The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-03-03
QUESTIONABLE BILLS
Mr.. Skirm Wants to Intro
duce Probationary Ty-
RAINY Into New
Jersey.
WANTED-A SKY PILOT
The Legislature Still D~rivelling
Away Time over Totally
Unimpertant Cues
items.

able comment. 1t provides that it shall
be unlawful for any person or corporation
in this State to charge more than twenty
five cents for the use of any telephone
for a five minutes conversation or less, in
any place in this State. or between two
or more cities, towns, townships, b%oroughs
or other localities within the boundaries
of the State of New Jersey. Anyone vio-
lating the act shall pay a fine of $3.50, one
half of which Is to go to the person MAX
ing the complaint.
Senator Stokes has raised somewhat of
a storm with a bill of his which provides
that each County Judge shall appoint a
probationary officer, who shall look up
the antecedents of any person accused of a
crime. He shall carefully inquire into the
character and offence of the accused, and
ascertain If the accused has been pre-
viously convicted of any crime, and shall
report the facts to the court, together
with the opinion whether or not the ac-
cused may reasonably be expected to re-
form without punishment; and upon his
recommendation the court may place any
prisoner SO convicted upon probation UNI
der the care of said probation officer for
such time and upon such conditions as
the court shall determine.
Each person placed upon probation
shall be furnished by the probation
officer with a written statement of the
terms and conditions of his probation,
and such officer shall keep a full record
of every case investigated. The court
may authorize the probation officer to ex-
pend for the practitioners temporary
support or transportation such reasonable
sum as the court shall determine to be
paid out of the county treasury.
Some people pretend to see a great
danger in this measure. They say THAI
it is for the purpose of favoring the well
connected and hitherto criminal.
While the poor friendless outcast will
have to go to prison, wear stripes and
undergo Others horrors, the well born
aTistocratic offenders will be allowed to
escape the just penalty of his crimes.
Mr.. Stokes proposes this view of the
bill, and says it is a step in the right di-
rection and it accords with modern ideas
of penalogy. It has long been in contem-
plation, he says, and will be productive
of more good than evil.
Instead of converting at eleven o'clock
this morning it was almost noon when
President pro tenn Skirm called the SEN
ate to order. The delay was owing purely
to a religious trouble. The Committee
on Clergy had forgotten to secure a
clergyman, and as the Senate must be
opened with prayer the session was de-
layed while messengers skirmislled about
the city for a minister. He was finally
found and the upper chamber settled
down to business.
senator Johnson of Bergen introduced
a resolution which might be l~ooked~upon
as the entering wedge to split off from
the rules of the Legislature the one re-
quiring bills to be engrossed. His resoa
luton provided that the ten bills which
revise the criminal laws of the State be
advanced to third reading, without being
engrossed. This, Mr.. Johnson said, was
done for a two-fold purpose; to save time
and to avoid mistakes. 1t was almost inn
possible for a man, even though he be an
expert copyist, to engross ten bills of
the length of those under consideration
without making some error which might
be dangerous to the act. He also hoped
that it would be the beginning of a move
nent which would result in the abolition
of the engrossing of bills.
There was a precedent for his resolu-
ton, Mr.. ohnson continued. In 1873.
when the general statutes were revised
by Chief Justice Beasley and Justice De-
pue of the Supreme Court and Cortlandt
Parker. the bills were passed without
being engrossed.
Senator Martin of Sussex asked for the
record on his bill reducing the salary of
the Governor from $10 1000 to $1,000. The
clerk told him that the bill was still in
the hands of the Committee on Judiciary.
Mr.. Martin said hat he did not want to
take any drastic measures, but he wished
the committee would report the bill and
let it come out and be discussed upon
the floor.
Mr.. DAILY said that he as a member of
that committee was ready to report the
bill at once. He asked if the Senator from
Sussex had given the necessary notice to
the committee that he move to have it
relieved from further consideration of the
bill. The Senator replied that he mad
not nor did not intend 10 then, and the
laugh was on Mr.. DAILY. as his question
was intended to be a hint to Mr.. Martin
to give such notice.
The railroads n Senator Johnson have
finally come to an agreement on the
amendments to the grade crossing bill,
and the bill will probably be reported
Monday or Tuesday and pass the Senate.
The FIRST amendment provides that the
application for a grade crossing shall be
to the Chancellor, who shall
decide upon its necessity and reasonable
ness. The second lays the costs of action
for new crossings upon the municipali-
ties asking for them. Senator Johnson
accepted tho latter after considerable con-
sideration, as he thought 1t would have
a tendency to limit grade crossings.
Colonel Robert Mitchell Floyd has been
Hignally defeated before the Committee
on Appropriations. He asked for s1O,0 900
for u New jersey building at the Omaha
Fair and $4,000 for an exhibit of New
Jersey manufacturers. Senator Johnson,
chairman of the committee, stated this
morning that the committee did not think
that it could let the Colonel have a dol
lar.
The Senate passed three bills. One
raises the amount for expenses of the
Teachers Institute to $4,000; another pro-
vides that two counties can m~acadamize
a. boundary road between them, sharing
the expense, and the third allows the
Governor to organize one or more Calling
gun batteries.
The Senate Committee gave &. brief
hearing on the bill prohibiting trading
stamps. Major Lentz and Linten Sat
t~llerthwait spoke against the measure
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