The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-04-06
COST OF HOOLLEY.
The Bumptious City Clerk
Foots Up at Least $t0,-
600 a Year.
Salary, $4,000;
Election Extras, 81, 900;
Fees, 81, 600
Clerks Paid by the City Making
Searches for Which He
Pockets the Doodle.
Many Sources of Revenne, Liquor
Ahadavf,s and Naturalization
Certificates some of
the Clerks Kicked.

Samuel D. Dickinson is the aeknowl
edged leader of the Republican forces in
this city. A few days ago he was asked
who the Republican nominees for Alder
men were likely to be.
Frankly he replied, 81 do not know
Ed. Woolley is running that part of the
campaign"
The Ed. Woolley referred to is chair
man of the Republican County Commit
tee. He is also chairman of the Republi-
can City Committee.
Last but not least, he is the City Clerk
of this city In his various capacities he
is a power in the Republican ranks and
is admitted TO be the rankest partisan
who has ever been permitted in this city
TO hold an Office where impartiality is
strictly required.
This spring he is debating the nomina-
tion of the Aldermanic candidates of his
party. Those who are in the field already
are tools of his and are pledged to do
his bidding and those to be named will
be marched before the public with the
Woolley yoke on their necks. In dictat-
ing the nominations he has three great
objects in view. One is to keep the Board
of Aldermen Republican and by that
means gerrymander the city so that he
may practically disfranchise Democrats
and independent voters. Another is that
he may square accounts with Jack"
Graham and have him bounced out of the
Office of City Marshal. Finally he wants
to establish himself in the lucrative office
of City Clerk. which he has since cleo
tion worked for all it is worth If re-
elected now he proposes to clean out all
Democratic clerks to make room for his
henchmen.
Under his partisan management the
city has once been gerrymandered. With
an air of pride he has boasted that he
has huddled the Democrats together in
taree wards and kept nine wards safely
Republican, so that he may perpetuate
himself in Office. Last fall the voters re-
belled and seven of the wards went Dem
ocratic. and the eighth was carried by
the Republicans by only two votes. This
frightened the partisan clerk and now
he has prepared, it is said, new altera-
tions in the line which will be put into
effect if a Republican Board of Alder
men is elected. The changes he has
mapped out will, it is said, disfranchse
Democrats by the hundreds. They are in
tended to keep him. installed in the snug
berth he holds much against the wishes
of many workers in his own party and
in opposition to those voters who despise
such bitter partisansnip, particularly
when personal gain prompts it.
1t will doubtless interest people to
know why Edward w. Woolley is so
anxious to retain the City Clerkship.
To begin with, under the method of con-
ducting it, it is worth more than twice
as much as the Office of Mayor, which
pays 5000 year. Woolley's manner of
running the Office and reaping the per-
quisites in addition to the salary will
perhaps also cause voters to stop and
think
The salary of the City Clerk is fixed
by law at s., ,0O0 That salary. it is admit
ted, was earned by the gentlemen who
had the office when the Board of Alder
men was something smore than a figure
head in the city government The Alder
men now have practically only the power
to grant liquor licenses. The duties of
the City Clerk are, therefore, trifing, but
Woolley draws the 5000 q year, or s416.6s
q month, just the same On the basis of
twenty-six working days in a month his
pay is $16.02 a day. Allowing that he re-
ports for duty at nine O'clock. taking an
hour for lunch, the Office closing at four
" clOck, lit is pd1u 81 4ssJ All uOuf, ana
when it is remembered mat Saturday is
a half holiday, his pay is run up in the
neighborhood of So an hour. The legal
lied salary is, therefore, regarded as a
fair one for a man who makes a living
out of politics.
But if this were all he asked the tax
payers to pay him perhaps there would
be only little grumbling But the chair
Of f1,a I2on,,I,1ifa n chs
and in fact demands and gets much
more. Every spring and fall there is an
election. The Aldermen have charge of
everything pertaining to elections and
Woolley in his capacity as Clerk makes
the cake that they bake. The distripu-
ton of the ballot boxes is made by reg
ularIy employed city servants. When the
election is over the boxes have to be re-
turned to the City Clerks Office. Some
one has to stay there to receive them.
Deputy clerks do that work while the
CITY Clerk entertains the Republican
workers, who besiege the office election
night, by figuring out the returns and
advising them who is elected. For this
brain puzzling and lab0rious duty he
taxes the city $500 for each election. This
brings his pay from the City clerkship
up to 5000.
For making searches he also reaps a
fat Income. His present term Of office
has not lasted one year, starting from
the time when he was elected in May,
1894. for the full term Of one year Since
his last election. no less than 100 real
estate searches have been made in his
office. For each search. City Clerk
Woolley has been paid s3 which nested
him $500. This in addition to the $1,000
already shown elevates his income to
$500 year
Taxpayers would perhaps not find fault
If. he made the searches himself. but he
does not He has had the impudence 10
increase his own Income by detailing
clerks In his office who are paid salaries
~ the city to do city work to make the
searches which pay him So we'll
For several months Jarvis Wanser, 3