The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1902-12-29
/ FOR A new
COURT HOUSE
Bar Association Adv ocacy
Has Awakened Renewed
Interest in the
Movement.
HISTORY OF THE PROJECT
Purchase of a Site Once Led
to the Indictm snt Of Free
holders The Present
Plan Discussed.
HISTORY OF THE PROJECT

The announcement that the Bar Asso-
ciation would, at tomorrow nights ad-
Journed meeting of the Jersey City Club,
discuss the new courthouse project, has
aroused widespread interest and much
speculation as to what the outcome of
the discussion would be.
For over thirty years the members
of the bar have been advocating the
erection of court house with adequate
and modern accommodations for the use
of the several county courts and various
county offices, but aside from the little
temporary relief given by the building
of the Hall of Records dozen years ago
the conditions today are no better than
they were when the agitation was first
STARTED.
1t was thought that the adoption by
the people in referendum of the County
Park project at the last election would
preclude the possibility of new court
house for many years to come, for it
was concluded that the issuing of bonds
to the amount of one million or more
for a system of parks would be all the
additional debt that the county would be
able to assume for some years. But the
setback that project received through
Judge Blair's Refused to appoint Com
nlissioners under Assemblyman Tenants
Bill, has encouraged the new court house
advocates to renew their efforts to have
the preliminary steps for a suitable
county building taken before decision is
reached on the park question.
FREEHOLDERS INDICTED.
1t was fully thirty years after the Bou-
levard project was first launched before
twork on the big county driveway was be-
gun. Bill after bill was passed by the
Legislature only to be set aside on appeal
to the courts, but the new Court House
scheme received staggering blow at
its very inception when the members of
the Board of Freeholders, who voted for
the purchase of the Harrison estate for a
Court House site were indicted. and some
of them tried and acquitted This put a
quietus on the Court House project un-
til the demand for additional room for
the county officers became so great that
at least an addition to the present build
ing was an absolute necessity and the
Hall of Records was built. The scandal
attached to the erection of this build
ing was subject of investigation by sew
eral grand juries, and there was no more
new Court House talk until the last Bar
Association dinner at the st. Denis Ho-
tel, New York, when Supreme Court
Justice Jonathan Dixon and other lead
quated and unsanitary condition of the
present county court rooms.
The result was that the next Legisla-
ture passed two acts under which Hud-
son could build a new Court House. Both
acts took effect Immediately but the latter
did not rescind the former
As a preliminary, the Freeholders
must, under either act pass a resolution
setting forth the inadequacy of the pres
ent court house and the need of a new
buildin. The earlier act vests the power
even to the condemnation of lands for
site and the payment Of bills for the same
as well as all work in the building, in the
director of the Board of Freeholders and
two other members to be appointed by
him. These three, by the provisions of
the act, shall constitute a building COM
mittee, and for their services shall re-
ceive, the director not more than $5 a
day and the other two not more than So.
The later act is probably the one un-
der which the new court house will be
built if it is built at all. 1t requires a
members, to declare the present court
house building inadequate, when all the
work in connection with the purchase of
site and erection of a new building de-
wolves in the entire board.
The third section of the act authorizes
the erection Of other buildings, TO be
used as county offices, adjacent to the
new court house.
SINKING FUND CREATED.
The act also provides for the sale Of
lands now occupied and the turning over
of the money received from such sale to
a sinking fund from which the maturing
bonds issued to pay the cost of the new
court house shall be paid.
Four-tenths of one per centum of the
total assessed value of the real and
as the maximum amount that can be
raised for the new buildings.
The final section of this act excludes
from its provisions counties with popu-
lat;on Of less than 100000 and those in