The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-06-04

tract after competitive bidding. the ew-
dence OF that fact is missing from the
public files The bids. Correspondence % {, C,
been kept in the Executive Offices ana
all of these, with. all the execgt.ve
files, were removed from ron the the - Stase fbe
Governor preceding the present Cover,
nor. This course was unprecedented ed ana q
has been a source Of emparfiassmeht ;rias 10
Seven thousand dollars was spent in
furnishing the Senate Chamber under an
w. We II think. Ink that @ from 1889 to 1884, there
was great waste. and, in not few
| cases. corruption and bribery of Off
| and supplying of the State House.
| Where gross overcharges and false
| charges occur the evidence warrants the
| belief that it was always by the colln-
| sion or acquiescence of some State Off
STATE EXPENDITURES.
| The ordinary expenses of the govern
ment, excluding public debt. were about
eight hundred thousand dollars in 1879,
and in 1884; they had reached only 1So. ene
the increase was rapid, the total in the
latter year being s1,653,O0o The increase
State s'sff soficers e and nd State boards, to the
State House to the approprisetion ia cds+ for OF
| maintaining the courts, the increased
salaries of some State officers, and the
| increase OF MAINTAINING lQe Illll TIA LII
the past few years some of the increase
| is also due to the extravaganza ELSEWHERE
! referred to in this report though much
was charged to extraordinary expenses.
| The total expenditures from the State
| fund for government in 1891, including or
dinary extraorinagy j ar ga and psbe debt
raised and appropriated by the state 70
| the support of free public schoois was
| entire sum expended by the State govern
ment s4,126. .495. -
creased as from s5s.57S in 1875. to sl25,24s in
1893. 1t is difficult to see why these ex-
Of ,f.i'n1s members of the Legislature has. not
| changed since 1874 The volume of laws
r.9w passed is much smaller than it was
no change requiring materially increased
| expenses. The growth seems to have
arisen chiefly from the multiplying OF
| from the reckless extravaganza in the
purchase of legislative supplies.
| We recommend the passage of law
| prescribing the number of officers for
each House, and the. salaries, for each,
/ and we report herewith a bill for that
ga COURT EXPENSES.
from s65. $50 in 1S75 to 81. .s26 in 1894 The
| It is due to the increase in the number
| OF judges, the inrease of salaries, and
| the abolishing of the fee system in COM
| This expense cannot with propriety be
| curtaiied.
The State publishes the laws by two
fold method; first by printing Sgo9 c95Pes q Nns
them tiita in SO newspapers as Democratic and
rs Republican,. at a cost sqsi ooo which, 1S TINS
| Is unusually large this year owing to the
| larger volume of laws. The average cost
for the last five years has been Sg9. 5lS-
| A majority of the newspapers do not
set up and print the laws as they do
other advertisements; nor do they yield @
any of their adyertistng spaee ai to fhe
ana i1-New York and eiswisere, ana large
editions are struck off in supplement
form, which are sold to newspa ,pl9 p9ers for 3r,; q
{he ' state 81 800 @ for ga1bElis65ias 1E ,,iS tRss
ifsas licafton. 5luS The ' publisher Of the paper
| buys for about 500 from the New York
folds, them into his regular edition and
| circulates them. Then. upon an affidavit
/ that he has published the laws he is
! paid 81 300 by the Treasurer.
| In some of the cities and towns one
newspaper sets the type for its own
use and lends it to neighbors: who share
| the expense, one setting of type thus
serving for three or four papers In
some of the largest cities the newspapers
| set their own type for their own use
Most of the States make no publication
| few which have adopted the practice
| have so limited it that the cost is mod
crate. They publish only the general
laws, or if they print, a law, of loeal
| application. they publish it only in the
In New Jersey practically. all laws are
| published everywhere. We find no paral-
| lei in any State for the reckless waste
will show approximately the relative
! total cost of promulgating the laws in
different States in 1884, 90 20,
New Kew eHiaenpshire. 49,. 7,SG
| Vermont ........ 4,OU
| Massachusetts. -. -. -. ...... 500
| Connecticut. 5,29e
! Virginia. -..- .-.-. 9'90S 9'90S
| Mlssouri...... 5,0V.
Ohio. ...i.. 49,. 1q91
Michigan.;.. -. ...... .....-- o. tSt 49,
no No States States afford any figures at T. ali
1 comparable with New Jersey except New
lish in the newspapers, but on a scale
| relatively much more economical than
| our plan.
| Notwithstanding the great cost our
| ing often happened that the book of laws
could not Be Obtained until July OF
journed in April. This delay. is wholly
| unnecessary. It is entirely feasible to
print the laws in pamphlet form daily
as AsseSyv ehey are are paSSea noM nrined a I minutes
! We recommend that bill be passed
| providing that the Secretary of State
! shall, as fast as the acts are filed in
his office, forthwith supply copies there,
| of to the public printer, who shall print
the same from day to day, SO that al.
| before the Legislature by Monday night
| of the following week; the printer to
| print twenty-five thousand copies and
! deliver to the State, in stitched sheets
at least four thousand copies thereof
1 from day to day. as printed these to be
to the Legislature and State officers
| secondly, to all County Clerks and City
| Clerks, in sufficient numbers to supply
1 all persons desiring to obtain copies
| copies also to be delivered to all persons
| who apply for them, either in person
| or by mail; all the copies of the laws
not SO required to be retained by the
| the session of the Legislature, bounc
up in volumes and delivered to all the
| County Clerks and City Clerks for dis
| tributfon, and also to be sent to all per
sons who apply for the same.
| This plan will enable any person in
without charge, within a few days afte,
| their passage, and also provide an am
pie supply of the volumes for preser
walton by all who require them.
We deem this matter of grea
importance from two points O
ed a. degree of extravaganza which
the State cannot afford. We thinl
the expense this year will be $125.000 in
excess of what it ought to be.
By proper enactments the laws may al
a cost of 1000 to $4,000 per year be much
more promptly and satisfactorily pro
mulgated than by the present costly