The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1902-02-19
TOUCH ON JOHN BOYD
Mayor Pagan Demands the
AboIishing Of the Lamp
Inspectors Office.

Mayor Pagan yesterday sent to the
Board of Street and Water Commission
ers a communication In which he de-
mands that the office OF Lamp Inspector,
now held by John Boyd, be done away
with The Commissioners were In session
at the time and the communication was
referred to the proper committee. The
Mayor said
MY attention has been called to the
office Of Lamp Inspector which is at
present held by John Boyd, under ap-
pointment Of your Honorable Board
II find upon Investigation that the con-
ditions affecting this office are substan-
TALLY as follows: The apparent duties
of the office are to ascertain and report
the condition of the different street lamps,
and to see that the same are kept light
ed each night for the number of hours
required by the contracts OF the lighting
companies with the city, and to see that
needed repairs upon the same are made
from time to time. 1t Is, OF course, mani
fest, that the Inspector cannot by per-
sonal observation, ascertain the number
Of hours that each Hight is kept lighted
during each night. AS matter of fact,
this duty Is performed by the police of
the city Under the rules of the Police
Department, each night patrolman in
spects and watches the lamps upon his
beat, and submits in the morning re-
port to the department showing what
lights during the night. upon his beat,
have not been lighted and the hours dur
ing which the same have not been lighted.
The Lamp Inspector goes over these re-
ports each morning at the Police Head
quarters, and makes up statement
which is submitted to your board. The
lighting companies are compelled to make
deductions for the lights which are shown
by these reports not TO have been light
ed according to contract. The Lamp In
spector, ascertaining that lamp is
broken in any part Of the city, which in
formation is not obtained BY personal OBJ
servation. but comes from the police or
from citizens in the neighborhood Of the
defective light. notifies the lighting com
pany, and the company immediately sends
its man to make the necessary repairs.
1t is, of course, for the interest of the
companies to do this promptly. in order to
maintain the efficiency of their plant. As
a matter of fact, the lighting companies
maintain their own system Of inspection.
which is bound to be efficient, in their
own interest.
It appears that the saving to the city.
in the report made by the Lamp Inspec-
tor of lamps not lighted according TO
contract, does not exceed $50 per year.
while the salary of the Lamp Inspector IS
81, 200 per year. In addition to which he
receives about $40 month for expenses
From all these facts 1t Is obvious that
the office of Lamp Inspector is a per-
fectly useless position and should be
abolished. 1t is apparent that any e.fec-
tive inspection from day to day and from
night to night Of the thousands of lamps
by which our streets are lighted, can only
be done by an army OF Inspectors. which
duty, in this instance, the police are ad-
inirably qualified to perform and do per-
form. AS matter of fact all informa- ;
ton of value In reference TO our street.
lamps and the lighting thereof from day
to Gay is now obtained by the patrolman.
Such part Of the Lamp Inspectors du-
ties as are really essential can be per-
formed by some clerk in your office by
the expenditure of a few moments labor
per day The Police Department will
gladly, upon request of your board, send
each morning to your office the reports
turned in by the patrolmen showing the
condition of the lights IN the various parts
of the city during the previous night.
From these reports a clerk can in a few
moments make an abstract of such in
formation as will enable the city to make
the proper deduction from the lighting
bills due from the city to the lighting
companies, and the same clerk can also
send to the companies a notice of the de-
fective condition of any lamp shown to
be out of order by the report of the Po-
lice Department or BY reports sent in
by the citizens.
Under all these circumstances, I deem
the further employment of a Lamp In
spector to be an absolute waste of the
public money. ! therefore recommend
that your honorable body abolish the Of
fee OF lamp inspector, and discharge the
present incumbent of that position and
make arrangements for the performance
by one of your other employees of such
portion of the Lamp Inspectors duties as
may be necessary to enable the city to
take advantage Of the information gath
cred and turned in by the Police Depart
ment Respectfully submitted,
NJ. NJ. FAGAN. Mayor.
Jersey City, February 49, 1902