Perth Amboy evening news., 1906-08-22
At Hearing Yesterday on tie
Water Board Deal He Stated
That Such Bargaining Is All
Wrong win Review the Tes-
timOny and Render His
Decision Later Say Taxpay-
ers Should Be Commended
for the Action They Have
Taken in This Matter Scored
the Defendants S Lawyers.

tHO OOIVuuuut y euVl lvsSs
"The talk of paying So y an acre
for such land is nonsense ah Hsshocks
common decency," declared Vice
Chancellor Henry G. Pitney in the
Chancery chambers at Newark yes
terday afternoon at the hearing ON
the action for an injunction to pre-
vent the Board of Water Commits
sioners of this city from purchasing
the thirty acres of land at Runyon
from Asbury Fountain and his bros
thcr, James, for $15,5OO.
Its all wrong." said the vice
chancellor. "Td like you TO know
what's in my mind. It's not worth
it at ALL"
Decision in the matter was, as
foretold in the NEWS yesterday, re-
served, pending the vice chanceilor'a
perusal of the briefs, depositions a1id
afidavits submitted yesterday after<
noon by counsel for the plaintiffs,
Water Board and Fountains.
But little doubt as to the vice
fchancellor's view of the deal was left
by his emphatic opinion expressed
in open court, as quoted above. and
also by other remarks reproduced be-
low
The testimony brought out at the
two hearings in this city during the
past two weeks took up ia type
written pages.
Vice Chancellor Pltney also seve
ly condemned the action of the d
~. .fs,etf -
the Fountains in not serving
Lyon, counsel for the plaintiffs n.
copies of affidavits taken 10y them
during the last few weeks. until With
in few minutes of the beginning Of
the hearing.
vice Chancellor pitney rnundly
scored such practices and N6nptep1e
that he has always declared ~ X
counsel should serve the opposingz
counsel with copies of aftidavits as,
soon as possible and not walt ones'
two, or three weeks.
He offered to allow Judge Lyon
time to answer those aftidavits, but
Judge Lyon said he would proceed
notwithstanding. The vice chancel-
lor grew most vehement and brought
his first down on his desk In empha-
sizing his displeasure at the With
holding of the copies of the sfiidavits
until the eleventh hour.
Judge Lyon made masterful ar
gument reviewing the Fountains
fights against this city for twelye
years past and exposing the various
remarkable phases of this deal He
said that the bill of complaint charg-
ed fraud. and said that this legal ac-
ton is an attempt on the part of q
taxpayer to prevent powerful poiit-
ical influence from robbing the city
He referred to the values by men
who have been connected with the
water department ever since its es-
tablishment, who esUifnated from $lV
to 500 an acre as a justtMalue EQn.
the land for which the Water Bod
would have paid $500 or upwards:
an acre.
Vice Chancellor Keenly Interested
"What do they want it for?" asked
Vice Chancellor Pitney at this point
in Judge Lyons argument. Judge
Lyon said that he could not say, ex-
cept that they have spoken of needs
ing it for the proposed ground stor-
age system of wells.
at is good for nothing else, COM
tinued Judge Lyon. 1T has only q
sandy scrub oak and grassy cover
ing, and has no timber growth. IL
is of no value except possibly for
wells. The contention that rival
water company might buy this land
to supply water to several small
towns on the south side of the TiYer
is absurd"
Judge Lyon showed Vice Chan~
celor Pitney a map of the land IN tha
vicinity, and the four lawyers gath
cred about the vice chancellor's desk
, while Mr. Lyon explained the map
|, briefly. He referred to the court de-
cision in the trespass suit brought Py
Asbury Fountain against this city IN
1894 in which this city was given the
; right to flood twelve acres OF the
Fountains land. d
Judge Lyon called special attenuon
to the testimony of Expert James y
Rossi last week that the land IS no
more valuable to the city than the
/ other land at Runyon, except Wnera
it might be necessary to lay less plps
because of nearness.
Land worthless, Supposes Pitney
0 "I suppose the more of that lap
CONTINUED on Page 81