The New York herald., 1872-09-14
MORE FRAUDS IN JERSEY.
The Chosen Freeholders of
Hudson County.

Moius@a" ouP0Is anu 1risonere-Uoplore-
BILE Lack of Discipline-Ths Cost Of
Supplying Two Juries with
Meals. Drinks and Cigars.
municipal frauds In Jersey City have received at-
'tention from the HERALD, the Grand Jury, the
Courts and the State Prison officials that there h
an end to what Judge Bedle styled 'prostitutlng
public ONCE to private gain" But the following
developments are calculated to lead to diderent
conclusion. The indictments found BY the famous
Grand Jury OF Hudson county have produced Q
wholesome erect In every department Of the city
government excepting those under tho control
Of tho convicted Police Commissioners the
latter officials, It was believed would manifest
signs Of repentance when the Court extended 70
them unlooked-for mercy and saved them from the
degradation of the prison cell. Several indict-
ments are yet hanging over them, and these the
State authorities considered 1t would net be neces-
sary to bring up at the next term OF Court. Bus
the defiant attitude assumed by the Commissioners
in resisting the mandate of the Governor makes Il
incumbent on the Attorney General and DstriOs
Attorney to force them into true repentance by .
wholesome administration OF the law at the next
term of the Court.
That branch Of local government which claims at
tentOn In the present article Is the administration
OF the Board OF Chosen Freeholders OF Hudsoa
County. Some questionable practices have been
INDUCED In by members Of this Board for several
years past which escaped public attention. There
were little rings and jobs just as In the Board OF
Public Works. On this subject Judge Bedle said. In
his charge the Grand Jury at the opening Of tho
Court last January :-'There is another act 70
which your attention is called, and that applies to
the Board Of Chosen FreehOlders The Court
here referred to the laws Of 1869, page
1881. 1t is doubtful whether you would have
power to indict under that act, inasmuch as tho
penalty seems to be provided In the act, which y
the forfeiture, speaking generally, OF the gain of
the result of being interested In q contract But
In these officers you find fraud or corruption you
indict by the common law without reference to any
statute. In this connection the Court refer you 60
section 100 of the Jersey City charter The doc
trine OF conspiracy may also apply to those officials
ifthey enter into collusion with q contractor 70
defraud the city"
The extraordinary length OF time devoted by that
Grand Jury to the municipal frauds In Jersey City
was sufficiently trying to men who had urgent bust-
to attend to- and the Irregularities In the Board
OF Chosen FreetOlders, being OF minor Importance
were transmitted to another Grand Jury. Some Of
these Irregularities will quickly appear. The law
provides that neither city nor county officials shah
be directly or indirectly concerned In any contract
or In the sale OF any article TO the city or county
respectively. Yet 1t Is notorious that up to this
day members OF the Board Of Chosen Freehoiders
have supplied goods, mostly through second parties
to the county. This practice had become so con-
mon that at the meeting before the last Mr.. Clay
ton offered q resolution that no member Of
the Board shall sell anything to the county. Ths
resolution was strengthened by an Amendments
offered by Mr.. Lewis and was adopted. This, how
ever, did not check the evil, and at the latest meet
ing, on Thursday Of this week, resolution was
adopted providing that proposals shall be received
In future for the supply of beef to the county Ams
house and prisons. The beef has been hitherto sup
piled by member OF the Board under the name OF
"a friend" To this very day the groceries and
provisions are supplied by another member. who
is member OF a firm In Chambers street, New
York. The stationery and printing contract seeme
to be an heirloom to firm in Liberty street, New
York, although the work could be performed as
cheaper rates in Jersey City.
The law requires that all contracts exceeding the
yet this provision has been practically annuled, a.
In the Of the contract Tor the erection OF new
@ 9Ss oS ana
Buildings opened the proposals and scanned them
before they submitted them at meeting Of the
Board strong protest was made against this
by some of the members, on the ground that such
approaching rendered competition valueless. Tho
The public dinner system has been q crying eva
In this Board. The taxpayers OF the county would
not to S5 On Say
fee or reward to the public service but they OBJ
ject most decidedly to paying for SQUADS OF friends
politicians and common barroom bummers.
This has become 2 most peE9lci9N pfac-
s tSany So pacsa Nssf unasP ssesss EXPENSE sa e
this head. Certain committees OF the Board
sS &c Ing s ss snss and
drinks are provided, and all at the public expense.
There is, however. prospect Of some reform m
adopted at q meeting Of the Board that the dinner
system at meetings Of the Board be abolished;
Director OF the Board, had resolution adopted ss
meeting in the County Almshouse that no re-
freshments or dinner he provided hereafter to any
The number OF cows bought for the County Farm
ages one month, and the price $125 for each AMI
NAL. Hundreds OF cattle OF the same quality
marked to the HERALD representative-for Sos
each. out OF the eighteen cows now on the farm
only four give milk Two months ago the Commit
tee on County Farm effected nice little bargain.
which In this article Is 'too cusssd good to be
lost" as Nasby says Two new mch cows were
received In exchange two dry cows, together with
the sum Of sl40. An inquiry was made about the
'they went mad and had to be shot.'
The cost to the county for maintaining the pau
pers and prisoners Is one dollar and sevcnty-dve
cents head per day, while the cost TO New York
for each inmate on Backwelrs Island is only thirty
five cents, or about four-hths less. That very
great attention Is not paid to the management 0f
the Farm Is evident from the fact that III the imme
diate Vicinity OF the Almshouse it Is overgrown
ers s snd Msfa Sesa @ Sss ss ss ss
But the most crying evil OF all Is to he found In
what is misnamed the discipline Of the institution.
The Innocent little ones who have lost a father, q
mother or both are left to minge with those whose
tSsii trodaen i' tSe' the broad wayX Me- good BOOK
says. 'woe be to him who shall scaEdal.
ize one OF these little onesr and yet
practices the most reprehensible are frequently In
duged In before the youth Of both sexes As
preliminary step towards reformation I'm this mat
ter Mr.. Startup offered resolution at the NEE tinr
OF the Board on Thursday that a special committees
be appointed to regulate the discipline In the
Almshouse, but the resolution was referred to the
AlmshOuso Committee, which was only q method