The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1901-05-28
Board Of Trade Committee
Confers With Finance
Board Over Wafer.
APPROVES MODIFICATION
Suggests That Agreement Not
to Sell Surplus to Out
siders Be Inserted.

The Board of Trade held a special meet
ing last night and listened to report of
the committee of five lawyers appointed
at the previous meeting to consult with
the city authorities in regard to terms in
connection with the requested modifiea-
tion of the Flynn water contract The
committee had sought the legal advice of
ex-Speaker of the Assembly Frank Ber-
gen, and President Mount read the fol-
lowing communication from that gentle
man:-
Samuel c. Mount, President Board of
Dear Sir-I have considered the question
of the modification of the contract of
February Is, 1889, made between Jersey
City and Patrick H. Flynn, as proposed
by Mr.. Flynn in his letter of March 80
last, and in my opinion it would be pre-
cedent to modify the contract as proposed
on the following terms:-
/. The time for the city to test the
works should be extended SO that the city
shall have as much time to do so as II
the works were completed within the time
fixed in said contract.
2. / understand the contractor iS Wiling
that the city may withhold 100000 of the
principle to be paid for the works until
the alleged right of the Morris Canal
Company to divert water from the Rock
away watershed shall be extinguished. L
think a larger sum than S200,000 should be
retained.
5. II the tests OF In0 WdIeT WOIkS OlA
the capacity of the drainage. are to be
made by the city, as promised by. the con-
tract of February S, 1893, shall show chat
the works are not capable of delivering
SO, 900, 600 gallons of water a day or that the
water rights, reservoir sites, etc., should
be insufficient to fulfill the requirements
of the contract to the extent OF loVoaVoO
gallons daily forever, then the contractor
should forthwith proceed to enlarge the
same to acquire the capacity and extent
at his own expense, and If he fails to do
he oifx han m n so a
Very truly,
FRANK BERGEN.
A report adopted along the lines of Mr..
Bergens suggestions was signed by
Messrs Mount, Condict and Curry.
Messrs. Speer and Carey submitted a mi
nority report embodying the first two of
Mr. Bergen's suggestions, but ignoring
his third suggestion.
The minority report was substantiated
by the majority report and adopted In
discussing the reports, Mr.. Speer said he
dissented from the majority report, first
because he thought the original contract
made the third condition unnecessary;
secondly, even if it was necessary the
city had no power to make the change.
He said such an encumbrance should not
be made upon it at this time.
Mr.. Carey said he didn't think the city
authorities had the right to modify the.
contract. They could only modify it with
the consent of the contractor and his
oondsmen. A suit on the contract, he
said, would be ample; a suit on the modi-
fed contract might be based on am
biguity.
Mr. Condict favored the Bergen idea.
Joseph A. Dear said the city would
have no right to make contract not
absolutely authorized by the new act.
Mr.. Carey moved that the committee
of the Board of Trade recommend to the
city that negotiations be had with the
contractor with a view to securing the
continuation of the contractors bonds for
a period of two years after acceptance
by the city. This was amended on mo-
ton of Mr.. Speer to the effect that the
last paragraph of the contractors bond
be erased and that there be added to
the preceding paragraph the following
words
"And in addition for the period of two
years thereafter"
Mr.. Bergen was voted $50 for his opinion.
The Board of Trades committee of five
lawyers, Messrs. Mount Condict, Curry,
Speer and Carey, met this morning with
the sup-committee OF the CITY authorizes
appointed to investigate the terms of the
requested moolneation OF tne f1ynh water
contract ana discussed the matter. MI
Mount read the suggestions of Frank
BERGEN suohnsleu - tne Doafu u i,aue s',
last evening" any rssoiueions auopeeu Wy
that Board.
mayor Hoos PRESIDED at the conference,
whlcn was Attended also oy PRESIDENT
Lempeck Oh tne FINANCE boara' Joseph
A.. Dear Oh the boaru OIL Iraoes COM
mittee on supervision ol the new water
supply ana engineer EoloW W. harrison.
Mr. Flynn was represented by ex-senator
William y. EDWARDS ana Mr.. Mlchaei
Kennedy.
The committees Board OF Trade an
nouneed themselves collectively and indf-
viduaily as being IN favor OF a modifica-
tion OF the contract under certain con-
ditions, which would protect the city in
securing the stipulated plant Of fifty mil
non saiions OF water oaily with ca
pacity for to,UD0ooO daily. The committee
did not stlpulate the amount that should
be withheld OF the purchase money by the
city until Mr.. Flynn should have acquired
the alleged rights OF the Morris and Essex
Canal Company
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