The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-06-02

counties to publish itemlzad Statements
of their receipts and disbursements. There
are great many taxpayers III the tsve
counties who look upon this law as very
good one, and heartily endorse plan which
affords them an opportunity each month OF
ascertaining how and where their money
goes. They are just foolish enough to i'm
agine that it acts as sort of check on the
FIeeholders and is benefit to the taxpayers
But Mr.. Storrs discovered that the Free
holders published their statements in q
Democratic paper in Essex-this law has
never been obeyed in Hudson-and i'm
medlately he comprehended the great In
lquity OF supporting Democratic news
paper upon public funds, and the speech he
made upon the subject was like the music OF
running waters to the ears Of the true re-
former.
REFoRMER's CONSISTENCY.
Shortly after this he introduced bill
which provided that the laws must be pub
lished In papers published in the Dutch Ian
guage. 1t appears that in Passaic county
there are a number of Hollanders who gen.
orally vote the Republican ticket. They
have newspaper which advocates the cleo
tion of of the Republican candidate in sea-
son and out, and this little bill was to give
the propr1etors of that periodical a certain
sum annually out of the State Treasury.
What earthly return the State was to get
from paper printed in Dutch and circulat-
ing among handful of Hollanders in Pas
sale, is past finding out. But it would do a
great deal of good for the Republican party,
and, as the interests of the people and the
Republican party are synonymous, in Mr..
Storrs estimation, he advocated the meas
ure for all he was worth.
The crowning act in Mr. Storrs career,
however, was his dealing with traction mat
tors. Among his earlier bills was one which
&<~I e
which, spreading out in all directions are
slowly strangling to death every right the
people had in the streets and roads of the
State. The bill provided that the COM
panies must obtain the consent of a majority
of the property owners before poles could be
erected in front of their property. 1t must
be said to the young Orange statesman's
credit, that he made a brilliant fight for his
bill, but the traction influences were toe
great for hlrn, and his measure was amended
until ltslost its usefulness,
Like many a better man, Mr.. Storrs, in
the fullness of time, experienced change OF
heart, and in the last days Of the session he
brought in two bills which practically
granted the companies all they wanted. On
their face, the bills were innocent enough.
According to the official synopsis, one pro
vided that all franchises granted to traction
companies should be void if nothing was
done in accordance with them within six
months from the granting of such rights
while the other set forth that the granting
of the right to use streets to a trolley com
pany should not grant an exclusive privi.
lege if any other company had located its
route in the same streets before that consent
was given.
But beneath this thin veneer there lurked
two utterly rank measures which raised
such howl of popular indignation thai
Mr.. Storrs quickly withdrew them In his
own behalf, he says that those who asked
him to introduce the bills imposed upon him
Whether they did or not, he certainly i'm
posed on his constituents in every act of his
1aoris Lot fixrf, on roar.