The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-03-29
Senator Gardner Tries to
Account for the Smother
ing of the Feeney.
Bill.
PLAINLY IT is TO BE KILLED,
Now Let the Voters Sharpen Up
Their Memories--A Lazy Day
in the Assembly.
[special to the Jersey city Ne,cs. !

Especial to the Jersey City Neses.l
TRENTON, March %, 1881 tried today
to discover the nature of the mysterious
force which keeps the Anti-Swindicate
Water bills in the Senate Committee on
Riparian Rights despite Senator Edwards
utmost tugging and beseeching. If any
man knows what this force is, Senator
Gardner, of Atlantic, should. Hehas been
in the Senate more than decade, is up to
all the tricks of legislation. and is very
clever.
When questioned about the prospects OF
the bills, he did not give any encourage
ment to believe that they would become
laws this session. In reviewing the situa-
ton, he said that three interests had ap-
peared before the committee, representing
Newark, Bayonne and Jersey City. All
persons from Newark, with one excep-
ton, and Bayonne's representative Colonel
Fuller, were in favor of letting the law
stand as it is. Moreover, Newark's repre-
sentative in the Senate, Mr. Martin, was
now pushing through law to enable
the city to borrow money to
purchase water supply. Jer-
sey City's representatives supported
the two bills then under consideration by
two contradictory propositions. One was
that the bill should be passed because the
citizens could not trust the officials they
had elected, and therefore, the question OF
making water contracts should not be de-
cided by vote of the people. The other
bill, which enables the State to acquire
water rights by the right of eminent
domain, they supported, on the ground
that the people could not be trusted, and
that the matter should, therefore, be left
to the State. On the whole, the weight of
the matter seemed to him to be IN favor OF
letting the present law stand.
UTTERLY UNFoUNDED.
Absurd as Mr.. Gardner's reasons are,
they will satisfy the Water Swindlecatess.
Not one of the propositions which he ad-
vaneed has, however, any basis in fact.
To say that because the Swindlecates have
their grip on Newark and Bayonne, Jersey
City should also suffer, is to reach the
height of absurdity. His statement that
''all persons from Newark, with one ex-
ception," favored the present law, sounds
imposing, but it means simply that three
persons were Teady to talk to the commit
tee if calleI~1pon, one of the three being
Newark,S legal adviser. AS to the argu-
ments>of Jersey City's representatives, the
Senator must have been asleep when they
were delivered Their advocacy of the
Feeney bill was based on the ground that
the city boards could not be trusted, but
their reason for supporting the companion
bill was not, as he stated, that the people
could not be trusted, but that the State
could better exercise the right of eminent
domain for the purposes specified than in
dividual cities could
SOUNDS VERY NICE.
After making these misstatements,
Senator Gardner branched out into the
general subject of legislation forcities and
said he was tired of passing special laws.
One session committee came from some
city to Trenton and wanted a law passed.
The next year another committee de-
manded that the law be repealed, on the
ground that the first committee had mis-
represented the interests and sentiments
of the citizens. The Legislature had
come to be regarded as sort of Board of
Aldermen In connection with this re-
mark, it may be of interest to state that
Senator Gardner has just pushed through
bill authorizing Atlantic City to build
new board walks in place of those swept
away by the sea in q recent storm. But
then, Senator Gardner lives down that
way
Another thing was, that if this republic
was to endure, there must be local auton-
omy; people must elect officials whom
they could trust This is q high, moral
ground which the Swindlecates should
adopt and push forward whenever they
start out to get their grip on city.