The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1900-03-02
special Correspondence. }

Especial Correspondence
Trenton, March 1.-The stupendous
.nonotony of the Legislative session
has been improved by the alleged in
vestigation into the mismanag cement
of the Girls Industrial School The
session is dull one, so far as i'm
portant business is concerned.
Squeezing very hard on the list of
nearly three hundred bills there are
not dozen that amount to much, AS
matters are drifting the most i'm
portant bill is the general school law
which Senator Stokes introduced for
the Special Commission on Codicfia
ton. The Commission tried hard to
complete bill that would earn the
support of the school people generally,
but as the millennium is still some
distance away it is impossible to
secure perfection. There was a hear
ing ON this bill on Wednesday after
noon, and this fact is mentioned in
particular, because Judge Vreeland
spent the day in the State House and
appeared before the committee. So
did @. A. Norris, of Boonton, and
Harrie A. Freeman, of Morristown.
The impression is now prevalent
that this bill is withou doubt the
most important of the session. 1t
deals with every detail of the school
house government and it condenses
and clarifies all the patchwork legis-
lation on schools, which have burden
ed nearly every session for the past
fifteen years.
During the week very important
bill passed the Senate, important be-
cause it discloses the drift of public
opinion. The bill only applies to
Hudson County and it substitutes a
board of nine in place of their cum
bersome Board of Freeholders. They
are to be paid 81, 800 a year to attend
to the business of the county. Sena-
tor McDermott prepared the bill. 1t
is, of course, general in its character,
but he supposes that only Hudson
County is in the humor to accept its
provisions. But in this he is mis-
taken, for the discussion that was
made on the bill started or perhaps
awakened very general desire for
the abolition of the Office of chosen
Freeholders New Jersey is the last Of
the eastern States to hold on to that
particular functionary. New Jersey
has been looking for good excuse
to secure a reform in this direction.
The reform that Hudson has started
has also started ideas of reform in
the minds of Legislators of other
counties and it is almost certain that
a bill will soon make it's appearance,
which will contain the proposition to
have a small county commission sub
stituted for the cumbersome Boards of
Freeholders.
Nothing has been done so far to
secure the permanent Hobart
memorial. A mistake was made by
the Legislators that they did not start
it ON it's way, in joint resolution, the
very day of the memorial session, for
the reason that that day was the
proper time for the stroke to be made,
but now the proposition is not only
dragging but it is begging and on
nosing around it has been discovered
that the sentiment is subsiding and it
looks as if the idea will go astray.
1t is believed that everybody is in
terested in the investigation of the
Girls Industrial School 1T is a
small Institution but it is a trouble
some one. More columns of matter
have been written about it, than all
the State institutions combined. To
the ordinary reader, the management
of the school is mysterious but it isl
easy to understand the situation, if
you will remember these charges
evolved out of great mass of fact.
Mrs Eyler, the principal, is not a
brute, but she has been given work to
do for which she is not adapted. She
has had no institutional experience
and her methods are not popular. In
coming to the institution she cancelled
the methods which her predecessor.
Mrs. McFadden had established as the
result of her obseTve tion and expert
ence. Escapes anu punishment were
rare under Mrs. McFadden, but now
escapes are a weekly occurrence. In
fact, to give humor to the investiga-
tion, two girls escaped on Wednesday
evening when the wise Solons were
trying to find out what is the matter
with the school This prediction is
given for what it is worth, ~
1t should be emphasized that Mrs.
Eyler is not vicious woman and
could be useful in other lines of ac-
tivity. She is woman of tact, and
good appearance, but she is inexperi-
enced to handle bad girls, allows her
passion to influence her judgement
and makes mistakes. There are many |
things that Mrs. Eyler could do sue
cessfully but she cannot conduct