The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-03-17
BENNY'S Big VICTORY
The BaYonne Assemblyman's
School Bill Passed by
the House.
UNION TROLLEY WRANGLE
Parliamentary Rulings That Made
the Members Heads Swim
Many New Laws.
UNION TROLLEY WRANGLE

i2Decl1l TO -1ne Jersey CITY NEWS j
TRENTON. March Ii, 1S9S.-Mr. Ben
ny's school bill, which was published in
full, last week. in The Jersey City
News" and which was made a special
order for the day. was taken up by the
Assembly yesterday afternoon on inal
passage. The father of the bill began
his argumen for its passage with the re-
mark that New Jersey was the first in
war and should be the first in peace in
the matter of education. THAI New
Jersey was the first in war" Mr.. Benny
went on, was demonstrated in 1S6I-n
Mr.. Speaker" interrupted Mr.. Gied-
hill, II move that Rule No. II be sus-
pended The motion was carried, and
then, as the members looked into their
Manual and saw that Rule No. II limited
each speaker to five minutes. they APP
preciated the joke on Mr.. Benny, and the
Chamber broke into a merry laugh.
Mr.. Benny explained how his bill COM
PEELED the various cities and other mu-
inequalities of the State to furnish school
ders. He read statistics to show that
New Jersey was an illiterate State. Only
one city, Salem, furnished more school
facilities than it had children, but that
was due to the heavy decline in popula-
ton. Jersey City accommodates only So
per cent. of its school children; Newark,
80 per cent, and Hoboken, % per cent.
The State, he declared, owed every child
an education, whether it lived in the
country or in the city He referred, sar-
castically. to the city of Newark, which
was erecting a high school on the Hill,
at a cost of S3G0, coo, when 5000 Of her
children were without school accommo-
d9tsons.
why the chilren of the Italian quarter
of Newark, where there are no school ae-
c~ommodations. Mr.. Benny went on,
must rise and call blessed the Board OF
Education that puts up a S500.cOo High
School for those who have already been
educated at the expense OF the city, while
they are without a school of any kind?'
He did not wish it understood that he
was against high schools. He favored
them most heartily and would advocate
a State College If such a thing was pos
sible, but he didn't want a high school
at the expense of the poor children, and
he did want primary schools first, where
young children of poor parents can go
ana get an eQucdtlcn. he spoke u tue
overcrowded condition of the insane dsy-
lums and penitentiaries, n the State
prison. and said that the only way to les
sen crime was to educate the children.
Objection had been made to the bill, he
said. on the around that its enforcement
would many of the small csr,es.
He read figures to show that the small
cities now provide for almost all of their
children. and that it would cost them only
| small sums to carry out the provisions Of
the act
Mr.. Porter of Essex. who becomes more
tiresome every time he speaks. made an
attemnt 10 onnose the bill. The argu-
,nent which he wanted 10 advance a-ainst
| the meas1re was that it interfered with
| home rule and that most of the cities
wara already doing what the measure
wanted. To compel them to.