The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-03-26

PaAgborn presumably john, the
| Farriers and other eminent gem
| tleman took q hand in municipal
financiering Up to 1877 this debt had in
creased to SIT, 730. 900 almost ten millions
in seven years. A rapid increase OF debt
this. have studied the financial history
of the main cities Of the United States,
and of all the Internal debts ever toisted
upon a city in this country, | have failed
to fiud any equal to that which now rests
upon Jersey City"
Mr.. McDermott referred especially to
the celebrated 'ten-forty" bonds, bearing
other words bonds reasonable in ten
years, yet allowing forty years as limit.
! Until 1913" he said, 1.-THE taxpayers must
pay per cent. upon these bonds. In no
other city in the United States are the
taxpayers obliged to pay interest on
incurred during the Civil War.
A man may be asked in COURT.
| DO you own your house free of
all incumbrances?' Yes, he answers.
But he doesn't. He doesn't own 1t clear
by 18 per cent. of the assessed valuation.
| He thinks he owns 1t. But he Is pledged
TO the mortgage placed upon 1t by acrowd
as corrupt as any that ever managed the
| municipal affairs of any city in this coun-
| try [Applause]. Since 1877 1929, 900 has
| been added to the debt. That's more
than it ought to be. don't believe in
| piing up the city debt. l believe the
best policy is to pay as you go. BE square
about it."
Mr., McDermott did not fail to cmpha-
| size the fact that since 1870 the only
| period during which Ghe city's debt was
reduced was between the dates December
his term as the head Of the Finance
Board. During that short time
| the debt was reduced three-quar-
ters of a million of dollars.
| At the end of that term the Board OF AL
| dermen cut short the financial schemes
| abused him simply because he said II
will try and see If the seven per cent.
| bends cannot be refunded at a lower rate
| of interest-say three per cent.
During the last week of the present
| campai gn." said Mr.. McDermott, II pro-
pose to give Major Pangborn and the
| reapers of his paper demonstration that
| the city's debt can be reduced, and to
show that it was reduced when I was In
| the Finance Board. He will not allow
| me space in his news columns; but GER
tainly he will not refuse me space in his
| advertising columns. l will back my as
sertions with facts and figures.
MoGUL JOHN A. BLAIR.
Mr.. McDermott next paid his respects
| to ex-Judge Blair, the grand mogul of
| the Union League. He showed how the
city's debt crawled up from sl3, 10000 10
educated turtle" who is now attacking
| him. Mr.. Blair. as public official, SIM
ply went to sleep, and woke up once a
month to draw his salary. The answer
| to the South Cove grant proposition was
too much of an. effort Blair went to
pilinng up. Blair was still asleep.
| "Will some one," asked Mr.. DcDermott.
''please tell me what Blair ever did for
| this city,"
81 regard public office as public trust
| BY the eternal heavens, il elected Mayor
l will allow no unfit man to remain in
office ii l can remove him. would
rather ten thousand times go down In
defeat before the flag of Democracy
l love SO well = with its every
| fold breathing principles of manhood and
virtue-than attain the Office by making
promise before election to appoint anv
man to Office. Let there be no misunder-
standing about that"
THE SCHOOLS.
Mr.. McDermott next discussed the con-
dtion of the public streets and public
schools. Referring especially TO the lat
ter he said:-"Some of the school build
ings of our city are disgrace to civilza-
lion. The idea of sending our children to
them is abhorent to my mind.
Some of them are but fit to
breed disease in the bodies and
minds of the pupils. Let us abandon our
1t necessary to maintain the health of our
children while they are being educated"
Here Mr.. McDermott paused. Accord
ing to announcement he hurled u chal-
lenge to any one in the audience to ply
him with questions.
A lone voice squealed from the door
leading from the vestibule:-"Give this
fellow job" Without noticing the re-
quest Mr.. McDermott went on:-"This Ia
not buncombe. Perhaps some of you
may think later on of some question
have nos fully answered I don't ask
can advance your interests. All love,
my family. my hearthstone, this CITY
where / shall probably see for the last
time the light of day
"Give this fellow two Jobs. interrupted
the sQueaky voice from the vestibule.
"If see In any OF the departments an
opening for the Siamese twins," said Mr..
McDermott; land Pm elected I'll inves-
tigate your fitness for the position"
[Shouts Of laughter.l
A LOVER OF LABOR.
In reference to the Journals item con-
corning a street car conductor who said
he would never vote for him because he
never spoke to him until after he was
nominated as candidate for Mayor, Mr..
McDermott said:-"I never make it a
practice to ask everyone 'How's Aunt
Sues babyp A man who gets the repu-
tation of being real good fellow is
usually an Internal fool. But IL any man
says have not in my heart real respect
for manly labor that man lies. | learned
my trade as printer And even IL I
should reach the Presidential chair
os the nation l should always respect
the members OF mine or any other craft
as brothers. l have always retained the
membership of the typographical union
of which was member, aud / always
shall.
MGEE AND TOM POTTER.
AS TO my opponent l have nothing to
say, But Brother MCGEE. "a burst of
laughter). Have you ever heard tell of
Brother McGee. Increased langhter).
Before the convention that nominated
my opponent Brother MCGEE (laughter)
pronounced me man so wicked
as to draw bill legaliz-
ing horseracing." lMr. McDermott
scarcely alluded TO the fact that just such
a bill was drawn recently in the office of
Bedle. Muirheid & McGee, for the Mon
mouth Park Association). "What do you
think of II man." he asked, "who owns a
bale of hay and refuses to sell it to the
owner of horse Simply because
the horse sometimes appears upon
the race trackf Brother McGee said
[ was pure man personally, but
politically my associates were thieves,
thugs, ballot box suffers and so on.
Then, as Chairman, he called for a
collection. That was the important part
of the meeting. linn ediatelv there was