The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1905-11-15
Theodore Waters Tell What
Effect the Hudson Street
Railway viii Have on the
County's Growth.
A RIVAL TO BROOKLYN
TUNNELS WILL DO MORE FOR
NEW Jersey THAN THE
BRIDGES DID FOR LONG IS
LAND-PLANS AND PROSPECTS.

1zL1A1--1 14<A~NC 11AN1t l. AtQk7A A~NA -.
At Danforth Hall. No. 134 Danforth
avenue, Greenville last night, officials of
the Hudson Street Railway outlined the
plans and prospects Of the new enter
Prise. Mr. Theodore Waters, represent
ing the Company, made the following adj
dress
We are here tonight give you
comprehensive explanation of the new
transportation plans which the Hudson
Companies have in mind for Hudson
County.
The newspapers for the past month
have been full of discussions, and sever
al public meetings have been held by
property owners to arrive at some esti-
mate of the consensus of opinion con-
cerning the new enterprise. In spite OF
the fact, however. that much has been
said and written concerning these projects
ii does not seem to us that the people
universally comprehend just what the
various Hudson Companies mean 10 do.
We have therefore come before you
tonight to explain by means of lantern
slides and by brief description just what
the plans of the new company are.
In order.to do this will lave to take
you back a few years 1t has long been
recognized by leading men of the Metro
poiitan strict that Hudson County pos
sessed peculiar advantages for the in
crease Of population, either from its own
natural increase or from the overflow
that ebbs out of New York. For in
stance: AS long ago as 1915 the well
k1osn Swartwouth Bros, who were
more or less concerned in the national
roisan district that Hudson County pcs
effort TO reclaim 4, 200 acres of the Hack
easack Meadows. believing that it would
be only question of a short time when
the land on this side Of the river would
hecame fully as valuable as that of Man
haitian The Swartwouth Bros. sank
their fortune in this venture.
In later years other men attempted to
carry ont that same scheme with the
same belief in mind. Twenty years ago
company of moneyed men, still beliey
ing that Hudson County would become
great resident section, contiguous to
Manhattan, attempted to construct
tunnel unler the North River. This tun-
mel failed of completion because of the
difficulties in the way and the made
quacy of the boring methods then in
vogue That same tunnel project was
taken up by an engineering syndicate a
dozen years ago. and again it failed, be-
cause of the character of the bottom of
the North River was such as to effectu-
ally interfere with the work of the bor-
ers in the then state Of engineering sci
ence.
In spite Of this we'll founded belief in
the future of Hudson County, the tide
of New York population flowed Harlem
ward and Brooklynward, and during the
years since Brooklyn has become a city
of many times the population of that of
Hudson County.
| think it can be said with certainty
that had it been possible to build great
bridge across the Hudson River at the
same time that the Brooklyn Bridge was
built, we would have found as great a
population in Hudson County as now ex-
lists in Brooklyn. What this difference
is would be appreciated by an examina-
tion of the United States census reports,
which quote Jersey City as having pop
ulation Of 163, 600 in 1880 and Brooklyn
500 coo. Whereas in the census of 1900
ian interval of 20 years. Jersey City has
risen to but 206, 200 while Brooklyn had
become a city of l 1,166,582.
In ether words. it may be said, speak
ing abstractly, that the Brooklyn Bridge
has been directly responsible for an in
crease in the population Of Brooklyn of
over half a million. whereas the ferries
have contributed to Jersey City an in
crease Of about 1900. In short the
reason Why Jersey City has not received
its deserved increase Is because there
has been no great avenue of eommuni-
cation across the river.
This state Of affairs has. 4of course,
been apparent 10 svcly one; and several
years ago its absurdity was brought to
the attention of a group Of New York
capitalists, who saw in it a chance for a
great Development scheme. This group
Of capitalists conceived The idea Of cons
structing a tunnel under the North Riv-
or.
The expense Of bridging the stream,
aside from the engineering difficulties.
would have been Tremendous much
mare costly. in fact. than the original
scheme Of bridging the East River In
looking about them to determine upon d
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