The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-11-11
LAWYERS talk FREELY
Bold Facts for McPhi1lips
to Ponder at
Leisure.
WHY THE SERVICE IS BAD
Constables Not Paid For the Extra
Work Required of Them, So
They Take Their Time.

They Take Their Time.
Since THE NEWS made public the dis
graceful condition of the Office Of Sheriff
John j. McPhillipsi the lawyers in this
county have been in most excellent
humor, and their faces have been
wreathed in smiles. They had been sncn
a long suffering lot of men
that the public exposure OF the
Sheriff was received by them with undfs-
guised dslight. They believe that the
publication of the existing wrongs in the
administration of this Office will. must
! lead to better condition of affairs.
| This conclusion / also believe to be cor
| rect, for already there has been q marked
improvement in one department. OF the
SherIff's Office. The petit jury panel
drawn yesterday did not exhibit the same
old list of political heelers that has
marked every one McPhillips has drawn.
There are fewer grog shop keepers on 1t
also. Few of the names are at all known
around town, and it is hoped that the av-
erage of the material may be better than
usual.
The Improvement, if there is one, Is
directly due to the exposure of The
| NEWS, and that McPhillips at last real-
| izes that the time has corae for the bad
condition of his Office to end
AMONG THE LAWYERS
This morning took stroll among the
| lawyers and everywhere l went The
NEWS WAS praised for the effort it Is maxi
ing to purify the highest office in the
county.
Lawyer Max Rosenberg, manager Of
the office of the noted firm Of Free-
| denbergh & Garretson. said of
no q M In iztr d
oft1ce:-'I do not object to McPhillips
personally, andsI think that IL he would
remain in his office It's condition might
| be better. But he doesn't. He leaves In
competent men to DO his business. Ihey
| are incapable and find it impossible to
| get any information from them about
| cases our Office is Interested in."
| Some lawyers have charged the Sherim
with extortion, have you ever had reason
to believe your firm has been over
| charged?"
"Well, would not like to use the word
extortion. but l have one bill from the
| Sheriff that l am very doubtful about.
| / have asked the Sheriff for an iremized
statement of his charges, bu have not
received it yet. He said he would give II
| to me-"
| 81 suppose you have the same com-
| plaint that nearly,all the lawyers make,
that papers are not promptly and prop
| erly served?n
|
Sheriff's Office OF the delay In thu
| service of papers many times. why,
| I sent the Sheriff an execution early
| last August and he did not make levy
until the middle of October. a delay for
| which there can be no excuse"
"To what do you attribute the delRyf
"McPhiliips has too little efficient helps
| The man Maher doesn't know anything
] won't learn anything. and don't do any1
thing. When any one seeks fnformatlonS
| from him he only gets bluff. He can
| get no information"
THE NEWS COMMENDED.
| What is your opinion of the work be-
| ing done by The NEWS in bringing to
| light the true condition of the Sherif's
| office?'
many abuses will be corrected"
Sabatino Spiotta, the barber who was
| arrested by a Sheriff's officer last Satur-
day and locked up in the City Prison
| instead of the County Jail. where he
yesterday on bail The publication
in THE NEWS of this outrage
| hurried the Sheriff along lively. Monday
| morning Spiotta's friends appeared in
| the Court of Sessions to give bonds Tor
| him, but Spiotta was not there. The Care
less Sheriff had not removed MIN
| from the City Prison where the Sheriff
! had no right to detain him. As soon as
The NEWS told the story on Monday Nc
| Phillips directed that Spiotta be taken
TO the Comfy Jail. and yesterday
morning bright and early the careless
| Sheriff produced the prisoner in Court.
A lawyer told me that Spiotta has an ex-
| cellent case for damages against Nc
Phillips for his course in this matter.
| When l entered the office of James
Broden, Clerk of the First District Court
today. Mr.. Broden exclaimed:-"Ha, I
see you have been going for the Sheriff,
! and l believe it will do much good,
| too"
Soon after this met man at the
J Court House who is thoroughly posted in
| the details of the Sheritf's office. He
asked ME not to print his name and then
| said:-
| HOW coNsTABLEs ARE PAID.
"I'll tell you one reason why all the
lawyers complain of the delay in
| the service of papers. 1t is because
| McPhillips don't pay the constables for
the work they do. He tells them to
| serve summonses and other papers and
| sometimes they lose one or two entire
days in doing it. For the loss of this
time and the service OF the papers
the constables do not receive q cent.
| McPhillips claims that because he APP
| points constables to the courts and Grand
| Jury they should work for him withous
| pay. The constables he appoints
this manner he saves for himself the
money it would take TO employ efficient
men. He has not even got Deputy
Sheriff, because by dispensing with the
| services of one he saves 500 month.
| That is what MePhillips got when he was
a Deputy Sheriff. The lawyers send their
papers TO the Sheriff and he directs Maher
to place them somewhere until Con-
stable happens to come in. Then II the
papers can be found. and it often happens
| that they cannot, the Constable
takes them TO serve. He knows he
will not be paid for his work and in con-
sequence takes his own time to serve the
papers The Constables don't dare re-
! fuse to do this work without pay, for 1t
they did McPhillips would not permit
| them to serve the court or Grand
Jury, and then they would be almost en-
tirely without income from their office.
| This is the reason, or rather one or the
reasons, papers are not promp0y served.
| do not care to say how many mistakes
/: may be made by constables when they
| are under the influence OF drink, and
| this is a frequent occurrence"
"These Constables must be deputized by
| the Sheriff to serve the papers" COM
mented, "and do you mean to say he
would deputize a man who was not
| soberS'
II don't mean to say anything except
| that have seen men under the influence
| of drink who have been deputized by the
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