The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-03-19

FwREEB0OYERS INDICTED
Entire Board, Accused of
Maintaining a Nuisance
in the Boulevard.
COMBINE IN A WORSE FIX
A Second Charge Over Them Of
Exceeding Appropriations
Rafting z %fesentments.
COMBINE In A WORSE FIX


Two Indictments and a presentment
against them were handed TO the Court
yesterday afternoon. One indictment is
for maintaining a nuisance in not taking
proper care of the Boulevard, and the
other is for violating what is known as
the Lewis law by mourning obligations in
excess of the appropriations for the cur
rent year.
All the members of the Board are in
cluded in the first indictment, but only
the members of the combine who voted
to incur obligations or pay bills in excess
of appropriations are named in the sec
ond. The F~reeholders who v been
outside the breastworks for nearly two
years are correspondingly happy. Their
freezing out has kept them out of hot
water. The ~presentment is as follows;-
THE Grand Jury respectfully present
that for many years past the Chosen
Freehofders of Hudson County nave so
managed their affairs that at the end of
each fiscal year there were claims out
SlaAulnS. a-SSfeSdAlas large diioufilS, a.
though the appropriation for each year
had. been expended. These obligations in
CURED in excess of annual appropriations
have been considered proper charges
against the year following and have been
paid out of the appropriations. This prac-
fice has been so long continued that it
has led to utter disregard of the statute
making penal the expenditure of money
or the mourning. of obligations in excess
of the amount annually fixed as the limit
of expenditure. Each Board having
settled the excess of its predecessor. has
Left 4 large Indebtedness TO be settled by
its successor. The practice once inaugu-
rated. discontinuance presents many diff
cuities.
"A Board having paid in December and
January the expenses of county manage
ment for the previous October AMI No
vember. must necessarily cast the bur-
den of the following October and Novem-
Der on the next fiscal year, or let
the claims for those months remain I'M
paid.
.The practice thus adopted is not only
illegal. but, as it removes the limit of
expenditure, it is bound to lead to an
nualIy increasing deficiencies Acting I'M
der the direction of this Honorable Court,
the Grand Jury presents an Indictment
of certain members of the Board of
Chosen Freeholders for paying claims in
excess of the limit of expenditure fixed
for the year ending November 80, 1877
We nave included a large number of
debts. incurred in that year, and paid out
of the present years appropriation The
character of the claims thus paid is evil
.denee that the officers indicted probably
believed that they were acting within
the law. and, as to this particular in
dictment. we consider it proper to dis
avow any intention to charge that these
claims were corruptly incurred or paid.
aThe Grand Jury further present that
they have considered the question of
whether the affairs of the county have
been managed with criminal ~extrava-
gance. With the exercise of proper econ
omy, the expense of county government,
as now found, can be reduced twenty-five
per cent. There are too many employees,
there is not proper guard given to COM
petition for contracts, and there is an
almost total absence of that watchfui-
ness which should characterize the care
OF public funds. This will appear TO any
one who studies the cost of our county in
stitutions. We have examined the rec
ords and listened to all suggested wit
resses. From the evidence we are unable
to say that expenditure has been accom-
panied BY the criminal intent which would
justify indictment
The people of Hudson county elect
twenty-efght Freeholders, and the Law
commits to them, for illustration. the
management of the ~penitentiary.
They are presumed to study its neces-
sites, and the result of that study has
been the employment of a large number
of persons whose services could, in our
opinion, be dispensed with. If we should
put that opinion in the form of an in
dictment it would be followed by an APP
peal to twelve jurors to say whether the
t~wenty-eight officers were wrong in their
estimate OF the number of employees nee
essary-
I'VE are unwilling to institute such a
proceeding. The reform necessary in
the management of the affairs of this
county cannot be effected without legisla-
ton. There are Is Chosen Freeholders,
and there is not any greater necessity
for this number than there would be for
a. dozen clerks in this court room. Each
of these officers is elected after a more
or less vigorous canvass, and each is ex-
pected to secure patronage for his inn
mediate constituents. A failure on the
part of a candidate to evidence his appre-
citation of this fact would lead to wither-
ing defeat.
The Chosen Freholders who cannot Sc
cure for his ward at least one employe at
the Penitentiary, may as well consider
his public career as darkened, if not to-
tally ex~tfnguished. If the Board should
be increased to fifty-six members, the
number of employees would probably be
doubled. Proper economy in the man
agement of this county is and will be inn
possible so long as twenty-eight officers
are chosen to perform service that should
be rendered by less than a dozen.
$50 far as Improvement canfb be enforced
BY judicial action, the indictments pre-
sented afford scope for that action, but
we do not believe thai the full measure of
reeded economy can be obtained without
a reorganization of the system of county
government.
ALLAN Z. McDERMOTT,
Foreman"
OLAYT0E's SEAT.
Freebooter Arthur w. Clayton of Ho-
boken said last night hat he would take
- r1--l -