The Sunday tatler and Jersey City express. (Jersey City, N.J.) 1883-1886, 1885-12-27
THE SINGERS AND ELIZABETH.
A simple Statement of Facts About the
Existing Trouble.


Existing Trouble.
ELIZABETH, December 26-We do
not believe that the public has a
fair understanding of the merits of the
controversy between the Singer Sewing
Machine Company and the city of Eliza
beth. If it were properly understood
outside as the people of Elizabeth under
stand it, it seems scarcely possible that
any large share of the public sympathy
will be wasted on the Singer Company.
1t is not true, as the Singer Sewing Ma
chine people have so loudly alleged, that
that they loaned the city over million
dollars of money to tide her over financial
breakers. The amount of the loan was
only $500, 900. The rest of the money
she claims from the city is represented in
bonds that were purchased at market value,
and, in many instances, below their face
value. 1t is even intimated, in fact, that
since the city defaulted in the payment of
her interest money, the Singers have been
purchasing the dishonored city securities.
Over million dollars of the securities
| representing her total Indebtedness cannot
be traced; and there is shrewd SUPPOSE
| ton among the people that if the Singers
| do not succeed in overwhelming the CITY
with the debt they already hold against
her, they are holding the rest in reserve to
complete the job. If this is so, il only
serves to show the Discrimination and want
| of good faith with which the Singers have
been acting. When the city securities
went to protest, steps were taken at once
! toward settlement of the debt, and nu-
merous conferences were held between
committees of citizens and the creditors
| Ed Ward Clarke was at that time the Presi-
dent of the Singer Sewing Machine Com
| pany. He met the conference committees
in spirit of fairness, and finally accepted
| the proposition of the city looking to a
settlement of the debt on a fifty per cent
| basis. While the plans were being per
| fected, Mr.. Clarke died, and George r.
Mckenzie, whe is chiefly distinguished for
his ignorance, buster and purse pride.
succeeded him. The other creditors, in
GLIDING the Mutual Benefit Insurance
Company, of Newark, who held 81 900, 600
of the city's bonds, accepted the PROPOSE
ton; but after Clarke's death, Mr.. Nc
| Kenzie denied that there had been any
agreement on the part of the Singer folks
| to a fifty per cent. settlement, and he de-
manded his full pound of flesh. AS the
plan for fifty per cent. settlement con-
templated the concurrence of all the cred
itors, the opposition of Mr.. Mckenzie
delayed the completion of negotiations
butt other creditors tired of the bicker
between him and the city, and at the end
took their fifty per cent. and called the
debt square. The Mutual Benefit with
| the others, accepted half million of the
new securities for its million of the old.
Mckenzie still insisted on having all that
was due. and finally made an offer TO take
| 100 per cent. of new bonds, with interest
sealed at low rate. When the new bonds
were ready for him it was discovered
that he had gone to Europe. When, on
| his return, the new bonds were offered to
| him, he broke into a loud laugh. He had
made the proposition for settlement on the
accepted basis of 100 per cent and low
| interest, only for a lark, and had no idea
that it would be accepted, or of allowing
it TO be accepted. The city very properly
refused to palver any further with him,
| and he commenced suit in the United
States Courts. He secured judgment, and
| a mandamus directing that the Tax Asses.
sors insert in their coming tax levy sum
of money to be applied to the settlement
| of his Judgment was issued To defeat
the service of the mandamus, the Tax
Assessors resigned in body. Elizabeth
| City could not have her autonomy de-
stroyed by the seizure of all the city prop
erty To have permitted the levy would
have been the practical extinction of
Elizabeth as a city; and the action of the
Assessors was Unsuitable ON the ground
| of self-preservation. Their resignation
left the city without any meaus of raising
money TO carry on her local government;
| and the same reason that excused the
resigna ION of the Assessors made neces.
sary the devising of means TO raise money
for municipal purposes that would be
beyond tne reach of seizure. That was a
/ difficult object TO compass, but the inge.
/ nuity of Governor Albeit found a way
| out of it. An act was drawn by him and
passed by the Legislature, taking the col
| lection of taxes for municipal purposes
out of the line of municipal duties, and
making it State function. Empowered
by the act, Governor Albeit appointed q
commission to levy taxes for municipal
purposes, and these commissioners were
directed to resort to summary measures to
enforce the payment of the taxes. They
were State officers; and the money was
practically State money appropriated for a
municipal object. In the ordinary course
| of business, COMPTROLLER Carlton de-
manded from the Singers the amount OF
tax due from them for the year, and when
they refused to pay, he made a levy on
their property. 1t was purely formal
however, and not, IN the smallest sense
onerous. Nothing was taken from them.
Their work was not impeded, and the
machinery levied upon was placed at the
Company's use as freely as though no levy
had been made. The only thing the levy
prevented was sale OF the property on
which it had been made. There was nc
reason for cantankerous excitement over
it; but Mckenzie saw grand opportunity
for free advertisement in it, and pro-
ceeded to kick up a row. He demanded
that the Company's tax should be set off
against the city's debt to it. He must
have known that as the tax was levied and
collected by the State, it belonged to the
State, and was not the city's for use as an
offset or for any other purpose. But
because his demand was not acceded to,
he ordered the factory closed. 1t was
only game of bluff That he did not
order the shut down in good faith is shown
| by the fact that he resumed work before
the levy had been lifted, and practically
without knowing whether it would be
lifted or not. There's the whole story OF
! the trouble, as briefly and plainly as it can
be told. If anybody can 6ud anything In
it that commends the Singer managers to
the favor of the public, we have yet to
learn what it is.
| What Gator Says
| Alderman Thomas v. Gator was eating
his dinner in Taylors Hotel the other
day when representative of the SUNDAY
TATrLER dropped in.
"Ah, Alderman asked the TATTLER,
"What do you think of the new Finance
/ deal in the Board of Aldermen 4"