The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1899-08-11
FREEHOLDERS
MIXED AGAIN
Passed Resolution in Morning;
Rescinded it Two Hours Later.

uCmOCTS oCCuCu ~ niHN ShS
County Was Not Bound to the
Terms of a Contract That Had
Been Operative Four Years-Had
Other Views When Counsel for
the Contractor Was Heard-Mad-
ison Wanted the County Roads
Within the Borough Limits But
FreehoTders Denied the Request.
Another of those remarkable sittings
of the Board of Freeholders occurred on
Wednesday, and while the members at
nearly every session manage to take
some action that must afterwards be re-
scinded, the latest move is sufficiently
Ridiculous as to be very amusing, and at
the same time it naturally reflects upon
that august body which assumes to
manage county affairs. The act in ques-
tion related to the contract entered into
by the comfy in 1895, by which Arthur
H. Lynch was to supply all stone used
in the construction and repairing OF
county roads. The price was to be
$2.10 per ton. Learning recently that
stone could be had for 81 35 per ton, some
of the Freeholders scratched their heads
and tried to conceive some plan by which
advantage could be taken of the latter
price. This could be possible in only one
way-by declaring the contract with
Lynch to be invalid There was rumor
at the July meeting to the effect that
some technicality had not been observed
in the awarding of the contract and
County Counsel Charles A. RathbUn
was asked to render an opinion relative
to the matter, This he did at Wednes-
days session in an exhaustive document
from which one was led to believe that
the contract in question was illegal.
Acting in accordance with this inference
resolution by Mr.. Dalrymple was pass
ed, authorizing the Road Committee,
Counsel and the County Engineer to ad-
vertise for bids to furnisi stone for
county roads.
AT an adjourned session in the after
noon Senator Pitney appeared as Counsel
for Lynch, the holder of the contract.
Mr.. Pitney spoke at some length show
ing clearly that the contract between the
county and his client, was one that could
not either be ignored or broken without
litigation. While he spoke, Mr.. Pitney
held in his hands the opinion rendered
by County Counsel and this he answered
in detail He insisted that the agreement
was binding and always had been-not
only to the board, but to Lynch as well.
1t was not the time to declare contract
invalid after it lad been operative for
more than four years. The contract was
authorized by law and was entered into
after the same had been advertised,
competition held and public discussion
of the matter heard. Resolutions had
been passed month after month ordering
amounts paid for stone and there had
been no complaint recorded. Mr.. Pitney
earnestly and solemnly protested against
any such unfair action as the board
seem to contemplate.
A motion to reconsider the resolution
prevailed. Mr.. Dalrymple, who had Of
fered the resolution in the morning then
moved that it be rescinded, and it was
by vote of 10 to 2. Messrs. BARLEY
aud AFFORD voted in the negative.
A communication from the Common
/ council OF Mdul5Ou, anu slSuSu ny
Mayor J. P. Albright, stirred up lively
discussion. In pursuance to a resolution
passed by Council that borough requested
the Board of Freeholders to surrender to
Madison all the county roads within its
limits
Mr.. Troxell moved that the request be
granted and when the question was open
to discussion said that at present 16 feet
of these roads. or the portion macada-
mized, belonged to the county, while the
remainder of the so feet was not the
property Of the county, neither could the
borough authorities touch it. The in
troducer of the resolution in the Madison
Common Council, Mr.. O'Donnell, had
claimed that these roads were never
properly cared for Mr.. Cook, the
genial member from Passaic, objected to
this reflection and in the most dig
nifed manner possible for him to assume
protested that the request was an insult
| to the honorable Board. He cor ptinued
| that it was equivalent to an intimation
that the Freeholders were not competent
to look after the roads in question, and
any one who did not know Mr.. Cook
might have been led to believe that he
meant what he said.
A motion by Mr.. Cook that the re-
quest be refused was passed by vote of
13 to 6. The same member then sug-
gested that the resolution passed by
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