The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1890-09-28
ASSEMBLY RECORDS.
Legislative Career Of a
Batch Of Ring Candi-
dates.
GOOD MEN TO VOTE AGAINST.
Murphy's Queer Bills, BoyIe's At
tack on the Finance Board and
Byrne's Grove Street Job.


As the Democratic County Commit
tee has fixed the time for holding the AS
sembly conventions. and as several Of the
men who represented the county In the last
Legislature are seeking denomination,
it would not be out of place. perhaps, TO
glance at the record made by some OF
them while at Trenton last winter. Hud-
son county. it will be remembered. was
represented in the Assembly BIZ Michael
Mullone, from the Firsts district: Henry
Byrne. from the Second district; James
Murphy, from the Third district; Speaker
Heppenheimer. from the Fourth district;
J. Herbert Potts, from the Fifth district;
James S. Erwin. FROM The Sixth district;
John F. Kelly from the Seventh dis
trict; Andrew J. Boyle, from the Eighth
district; Lawrence Pagan. from the Ninth
district, and Thomas B. Usher from the
Tenth district With the exception Of
Speaker Representatives. and Mr.. Pagan,
all of these gentlemen are said to be
willing to take upon themselves the bur-
den OF law making once more.
Messrs. Erwin and Potts, from a Re-
pm blican standpoint. no doubt faithfully
performed their duties. Speaker Hep
pen heimer and MIR. Muilone certainly did
theirs from any standpoint, as did others
of the Hudson delegation. Still there
were some who brought disgrace upon
themselves and the districts which they
misrepresented. The Introduction OF bills
had hardly gotten under way when the
measures introduced by Mr.. Murphy won
for him the distinction OF being the boss
striker of the session.
Mr. MURPHY's BILLS PRODUCE SMILES.
On February he introduced i've bills
which, when read by the clerk, were re-
ceived with smiles Of deFision by the
House. One provided for transfer tickets
without extra cost to be used on all inter-
secting horse car companies Another
fixed the price OF illuminating gas in all
first class cities at S125 per thousand
feet The third made It unlawful for any
steam railroad corporation TO lay tracks
through any city without the consent OF
the Board of Aldermen OF Common
Council The fourth prohibited any
manufacturer Of watch cases from sell
ing any case unless marked or stamped
with the number Of karats or fineness of
the gold or silver which was in the
same under q penalty Of 500
fine Tor imprisonment OF one
year or both, while the last fixed the
rates for electric lighting In cities OF the
first class These bills were referred to
committees. Sand that was the last
heard of them for some time Mr.. Murphy
also introduced a bill providing that all
telephone, telegraph and electric light
wires should be properly insulated and
put under ground at the expiration Of
also one to repeal the Set which allowed
the Lehigh Valley Railroad to abandon
the navigation of the Morris Canal Then
he got in bill to repeal the water bills,
and one requiring that all casks and
hogsheads containing liquor should
have the quantity they contained
plainly marked upon them.
The sarcastic remarks Of his fellow
members made little impression upon
Mr. Murphy, and he insisted upon calling
up several of his measures which were
peacefully sleeping the sleep OF the uu-
just in the committees. Finally one day,
in spite OF broad hints from Mr.. Marsh,
who was leading the Democratic side OF
the House, and other influential members
he succeeded in getting some of his
measures before the House. He urged
their passage with the usual formula Of
their being good bills and introduced
solely for the purpose of benef1ting
MBrsh arose and denounced Mr.
Murphy and his schemes in such I'M
measured terms that his bills then before
the House were promptly killed and the
others never emerged from the commit
tee ROOM So imbued was the majority
with the idea that MIR. Murphy's meas
ures were to be killed on sight. that sew
eral really good bills which he intro
duced went the way OF the others 1t
was owing to this that his bill to enable
the citizens of his district to continue
their sewers across Harsimus Cove to tide
water had such hard time in becoming
law.
MR.. BoYLE's UBIQUITOUS MEASURES
Mr. Boyle introduced bill which, had
it become a law. would have enabled
the Ring to squander the city's finances
without any check. The bill in substance
took away from the Board of Finance the
power to concur in the resolutions of the
other boards. When the provisions Of
this measure became known in JERSEY
City howl of popular Indignation went
upwhlch penetrated even TO Trenton, and
Mr. Boyle lost no time in getting out
from under. BE arose in his seat one
evening as soon as the journal had been
approved and publicly withdrew the bill
in a speech in which he said he had in
PRODUCED it by request without reading.
and now that he had examined il he
found that it went altogether too far.
Mr.. Boyies first bill to attract atten-
ton was one which made it unlawful to
maintain fat rendering or boiling estab-
lishment within corporate limits or one
mile thereof. This bill was passed in
snch way that it was said it was
aimed at all the large soap and fertilizer
manufacturing establishments in the
State, and there was general odor about
il as rank as those which Mr.. Boyle said
the bill was intended to suppress Atany
rate, it brought large delegation of soap
and fertilizer men to Trenton. and moth
ing much was heard of the measure after
il was consigned to committee.
Mr.. Byrne covered himself with every
thing but glory when be introduced bill
which was intended to let the patent
pavement ring into the Grove street pave
ment Job The measure was a harmless
bill apparently, and was entitled IAN act
to give the proper boards in cities the
power to draw specifications for the lay
ing OF payements." THE JERSEY CRY
NEWS discovered the little joker in the
bill, which went on 70 give the Board Of
Street and Water Commissioners the
power to lay pavements, whether such
payements were patented or not, and TO
adopt specifications for the improvement