The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-03-15
SHIRKING THEIR DUTY.
MEMBERS OF ASSEMBLY CRAWL
OUT THROUGH THE WINDOW.
A Tempest in a Teapot Over South Jer-
sey Game-Everyone is Down on
Potts for His Factions Revolt Against
the Werts Bill and the Caucus.
[Special to the .Jerseu Ciiu Neps.l

L 80
Potts for His Factions Revolt Against
the Werts Bill and the Caucus.
Especial to the JERSEY City News.1
TRENTON, March II, 1SS9-Keeping the
Assemblymen at work today was as hard
as making boys study on a. holiday.
Speaker H~udspeth and his new gavel are
tired tonight, but it was fun for the AS
semblymen, who are talking of presenting
a pair of trousers to O'Neill, of Jersey
City. O'Neill attempted to escape out Of
a window, but caught on a nail. There
after, the presence of ladies in the gallery,
and, subsequently, in the street, made it
necessary for him to keep his overcoat
buttoned up tight. Assemblyman Brown
is said to have lent him a pair of trousers
to go back to Jersey City in.
No II could have done more than
Speaker H~udspeth did to foster the infant
industry of Iaw-making. He surrounded
it with the highest kind of protection, a
prohibitory tariff, in fact, as he had the
doors locked. Then O'Neill tore his
trousers. Frank McDermit also slid out.
His trousers are intact, and he caught a
train for Newark. The queerest disap-
pearance was that of Doron, of Burling-
ton. He is sixty years old, has a white
beard, and could not jump out of a win
dow without the help of. a safe mover.
He had been grumbling all the afternoon
because he could not go home. He told
Speaker Hudspeth that the calendar
would not be so much behind if the ses-
sion was opened punctually, and if less
time was wasted in Speaker
Hudspeth replied that the House was
always called to order as soon as a quorum
arrived, and that, as for the caucuses,
they would continue to be held.
Well, he disappeared. AS no earthquake
was felt, many members do not believe
that he jumped out of the window. The
void left by the disappearance of his 290
pounds was too great to escape the Speak
er's eye. He called the. House, discovered
that three of his pupils were missing, and
ordered the Sergeant-at-ArmS to produce
them. The Sergeant-at-Arms is as used
to orders of this kind as the members are
to the bitter sneers of their colleagues,
and he merely smiled and did nothing.
But the Speaker meant what he said this
time and told the Sergeant-ArmS that he
would hold him responsible for the escape
of any other Assemblymen. Thereafter
pages armed with cigarettes guarded the
windows. ONeill was captured while
trying to make his trousers presentable
with pins. The whereabouts of the other
two has not been discovered, but Sergeant
alarms Corish says he is on their track.
oBSTREPORoUS MD.
McDermit had been suffering from OBJ
s-treporousness all day. He reminds AS
semblyman Feeney of Lord Randolph
Churchill, whom he resembles in counter
ance and aspect, although the Britisher
--x~A. 100 - on hts
breast equal to those displayed by the
! Newark member. He is forming a party
| of his own. 1t consists chiefly of Patter-
| son, now, but Potts may join next week.
He had a bout with soft gloves early in the
afternoon with Speaker Hudspeth, who
had left the chair to advocate a bill giving
notaries public the same power to execute
Acknowledgements now held by commits
sioners of deeds. Mr.. McDermit opposed
it, saying that under the present law many
errors in important deeds were made, and
that the effect of the change would be to
increase the danger of blunders. Mr..
| Hudspeth replied that the only qualifica-
ton which seemed to be needed to be a
| commissioner of deeds was to be a political
| heller. He spoke with considerable heat
| and McDermit replied hotly. Then Riker
jumped in, and the Speaker jumped on
him, too. The bill received the thirty-one
votes it needed,
SOUTH JERSEY GAME.
If Messrs. Harris, of Camden, and Cole,
of Cape May, come back next Monday
evening with the same wrathful feelings
they took aWay tonight, the lobby may be
put under martial law. They are furious
over the means which they think are be-
ing used to defeat the three bills for the
relief of the counties of South Jersey,
which are said to be grooming under the
tyranny of the syndicate of Philadelphia
snortSmen, Cole came near making a
charge of bribery on the floor today. Be
fore he had said much he was interrupted
by McDermit with a point of order, n
when he resumed, he said he would defer
the statement he had proposed to make.
He did say, however, that the Democratic
caucus had been led by lies and mis-
representations to decide to defeat the
measure.
II charge" he said later in the day, pri-
yately, that improper influences have
been used to delay and defeat these bills.
In all except w cases, only misrepresen-
tation has been resorted to. While L was
| speaking | had my eyes straight on the
two men l refer to in the other two cases,
and neither of them dared say a word. OF
course, / have no affidayits or legal evil
dence to prove that they accepted cash"
During a good part of the session, Cap
tain Charles Platt, the agent or detective
of the West Jersey Game Protective So
ciety, the official name of the Phlladel-
pn1A S~pOfISulen, mas DeeH 6DOul ulc Dudu6
| House. He is a tall, dark man, with a
thick black beard about his throat n
chin, cut after the South Jersey style of
1917. He generally sits down somewhere
and swings his SLOUGH hat, not saying
much, but keeping up a powerful think
ing. He is said to be q nice
man to meet socially. Few persons
believe that any money has been used
to affect the fate of the bills. The infiu-
ences most probably brought to bear are
| Captain Platt's social qualities and repre-
sensations and the fellow feeling which
exists between sportsmen. Colonel Hep
penheimer and Mr.. Feeney, for example,
both go hunting on the Tuxedo preserves,
and they regard the position OF the Phila-
delphians who cross over into Jersey to
shoot, and who want to protect the game
| from determination by unspOrtsmanlike
methods, as the same as that of the Jer-
seymen who take their sports in the Tux
| edo preserves in New York State. Even
! South Jersey members are opposed to the
bills, among them being Harris col
league from Camden, Captain Smith.
One reason for making the defeat of the
bills a caucus measure was the statement
that they would greatly strengthen the
hands of Republican bosses, by giving
them power to Cypress or reward voters.
A sNUB FoR THE KIcKERs.
The Democrats throughout the debate
| showed a disposition to treat the subject
in the fairest way, and it was mainly the
excitement exhibited by Harris and Cole
u,Iiob ooucad tho caroxvc fn ba tJ7rnn6