The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-02-08
highly ~ONIMfORqAN9.
Doings of the House Not Even
Misehieyous-Gledhill Com
mittee Expenses.
[speclal to ..rhe jersey city Newg.'.:

TRENTON, Feb. s, 1S9S.-Both sessions
of the Legislature were brief last night
and very little business of Importance
was transacted. It did not take the House
long to rush through the calendar, and
the session would have been even shorter
had not Mr.. Allen created aklittle debate
over the bill providing for the payment
of the expenses of the Hudson County
Investigating Committee. The pill was
reported favorably by the committee and
came up ON second reading. Mr.. Allen
introduced an amendment limiting the ex-
penditures to $l5O,o00. He said that though
the House might not expect IL, ne hhuro-
duced the bill as a measure OF economy.
He thought there should be some limit 10
the committees expenditure, but IN order
that it might not be hanpered N It's
work he would rave the sum of S150,0D
named in the bill.
at was refreshing to the majority OF
the House." Mr.. Gledhill said, TO nave
a gentleman on Mr.. Aliens side advocate
economy. When the Democrats We're In
power there were not enough doors, WIN
dows and holes in the Chamber for the
army of ~doorkeepers when they up
In 1895, Mr.. Allen replied, the Republl-
cans, with a great flourish of trumpets,
fixed the number of doorkeepers TO be
appointed, and from year to year they
had been adding to the list, strictly in
the interests Of economy. When that
got too fragrant they began to create
keepers of the gallery until theT num-
bug economy stood exposed.
Mr.. Porter, the young man from ESSEX,
who takes himself so seriously that he
causes great pain to those in his neigh
amendment seriously because no one knew
better than that gentleman the vast
amount of work the committee had be-
fore lit.
Mr.. Allen, and the crowded galleries
snickered.
The amendment was, of course, lost,
and the bill advanced to third reading
A petition was received from the First
Universalist Church, of Vineland, protest
ing against the passage OF Senator Vfee-
lands bill taxing p~arsonages. !.
less Importance than that of the House. !.
A petition was received from citizens of
Bergen county, asking the Legislature TO
pass a law comforting on all local au-
thorities in the State the W to com
pei railroad companies. to protect their
crossings in such manner as common
prudence and a regard for human NE
may dictate. They declare that such
power has been taken from local author
tiles outside of first-class counties, under
a recent decision of the Supreme Court.
The bill sanctioning the lease of the
Greenwood Lake Railroad to the Erie was
reported by the committee with some un-
important verbal amendments and then
went over until today.
There is an individual down in Camden
county named Joseph Jones, who boasts
of his Republieanism and his age, which
is S4 years. Every year for the last four
or five he breaks out regularly with a
disease which appears to be chronic with
him and which for a better name is call
ed the 'gavel fever" Every session he
sends a gavel up to the presiding officer
of the Senate and has one of the Senators
make a speech, setting forth his age, his
services to the Republican party, and the
fact that he has made a gavel with his
own ancient hands and out Of wood
grown on Camden soil. All of which was
done last night by Senator Stokes, and
Senator Skirm accepted the gavel.
The most important thing to Hudson
men before the Senate was the nominal
ton of James S. Erwin to succeed Mr..
Winfield as Prosecutor of Hudson county.