The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-03-01
POLICE PENSION.
Bruder Opposes .Marnell's
Bill to Provide For Geb-
hardt's Widow.
CLASS LEGISLATION
- no
Monument to Jersey Maine
Victims-Female Fac
tory Inspector.

Especial to 1.-The Jersey City News.'1
TRENTON, March l, 1S99.-An unusual
display of %eloquence and oratory was the
feature of yesterday afternoons session
of the House Almost every bill that
came up was discussed at length and sew
eral members who would never be sus-
pected of having it in them made fairly
ROOD speeches.. None of the bills offered
any brilliant opportunity for forensic dis
play, and the would-be orators had 10 40
the best they could with the material be-
fore them. One of the longest arguments
was over Mr.. Marnells bill providing Tor
a pension for the widow of Charles Geb-
hardt of Hoboken. Gebhardt, it Will De
remembered, was the Hoboken policeman
who last summer detected ayprofessional
HE reconnoitering in Hoboken and at
tempted to arrest him. The thief resist
ed and shot the policeman dead. He was
arrested and is now awaiting execution
in the Hudson County Jail.
Mr.. Marnell related the circumstances
of Gebhardt's death, extolled the brave
officer for his heroic devotion to duty.
and urged the passage of the bill. Mn.
Bruder opposed the measure ~strenuouslyr
lie SalQ thai lie III was los
and unconstitutional. He could not see
why the widow of a policeman killed IN
the discharge of his duty should receive
a pension any more than the wife OF the
locomotive engineer, the trolley man, the
lineman or any other person killed whsie
discharging his duty. The speaker knew
that in taking this course he was dis
charging his duty, and he had the ap-
prevail of his constituents. That re
knew because last year he voted against
a pension bill, and an attempt was made
to defeat him at the polls for it. But at
the primaries he was renominated by an
overwhelming majority. Mr.. Marneil tooh
Mr.. Bruder to task for injecting personal
matters into a case of this kind. He riol-
culed the idea that the bill was unconsti-
tutional and showed where similar meas
ures were passed by previous legislatures
and no one had questioned their constitu-
t;onality.
Mr.. Albeit, Mr.. Benny and MI. Murphy
all Jumped on Mr.. Bruder for his oppo-
sition to such a measure and advocated
its passage. None of these things ap-
peared to move Mr.. Bruder and he MADE
another speech in which he maintained
that the bill was class legislation and ne
was only doing his duty in opposing IT,
MI. Bruder's eloquence won one member
to his way of thinking and when a vote
was taken he n Mr.. Houston of Eliza
beth alone voted against the bill.
A peculiar bill with the innocent title
provides that officers and men OF ponce
DEPARTMENTS shall hold office during good
behavior and not be discharged for po-
litical reasons was next taken up. MI.
Squire. of Union, explained what a truly
innocent bill it really was and now ~
only intent was to save the policemen OF
Elizabeth and Railway from being dis
charged for political reasons; -.
Mr. Benny discovered a clause in the
measure which provided that If a ponce
man was absent five consecutive days
missed. He thought that a bad provision
and thought it would enable the police
board to do just What the bill ostensipiy
sought to prevent. Very few OF the other
members thought with him and the bill
was passed.
Mr.. MarnelI succeeded in getting
through his bill which takes the appoint
ment of van and patrol wagon drivers
from the Hoboken Common Council and
gives it to the police board. Mr.. lDex-
heimer's bill making District Courts a
charge hereafter on the county at larse
instead of the cities in which they are
located, was killed ny having Us ChoSsAie
clause stricken out.
The bill to appropriate $500 for a monu-
ment to the JerSeymen who were kllieo
in the blowing up of the US. battleshlE
Maine came up and Mr.. Murphy askee
where the monument was to be erected,
Mr.. Mckee replied over the remains OF
the brave sailors. 1t was expected, ne
said, to bring their bodies to this state
and erect the monument here. Mr.. Benny
raised the objection hat $500 was not a
c,,fioipnf S11m TO erect a monument
worthy of the brave men. He was TOLD
that that was the amount otner states
were appropriating for the same purpose
and assured that the sum was ample
He Withdrew his opposition and the bill
Honest John King had hard trials with
! his bill authorizing the Mayor of Passase
to appoint an excise board. camden ane
! with Passaic. jumped all over the meas
| ure and it was overwhelmingly defeated.
Mr.. Mckee succeeded in passing his bill
to make ten hours a days work Iol
bakers. A law was passed In 1876 10 ina
| effect, but it contained va clause that IL
| case of urgent necessity" employers
| could exact two hours more a day. some
| how or other 1t was urgent necessity WIFI
| the bosses almost all the time and thu
| law was practically a nullity. Mr.. Nc
| KEGS bill makes the day ten hours with
| out urgent necessity or any other guam
~ication.
Complaint has been MADE that the rae
| tory inspectors do not properly inspect
| factories in which women are largely EN-
| pioyed as from the nature of things they
| couldn't very well, they say. So Mr.
EGuenther introduced a bill providing fol
the appointment of two female factory
| inspectors at a salary of 81, 900 each, which
| passed at the afternoon session. Execu
| tive Clerk Fox is looking forward with
| dread to the time when this bill becomes
a law and the lady applicants for tht
/ nfioa hnQin to SjQla UD to his desk dnC
! softly ask him If the Governor is in, "ant
can / see him, please"
Mr.. CARROTS bill forbidding the placing
| of advertisements on the National las