The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-04-19
M'EWAN'S STAND.
Will Not Vote TO Increase
the Number of Jersey
CitY's Law Officers.
TAXPAYERS ALREADY Overwhelmed
His Colleagues, However, Want to
Push 1t Through For a Place
For Salinger.
spsctol TO the Jsrseu citu Ns,rs.

0HSOtO = v wv &f0(S 80
TRENTON, April 10, 1894 The glaring IN
consistency and shameless hypocrisy which
characterizes the Republicans greedy grab
for office here has at last slammed one .ot
their number into kicking over the traces
and openly protesting against his partys
duplicity.
Yesterday afternoon the bill which pro
vides that the Mayors of Jersey City and
Newark shall appoint a corporation counsel
at a yearly salary of $4,000; a corporation
attorney at $4,000, and an assistant attorney
at Sl,500 came up on final passage, Mr..
Murphy, the ~introducer of the bill, explained
that it was a measure in the interests OF re-
form and economy. He enumerated q large
number of law offices with which he de-
clared Newark was inflicted, and told how
the bill, if it became a law, would save
that municipality at least $ll,000 a year. he
said nothing, however, about the manner IN
which the work of Jersey City had been done
by CORPORATION Counsel Edwards for $1,000
a year. with only the assistance or the Cor
n~oration ATTORNEY at $4,000; or how Mr..
Edwards had never asked the city an extra
cent for clerk hire. Neither did he say any
thing about the extra expense his Dill wouid
put Jersey City to.
W j. 11dt kAAl1 OIOIFS4 1870 -
tore from the face of the measure the beautl-
full mark of sanctity behind which the grab
for Office was masqueradlng. he showed now
Mr.. Murphy had included in his list OF New,
ark's legal expenses the sums that were PAID
the counsel of the Board Of Freeholders and
other bodies with which the City OF NeWarR
had nothing to do. &
MEwAN's CRUSHING BLOW.
The worst blow the bill received, however,
came from Mr.. McEwan, who, in spite OF
his position as leader of the Republican ma
iority. could not stomach this raid upon the
treasury of Jersey City. The people of
Jersey City, he said, were growing gray
and bent with the burden of taxation under
which they groaned. When he came to the
Legislature he came determined to create no
new offices or increase the salaries OF any
officer, but rather to decrease them in these
hard times when salaries and incomes were
being reduced in all parts. of the business
world He then pointed out how the mea-
sure under consideration would not only
materially add to the burdens Of the Jersey
City tax payer by increasing the salaries OF
the Corporation Counsel and Attorney, put
it would create q new Office with an d
tional salary. He would therefore oppose
the bill, and he called upon all democrats
and independent republicans to vote with
him for its defeat.
Mr.. Woolsey asked Mr.. McEwan if he was
not present at the conference OF hudson and
81 III Jill 4 VI tA0A Wv
Committee, held at the Union League Club
in Jersey City last Friday, when it was
agreed that the Murphy bill should be
passed.
Mr.. McEwan replied that he was, but he
had said there just what he had SAID now.
This was corroborated by Mr.. Storrs, but Nh.
McEwan, he said, was the only one of those
present who had in any way objected to the
bill, and he thought Mr.. McEwan ought to
consider himself bound by the action OF that
conference.
MIR. McEwan said he didn't think what
happened at Fridays conference should be
paraded before the House, but since it had
he would say that he there said that he
would do Just as he had done, refuse to sup
port the measure.
Mr.. Flynn said that when he heard Mr..
Murphy's explanation of the bill he had
made up his mind to vote for it, as he con-
sldered it a measure in the interest OF econ
omy. But since he heard from Mr.. Harri-
gan and Mr.. McEwan he saw that it really
added to the burdens of Jersey City, and
created a new Office, he would vote against
it. He hoped that the member from the
other counties would. res ant the way In
which Essex and Hudson fixed things be-
tween them, and expected the other counties
to vote as they wanted.
A HUDSON-ESsEx L
Mr.. Thompson denounced the way in
which Hudson and Essex were running things
to suit themselves. The whole week had
been taken up by the two first-class counties
squabbling among themselves and grabbing
all the offices in sight. 1t was time some OF
the other counties received some attention,
and had some of their urgent business at
tended to. He would oppose Mr.. Murphy's
bill and hoped all right minded members
would 90 likewise.
By this time it had become apparent that
the opposition which Mr.. McEwan's com-
mendable stand for the people of Jersey
City had aroused had endangered the bill,
and a rule was made to have it laid over un-
til Monday, when all the republicans would
be present, and the thirty>one votes neces-
sary to pass it secured. The bill accordingly
went over.