The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-03-02
DELAWARE lAM INPAMY.
Brief Hearing on MIR. Ailen's Bill TO
Repeal the Wfck cd Steal

fteDeaI Inc lCAt StCass
Especial to 1.-THE Jersey City News."1
TRENTON, March ., 1Sss.-A short
hearing on the Delaware Dam repeater
vas held by the Committee on Corpora
tons during the noon recess today. As
semblyman Allen, who fathers the bill;
Mr.. Rau, of Essex, and Mr.. Crispen, OF
Salem. went before the committee to
urge a favorable report on the repeater,
While Z. r.. Soladay. representing me
Pennsylvania Railroad, opposed it.. Mr..
Allen said that the peopsi,ee Of the statedi
the law of last year wiped on the statute
books. The basis of his insistment was
that it was contrary to public interest 70
give sue valuabl privileges to corpora
lions without adequate compensation. he
stamped the last years act as an infringe
ment of the public rights and asked the
committee to report the measure favor
ably. Mr.. Rau. of Essex, followed in the
same strain. declaring that many or the
Republican members who mad voted Ior
the. dam bill last session would be glad.
now that the full import OF the measure
was known. to vote for its repeal. Inc
Essex man said that his constituents, as
part of the Commonwealth of the State,
wanted the repeater passed. MI. Crispen
told how the damming OF the Delaware
River would ruin the fiat farming lands
of his county and would practically put
an end to the shad fisheries Of that Sec
ton of the State.
Mr.. Guenthe of Essex, a member of the
committee, called for a vote on this meas
ure. asking that a favorable repor pc
returned. He was opposed by Mr.. Squire
/ of. Union. who intimated that he was in
favor of the repeal of the last year act,
but who wanted the hearing continued
until tomorrow in order that he might in
| quire as to the record of the repealer
Which has been introduced in the Senate.
His reason for, that was that If the Sem
ate bill seemed ipja fair way for passage
the credit of repeating the bill to the Sem
ator from Salem, Mr.. Miller, who had a
repeater under way in the upper House:
Mr.. Allen declared that If that was al
that stood in the way of his bill he would
be perfectly willing to withdraw it and al
low any Republican member to introduce
a similar measure.
Il do not wish to have my party al
~legiance initiate against the repeater"
declared Mr.. Allen.
Mr.. Guenther;s assertion. There is no
politics in tins, so far as / am concerned.
l tnink that the law of last year hould
vote for the repeater, no matter whether
it was introduced by a Republican or a
Democrat"
The hearing was, at Mr.. Squirrels re-
ernOon.
There are two bills for repeal of this
dam biIl-one in the House and one in the
Senate. The one in the Assembly was
introduced by Mr.. Allen, who. being a
Democrat, was not to be allowed to have
any glory there might be in repeating the
iti4d0 te&AAi
measure was brought in by Senator Miller
of Salem, who says It has nothing to do
with the attempt of the East Jersey Wa
ter Company to steal the waters of the
Passaic River, but is to relieve the fisher
men of his county who complain that the
dam would keep the shad from going up
the river.
The Senate Committee ave a hearing
on Senator Miller's bill also. A large del
egation of the Trenton Board of Trade
was in attendance, and several speeches
were made against the f0Deal6r,
Henry C. Moore, a former president of
the Board. said that the original dam bin
that that city might obtain cheaper power
and be enabled to compete with other
cities having that advantage.
Senator Miller said he represented a
constituency of fishermen. who thought
that the erection of a dam would prove
very detrimental to their interests. Ifthe
fishing industry was killed, Senator MIL
Ter said a large number OF poor men
would be thrown out of employment
Several other Trenton men spoke
against the bill, and the committee ad-
journed the hearing sine die.
A large portion of the male adult popu-
lation of Union county crowded into the
Assembly Chamber, yesterday afternoon;
Canals gave a hearing. on the Union
county trolley bill. This, it will be re-
membered, is the bill which provides that
chise for a trolley road on the Boulevard
between Elizabeth and P~lainfeld, a dis
tance of twelve miles, the amount re-
ceived to be used in widening and i'm
proving the road. Hudson County's
Boulevard is excepted from the provis-
ions of the bill by a special clause.
the bill, took charge of that side and in
reduced the speakers. Several citizens
along the road made speeches favoring
the measure. Ex-Congressman John Z.
Dunn made a strong appeal for the bill,
saying that the people wanted the bill
and it ought to be passed for their benefit.
i 2ur1l ,,Na,a fho hoo 1ttinc .nf tho c~.pof
boulevard which would be produced by
the act and begged for it's passage.
James MARITIME. the farmer Politician"
as he likes to be called, also favored the
bill. He said that there was a time when
he was opposed to municipal ownership
of any kind, but of late years he had be-
come more liberal in his Views and now
he was in favor of such ownership. He
was opposed to the. giving of any fran
chise to private ownership without COM
pensation, and advocated the passage of
the bill.
The streets of Elizabeth. Mr.. William
H. Corbin said. Were laid out before.
trolieys were invented, and when you
came to put trolley tracks in them every
one knew what the result was. The Bou-
levard to which the bill referred unfor-
tunately was only sixty-six feet wide, and
if a trolley was built thereon there would
not be much of a road left. He then spoke
of the necessity for widening the road,
and said that the bill said 70 those Who
wanted to construct the trolley line:-"If
you want the trolley franchlse you pay
for widening
Mr.. Squire then introduced John Kean
as the man who had offered $4,000 for
the franchise, who spoke briefly upon
the county, the public and everyone else.
Chandler Riker, better known through
out the State as HChan" Riker. clamored
for delay when Chairman Fairchfld asked
If any one had anything to say in opposi-
ton to the bill. 1t was the Same Old
4Game'' which the corporations have been
playing for several years now when they
wish to worry a bill to death. He said
that there were. those who opposed the
bill who wished to appear before the
committee and give their reasons why It
ask for an adjournment. Blu Chan
can never let slip an opportunity to make
a speech no matter what is at stake, anU
so he launched forth. He said that he
represented a company that wanted to
lay a track along the road. but found
that the people of Union county did not
want a trolley line on that road. Mr.
Bergen, b. said, had submitted his plan
of municipal ownership TO every raunici-
pality interested, and all had refused Mr.
Riker pitched into John kean and made
some uncOrnplilaentafy remarks about
others who favored the bill, when the
Chairman called him to order with the
remark that the time was up. The hear
ing was then postponed until this after
noon.
REPUBLICAN LEAGUE CLUBS MEET
The League of Republican Clubs met
last night in the rooms of the Bergen
par,,hlieara isi1lh and. decided 10 attend In