The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-06-24
FOUND GUILTY.
Corporation Counsel B1air's
Opinion Shows Thatthe
journal Has I11e-
gally Collected
S473.76.
AN ovERoHARGE OF 7o.RER. oENY.
Clear Exposition of the Law Which
Leaves No Room for Ouib-
bling or Hypocriti-
cal Cant.

Corporation Counsel John A. Blair for-
warded to the Board Of Aldermen last
night. his opinion in the matter of the
overcharges made by the Evening Jour-
nal' against the city for advertising the
applications for liquor licenses. Mr.
Blair's opinion states that the Journal
has Illegally overcharged and received
from the city the sum of s473.7s.
On the motion of Alderman Calnon. the
opinion was ordered spread in fun on the
minutes.
The opinion reads as follows
I am in receipt of a copy of the fol-
lowing resolution, passed by your Board
at its meeting held on June 10 instant,
to wit
Whereas, 1t has been currently stated
Of The Evening Journal have overcharg-
cd the late Board of Aldermen fer print
| ing the notices for applications for Ii
about the sum of $500 over and above the
! fees for such services as fixed by Chap
| ter II OF the Laws of 1895;
Resolved. That the Corporation Conn
| sci be requested to advise this Board Of
| the legality of the charges made by the
| Evening Journal for such services fEon
| and after the 14th day of February, 1925,
| the date of the passage of the Act regu-
| lating such charges, and the amount of
| such overcharges to the end that suit
| may be instituted in the name of the
| charges, and that the Board may ascer-
| tain the arrangement under which they
were drawn from the city treasury.
The Act to which your resolution re-
/ fers is known as Chapter II of the Laws
of 1895, and enacts ''that the costs" etc.,
"and be it enacted that the cost of pub
| licatlon and proof required by the first
section of this Act shall be paid by the
said municipality to said newspapers in
| the same manner as other bills of said
municipality are paid, and the amounts
thus paid for publication shall be deduct
1 ed from the whole amount of Iicense
fees received by said city before such
license fees shall be carried to any special
| fund or funds to which the same may
be appropriated; provided that the costs
of the insertion of the publication re-
quired as aforesaid in any such daily
newspaper, including the cost of the proof
| of such publication shall not exceed the
sum of ten cents per applicant for each
of said insertions
This. in my opinion. is the Act which
establishes the rates for these publica-
tions of liquor license notices.
| This Act fixes the cost Of such pub
lleation and proofs at ten cents for each
applicant for each insertion. The law of
1892 jChap. 75) requires that the nanses
of applicants shall be published fer five
days, so that the legitimate cost OF pub
fishing the name of each applicant for Q
license under the law named in your res
olution. for five insertions, is fifty cents.
For publishing the names of transfers OF
licenses the same fees are charged.
A statement of your Clerk, based on
the records. shows that between the 18th
day of February, 1895, the date Of the
passage of the Act Chapter 10, and the
first day of May, 1885, the period COW
cred by your inquiry, the Evening
Journal published 1O42 applicants and
274 transfers, for which it was paid the
sum of S1155.10 The whole bill was
sl.l42so and includes s7.2o for publishing
an ordinance The bills rendered by the
Journal do not show the names or
number of applicants, but the charges
are made for the publishing of so many
LINES The lines are charged for at
! the rate of ten cents per line for the
first insertion and five cents per line for
, each subsequent insertion, in accordance
with the supplement to the Act of 1859.
approved March 25. 1885. which, in my
judgment, has no application to the pub
lication of liquor license notices. I find
no authority for charging for these pub
lications by the LINE. The Act requires
it to be done and charged for per ap-
plicant." If the figures furnished me by
your Clerk are correct, of which 1 have
no doubt, the Evening Journal" has
been paid sl,1s5.1o for publishing the
names of 1876 applicants for and trans
fers of licenses, or at the rate of eighty
six cents per name. My construction of
the law is that fifty cents is the legal
| charge for the proper publishing of the
names of each applicant, and that, there
: fore, there has been an overcharge on
the part of the Evening Journal of
: thirty-six cents a name for each ap-
plicant, or a total overcharge Of Si7S.7s.
Respectfully yours.
JOHN A. BLAIR
c. @.