Perth Amboy evening news., 1905-05-08
Communication from the Water
Commissioner on the
Stand He Took.
BONDED DEBT is HIGH.
Necessary Money Cannot be
Raised Without Increased VAL
uatiOns Throughout City.
Editor EVENING NEWS:

In reporting part of the argument
for OF against the starting of active
work ON reservoir, your valuable
paper charged me with saying that 1
did not believe the water board, or
any other body, should look ten years
or more ahead. What did say was,
that the water board, or any Other
body, cannot look ten years ahead
The substitution Of the words, should
not, :" for the word ''cannot,' alter
the meaning entirely, and [ beg of
you to give me the opportunity to
correct same. In continuing, | said,
there is a possibility OF Perth Amboy
becoming second New York in fifty
years, but it is not probable, and for
US to provide for such a possibility
would be foolish. | used about one
hundred diiferen t arguments in the
same strain to show (although | knew
before hand it was of no avaiD that
the opportune moment for the initial
step of such Importance to be taken
bad not arrived and with the editors
permission, / should like to repeat
only Il few words.
| argued that at no time since the
establishment Of the pumping station
at Runyon was there less cause for
alarm and less excuse for the eXpendi-
ture of such an enormous sum of money
lor u reservoir and the necessary
pains to and from the same, and the
reservoir to make it OF any practical
use.
The sum mentioned by Mr.. Voor-
hees ut the last committee meeting
was 1900, 600 which is $50, 900 more
than my rough estimate, but as | said
| accept his figures rs presumely cor
rect, as he probably had assess to ex-
pert calculations which | did not have.
The sum to maintain such reservoir
and pumping plant at same, together
with interest on bonds issued for the I
Du1 nNIlu VI HuHiNf TX uICQ Ut
$50, 600 per year which is probably
little below. AS ii is here given. that !
would mean about $40 day, addition
al expense. | did not think circum-
stances warranted such an enormous
increase in expense. | said | would
not incur such obligations and daily
expense, if said water plant was my
personal properly, and | did not, and
would not, be II party to saddle such a
burden on the public. | said believe
not one of the commissioners would
severely think of, let alone take steps
to incur such expense il said water
plant were their property.
tried to meet the commissioners
argument that it would hut be short
time before the present pumping sys-
TEN would be unable to supply the de-
mand by referring to the pumping re-
cords of the plant at Runyon previous
to the commencement of the building
of the now completed twenty -four-inch
main. Water was then delivered into
the city from Runvon through "a six
teen-inch main at the rate OF 5000, 900
gallons per twenty-four hours. The .
delivery capacity now is about four
times that amount or, say, to he con.
servative, eight or nine millions per
Jay. The daily consumption of water
in this city is now about three mil
lion, six hundred thousand gallons
The population is, say twenty-five .
thousand. So it will be seen that with
the Installation OF an eight million
gallon capacity pump and the present
consumption as basis for calcula-
tion, provision for population of ff-
ty thousand inhabitants has been
made, and how soon this city viii
reach that mark / claim we cannot
see and to say it will not he long, i,
take a very rosy view of Perth Am.
boys future.
| should be very much pleased Il
such proved to be the case. and
think the city will then be better able
to meet the cost OF improvements
needed by virtue Of said increase Of
population. ! said and do now assert
that the water department should not
try to monopolize the city's credit b,
taking active steps now to start work
on a reservoir; and asking The ciV's
credit fol bond issue Of three hundred
Thousand dollars would be to 90 so