Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1910-09-30
BOARD OF WORKS
NOT ABLE TO BUY
SHIP CANAL LAND

Commission will not take up the bonds,
as they have only just taken over the
watershed extension bonds for 100000
and cannot arrange for this new loan.
THE result of this mix-up,' con-
tinued Mr.. Sherrerd, "is that we have
100000 to our credit, yet we cannot
get a cent of it. L will therefore sug-
gest that we borrow $4,000 from the
water department in order that we can
close this Mum option"
Can't Take Up other Options.
This was agreed to by the board, but
there is no provision for taking up the
other options that will expire about
the first of the month.
Commissioner O'Connel said there
ought to be some way of forcing the
comptroller to market the bonds in
order to protect the citys interests in
the meadow reclamation plans Mr..
Sherrerd reported also that he had
conferred with Mayor Hausslng on
the proposition to hold preliminary
conference of engineers before gen.
eral conference Is held
While the Mayor did not say that
the plan would be acceptable to him,
he suggested that such conference
should include a government engineer.
Mr.. Sherrerd was authorized to ar
range for a meeting of the engineers
who had been associated with the work
in the past and to secure the attend
ance of Colonel William Black to act
in conjunction with the other experts.
This arrangement will be submitted to
the Mayor for his approval and 1t is
believed that he will tindorse the plan.
That ; Per Cent. Ordinance.
The 5-per-cent, ordinance had an
other shake-up at the meeting, when
Commissioner Mungle submitted his
promised resolution turning the whole
matter over to the Common Council
for adjustment. 1t was his contention
that the subject was one that came
directly under the jurisdiction of the
financial department of the city gov
ernment and should be disposed of by
the body handling this work of the
city
In prefacing his resolution Mr.. Nun
gle presented written statement of
his view of the case, in which he said
in part:
"Does the act creating the Board of
Street and Water Commissioners take
from the Common Council any of the
power to regulate and control the
finances of the city? If it does not
then the board has no right to abro-
gate or amend any contract which af-
fects the assets of the municipality, or
the revenues derived from such assets
for the maintenance of the city gov
ernnment.
"If it is the intention of that act to
give this board authority over the
fiscal affairs of the city. why is it that
the authority to license hacks and
vehicles is still retained by the Mayor
and Common Council, although they
operate upon the streets of the city,
as does the traction company?
ut may also be asked why the Mayor
and Common Council still issue licenses
for the trolley cars and why the fees
for all these licenses go to the Com
mon Council instead of to this board.
1 therefore offer the following resolu-
tion
whereas, There is doubt as t.
whether the payment of per cent. of
the gross receipts of the several trac-
tion companies has been correctly
made and
Whereas, 1t is clearly the duty of
the Common Council of the city to
adjust and collect such payments. 1t is
moved that 1t is the sense Of this board
| that the Common Council proceed to
investigate all differences existing and
growing out of the payment of said 5
per cent, to the end that this board
may take up and adjust all matters
that are within its jurisdiction growing
out of and in connection with the priv
ileges granted said traction companies
by the resolution and subsequent ordi-
nance that embrace among other
things the payment of per cent. of
it's gross earnings"
1t was argued by Mr.. Boggs, of the
legal department that 1t might be well
to proceed slowly in the matter until
the matter of the present ordinance
which is now before the Court of Err
rors and Appeals for decision, is set
tied.
| President Denman said he did not see
where the city stood to lose anything
by pressing the present case and 1T was
finally agreed to refer the matter te
the legal department before taking Q
vote on the motion to lay the ordinance
before the Common Council.
The matter will be taken up agaii
at next weeks meeting.
The Board also decided to find ou'
why the Public Service Corporation
continues to charge thirteen-cen'
fare to New York when its agreement