believe that when
His Honor has delved further into the
subject he will agree with us, in that the
company is required to furnish to such
offices and officers such telephones as this
Board may direct, the placing of which
telephones and the services thereon to be
free.
."Thfrd-The Mayor, in his previous veto,
states tina the company agreed to give
the city one ~ per cent. annually on its
capital stock, such sums to be paid before
any dividends are paid to stockholders.
1--WE believe tina the Mayor has un-
consciously erred in this statement, and
that the company really agreed to pay
one per cent. on its capital stock only in
such years as it paid dividends to its
stockholders, and such payment to be
made to the city before said stockholders
received their dividends.
'tIn lieu of this, we have incorpo-
rated a requirement which compels the
company to pay to the city two per
cent. of its gross earnings in any and
for every year when dividends are paid
to stockholders, and submit that this
is better for the city than IS that
which the Mayor suggested and which
in his message to us he declared would
be approved if submitted.
sit is our judgment that in order to
effect a successful competition in tel
ephone service for the people of this
city, we nave asked all that should be
required. We have at least secured
more for the city than that which was
suggested to us by His Honor, and
which he said would meet with his APP
prevail. I therefore move that the or
dinance do now pass, Notwithstanding
the objections of His Honor the
Mayor