The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-11-02
REPUBLICAN DECEIT
Comptroller nalcock's Fl
nancia1 Statement a
Campaign Document.
TO HELP BIS GUBERNATORIAL BOOM
Democrats and Democratic Laws
Responsible for the Excellent
Condition of the State
FaDds.

William S. Hancock, the present Comp
1roller of the State of New Jersey, en-
joys at Trenton the reputation of being
a willy politician. He is a candidate for
the Republican nomination for Governor,
and in his quiet unostentatious manner,
is doing everything II his power to
achieve his ambition. He never let's pass
an opportunity 10 bring credit upon the
Republican party, primarily for the bene-
fit which it will have upon his candidacy,
and secondarily for the prestage it will
give the party. and bring votes to its
candidate, especially if he be William s..
Hancock, of Mercer Mr.. Hancock's lat
est attempt in this line was the statement
of the financial condition of the State,
which he Issued last Saturday. OF course,
figures don't lie, but omissions create false
impressions which are the worst Kind of
lies.
Had Mr. Hancock told all there was to
be ioId about the affairs it would have
been plain to the citizens of the thickest
wits that whatever excelleney the finan-
cial condition of the State possessed, it
was really due to Democratic and not Re-
publican management of the States af-
fairs.
On November 1, $780, William G.. Hep
penheimer, a Democrat, took possession
of the office of Comptroller and George
R. Gray went into the office of State
Treasurer. They succeeded Major Edward
S. Anderson and Colonel John j. Toffey,
both Republicans, in whose hands the
management of the States finances had
been for the previous six years. The
last statement issued by Major Ander-
son showed a balance of $433, 760.S7. This
was a handsome balance and would have
reflected much credit upon Major Ander-
sons administration had it not been a
dishonest balance. There was at that
time a debt of 100000, chargeable against
this, a debt consisting of States notes
given for temporary loans and held by
the First National Bank of this city.
Deducting this from the Majors balance,
as it should be, the real amount to the
credit of the State was $93, 760.S7, very
poor showing after six years of Repub
Iiean rule.
Colonel Heppenhelmer went to work
with a will and at the end of his first
year submitted his first report to the
Governor. which should have put the Re-
Apublieanse to shame if there was any
shame in them He showed a balance
in the bank of $402. 1884, 96. and it did not
include the S400.o00 floating Indebtedness
either because the Democrats had sue
ceeded in paying that Off 70 his roseate
statement Mr.. Hancock issued a
supplement setting forth what he
calls extraordinary expenditures that
is for armorieS and other public buildings.
Upon these Mr. Hancock lays great stress,
claiming that his balance is all the more
remarkable when these heavy expendi-
lures are considered. The Democrats had
extraordinary expenditures, too, for it was
during this year that Colonel Heppen-
heimer paid off this floating debt incurred
by the Republicans. He paid one-$92,-
55S.19-on account of the new Assembly
Chamber, and the entire expenditure of
this Kind was $716.00Q. The next year Mr..
Heppenheimer had a balance of S619, ,I0l 10.
with extraordinary expenditures of $239,-
800 23 That year $4,000 was paid on the
new Assembly Chamber; S24,94S.95 on the
Girls Industrial School near Trenton, and
$12, coo on the Home for Feeble Minded
Women. Mr.. Heppenheimer's last year
was 1893, and his balance at the end of
that twelve months was $720,3S0. During
the same period there was plenty of Mr.
Hancock'S extraordinary expenditures,
such as for ventilating the Senate Cham
ber for public roads and other needed
improvements.
Mr.. Hancock compares his balance with
that of 1893, Mr.. Heppenheimer.s last
comparison, and made for none other
than campaign purposes. Since 1888 the
receipts of State have been greatly in
creased. The railroad tax has grown,
miscellaneous corporations have greatly
increased and the amount received from
collateral inheritances has been beyond
all expectation. Another matter upon
which Mr.. Hancock is dishonesty silent
is the laws which have made possible all
this big balance were conceived by
Democrats and enacted by Democratic
Legislatures. The first of these, the law
for the taxation of railroads; the law en-
forcing the payment of the miscellaneous
corporations tax and the law for the col
lection of the collateral inheritance tax,
were all passed by Democratic Legisla-
lures in spite of the opposition of Repub-
licans The excellent balances which
the Democratic officials produced were
not brought about by any of the miSer-
able piccayune cheese-paring process
which has characterized the Republican
administration. In those days work on
needed public institutions was not stop
ped for want of money withheld to make
campaign capital; no branch of the
States military service was obliged to
go down into it's own pocket to keep it
self alive in order that an agricultural
vote or two could be caught for the party;
nor did any member of the State Legis-
lature or State official have pens and
paper dealt out to him as though he was
the inmate of some charitable institu-
ton instead of an officer of one. of the
greatest States of the Union, in order that
the party could go before the people and
parade their hypocritical economy.