The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-02-24
Mr. palx,s CONFIRMATION Bin.

Wanser bill, yesterday, we were led
into a serious error through the mis-
information of a morning paper. we
commented on the measure upon the
theory that the power of confirming
the Mayors appointments was to De
vested in the Finance Board. This
was the original scheme and we ae-
cepted as true the story that Senator
DAYS. bill embodied it. When our
own dispatches arrived from Trenton,
with the true version of the matter, 1t
was too late to correct the error that
had been made.
As a matter of fact, Mr.. Days bill
is just one degree worse that we
thought it was. He proposes to place
the confirming power in the Board OF
Aldermen, and to discount any pos
sible result of the popular vote in
April, he insists that confirmation
shall only be made by a two-third
vote. Nothing we believe can be
thought of, worse than this. Mr..
DAILY has reached the bed rock OF
vicious legislation.
This much might be said for the
Finance Board, that in its personnel
it is not an unfit body to exercise a
high power. The members are indi-
yidually good men, and, as a body, it
has shown, as a rule, good judgment.
The whole idea of confirmation Is
wrong, dishonest. subversive OF the
peoples will; it is a return to an effete
and worn out device which has done
harm everywhere. Still, if we were
to return to it at all, the people would
prefer to see the power given to the
Finance Board by majority vote.
AS for the Aldermen, it is simply an
outrage to propose placing this power
in their hands. The experiment has
in effect been tried iii this city for
years. and it eve produced any re-
suit but rotten politics and corrupt
administration. Deals and dickers
and log-rolling were the products
of the system. Hardly any but
the worst politicians in the city
ever got public places, and the
city departments were seething nests
of corruption until the New Charter
.ame, and did at least one service to
the people in instituting direct re-
sponsibility. The plan had a long
trial in New York and met with the
same fate there. Philadelphia abol-
ished it years ago as rendering good
administration impossible. Newark
sees the results that would flow from
it and wisely refuses to have it.; then
why should it be thrust upon us?
We can only conjecture Mr.. Days
reasons for becoming the sponsor of
this bill. If he knew how he was in
Turing himself in the estimation of
Jersey City's people, he would drop
it as if it were red hot, and try to eff
face from the public mind the idea
that he ever touched it.
Mr.. DAILY has one or two other
very injudicious bills now pending
before the Legislature. One is that
Bill No. 81, which aims to establish a
special tax levy for the Street and
Water Board, to be disbursed by that
body without supervision by the
Finance Board. This bill was intro
duced by Senator Hinchcliffe, but
Mr.. DAILY is its true sponsor. 1t
would seem as if he had looked
around for the very most objection
able measure he could think of, and
finally hit on this. 1t certainly fills
tile measure of absolute opposition to
the wishes of the taxpayers of this
city. Nothing worse could be
thought of.
Then there is that bill to forbid
anyone to leave more than a million
of dollars to his heirs. 1t would be
absurd to undertake a grave discus
sion of the morals OF this bill. 1t is
almost equally platitudinous to at
tempt a demonstration of its practical
disastrousness. 1t Is only necessary
to suggest that within twenty-four
hours of it's enactment-were such an
insanity possible-some two to three
hundred millions Of capital would
emigrate from this to neighboring
States. Perhaps Mr.. DAILY thinks
that would greatly add to the pros
perity of the State and its poorer
classes.
THE City Hall Commission" says
the journal, has nothing to do"
This is a mistake; it has one duty of
overwhelming Importance to perform.
1t has to draw its pay monthly.
aOLE OLSuN" In H0B0KEN.
The members OF the Union Athletic Club, of
Hoboken. and a number of ladies' crowded
Ross, Hoboken Theatre last night to witness the