The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-10-30

made a gallant fight for the peoples
rights and the Washington street bridge.
But again the corporations were too
much for him. and those subtle influences
SO well known to those who closely follow
the workings of the New Jersey Legisla-
ture prevailed and the measure was again
defeated. So impressed were his Demo-
| cratic colleagues with Mr.. Hudspeths
sterling worth and general efficiency that
when the session was over they presented
him with magnificent gold watch and
chain which he carries to this day. This
is an honor which is very rarely, If ever
conferred upon member of the Assem-
bly,. A Speaker Is always presented with
some token of the members esteem at the
end of a session, but the cases in which a
leader of a party has been considered
worthy; of this distinction are very rare.
In 1888 Mr.. Hudspeth's business was
such that it was impossible for him to
serve in the House, but the next year he
ran again and was elected by another
substantial plurality. This House was al
SO controlled by the Democrats, and Mr..
Hudspeth was made Speaker without any
opposition from within his own party. So
acceptably did he discharge the arduous
duties of this most responsible office that
just before the Legislature adjourned for
the session Republicans We'd with the
Democrats in showing their appreciation
of the excellent and extremely fair man.
| ner in which he had presided Few speak
ers have been as highly complimented by
their political foes and friends alike as
was Mr.. Hudspeth when he laid down the
gavel at the close of the session of 1885,
For three years Mr.. Hudspeth remained
in private life, taking an active part in
the politics of the county, State and ma
| ton, contributing materially to the sue
| cess Of the Democratic party. When the
late Edward F. Mcdonald resigned as
| State Senator to take seat in Congress
in 1891 Mr.. Hudspeth received the unani-
nous vote of the county convention for
the nomination for Senator.
| He ran against a popular Republican
and was elected by plurality of ,255.
AT this time the vital question to Jersey
| City was that of new water supply. The
Passaic River at Belleville, whence the
| city got its supply, was in most de-
plorable condition. The cities Of Pater-
son and Orange emptied it's sewage above
the intake and the big city of Newark
| disposed of the greater part of its sewage
! in the same manner below it, while be-
tween numerous manufactures, dye and
chemical works emptied their refuse into
the stream. In this way the water sup
ply of Jersey City had become contami-
mated, noxious to the taste and smell and
| a menace to the general health of the
city. The municipalities looked about
them for a new supply. and they found
| that powerful syndicate had secured, or
pretended to have secured all the avail
able watersheds in the northern part of
the State and held them 80 that any
municipality which wanted supply of
water would have to come to them and
pay whatever price they might choose to
exact or go without water.
The prices at which this syndicate held
this water were considered exorbitant, and
Isteps were taken to compel the water
companies to come to terms. II public
corporation requires a tract of land for
the purposes for which it is Incorporated,
which are generally considered to be for
the public good, the law permits them to
go in and take that property by condem-
nation paying for it what disinterested
judges consider to be fair price 1t was
thought that nothing could be more for
water and that any municipality desiring
water supply could acquire one of the
sheds this syndicate claimed to own by
this same process of condemnation. So a
bill was introduced into the Legislature
giving Jersey City the right to acquire a
new supply in the same manner that a
railroad obtains a new right of way.
| Nothing could be fairer, the advocates of
the measure thought, and there would be
no difficulty in making the bill a law But
they reckoned without their host. The
syndicate was all powerful and owned by
men of prominence. The late lamented
| Garret A. Hobart and the sanity John
! w. Griggs,s who is still with us, hurried
down to Trenton and took personal COM
mand of the well trained lobby Mr.
Griggs made the speeches before the
committees and presented the legal as
poets of the case, while Mr.. Hobart did
effective missionary work from the Sc
clusion of the cloak room.
Mr.. Hudspeth was the champion of the
bill in the Senate and led most valiant
| fight for passage. The same energy and
ability which he had utilized in his many
battles in the House for the peoples
rights and did all in his power to secure
this great boon for the people of Jersey
City. The syndicate, with its Hobart
Griggs combination, was too powerful for
him and the bill never became law
| Notwithstanding all this attention to
the public interests in the Legislature,
Mr.. Hudspeth continued in active practice
at the Bar and was soon recognized as
| one Of the leading lawyers of the State.
So when in 1888 the then Mayor of Jersey
City, owing to the important suits pending
in the courts in which the city was Wit
1 ally interested, looked about him for a
/ skilled and able law officer he selected
| Mr. Hudspeth and made him Corporation
Attorney. During his term of office the
celebrated case of the city against the
Central Railroad Company and others
to recover what is commonly known as
the South Cove Grant was pending, and
Mr. Hudspeth rendered valuable services
in the matter. Every reader of 1.-THE
Jersey City News knows by this time
that the South Cove Grant was a valu-
able plot of riparian property in the
South Cove, between Grove and Hender-
son streets, which the State gave to Jer-
/ sey City at a nominal price The city at
| first did not take possession of the land,
the then authorities not thinking it worth
4 the sum named In the grant After a