The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-04-09
BIGGEST STEAL
n YEARS. SAYS
ASSEMBLYMAN
East Jersey Lobby at Work in
Legisla ure to Pass Water
District Bill.
LIVELY SESSION AT
HEARING IN HOUSE
Water to Be Sold Cheap to Com
pany and Dear to Mu-
inequalities.
tFrom a STAFF Correspondent

ohh O oNoh SOii0opOithSlls1
TRENTON, April 9.-"I am glad I
represent Morris County in the Legisla-
ture this year. so that ] can get n
crack mt the biggest monopoly that has
ever cursed the State.
"Ths bill is the biggest steal that
has come into the Legislature In years,
Assemblyman James A. Lyon, of Nor
ris County, thus began an attack before
the committee on riparian rights, of the
House, on Senator Hinchliffe's bill, SEN
ate No. 244, to create a water district in
Morris, Passaic, Bergen and Hudson
counties, and to saddle $40, 900, 900 debt
or more on the district. There is no
absolute knowledge of what the debt
will be ultimately.
Under a bill passed last year the debt
would be a lien on all the property in the
district, the law stating that the bonds
'shall be secured by all of the property
within the said water supply district
The municipalities named in the dis
trict, and which would thus be mort
gagged without the consent of either the
people in them or the governing bodies,
are, besides the city of Newark, as fol-
lows:
In the county of Morris, the town
ships of Montville and ~Pequannoch; in
the county of Passaic, the cities of Pat
erson and Passaic, the townships OF
Aquackanonk, Little Falls, Manchester
and Wayne, and the b~oroughs of Ponp-
ton Lakes, Hawthorne, Totowa, North
Haledon and Prospect Park; in the
county of Bergen. the townships OF
Lodi, Saddle River and Union, and the
boroughs of Carlsbad, East Ituther-
ford, Garfield, Glen Rock, Hasbrouck
Heights, Lodi. Little Ferry, North Ar
lington, Rutherford, Wellington and
Woodbridge and in the county of
Hudson, the towns of Kearny, Har-
rison and the borough of East Newark.
President Hillery of the Senate, rep
resenting Morris County, and Assem-
blyman Lyon, of Morris County, APP
peared against the bill, as did citizens
of that county. who objected on the
ground that the proposed reservoir VII
wipe out the most beautiful section of
Morris County, and will drive from
their homes $4,000 inhabitants of the
valley.
Senator Hinchliffe led the delegation
in favor of the bill.
Assemblyman Martin made a strong
argument on behalf of Newark, which
owns its own water supply, against ar
bitrarily bonding Newark for ar i'm
p%rovenent it does not want and is for
the benefit of others.
The hearing was nearly broken up
when f. A. Ransom. ir., of Jersey City,
asked Senator Hinchliffe if it was not
true that when the reservoir was com
pleted tho commission would sell the
East Jersey and other water companies
water at the same rate AS municipal
ties. Mr.. Hinchliffe said il was.
Hasn't the East Jersey and it's sub
sidiary companies Tong-term contracts
with many of the municipalities to sell
them water at from 500 to 5000 per
million gallons, while the commission
proposes to sell it to them at $11?"
asked Ransom.
u don't know" said Hinchlife, get
ting angry.
Under this bill wouldn't the East
Jersey and other water companies be
able to buy water from the State at
$40 and sell it to municipalities at an
enormous profit"
No answer was made to this question.
but a dozen men tried to talk at once.
\ powerful lobby is trying to pass
the bill, The East Jersey lobbyists are
circulating the story that the company
is against tho bill, but this is done to
work up a sentiment for it's passage.
They say that neither the East Jersey
nor any other corporation or person
has any rights in the waters of the
State, as against the State. but they
cannot explain the provision in pre-
vious laws which specifically states
that the commission may purchase
water rights and fowage rights