Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1901-10-31

amending our bill by limiting the time
within which it might be taken advantage
of to thirty days | objected to that and
asked to have the time extended to one
year-we compromised on six months and
so the bill became law. Our school was
built promptly and 1000 children thereby
accommodated. Additions were also made
to two other school buildings, by which
several hundred more children were cared
| for.
At that time Jersey City was building
number Of schools, six, | think, and New
ark had its $1,000 high school in course
of erection. Both cities were proceeding
under law permitting first-class cities to
issue bonds for school purposes to the ex-
tent of 100000. This act was declared
by the Supreme Court to be unconstitu-
tional because it applied only to first-class
cities, the very kind of limitation which
Governor Voorhees, tried to force into the
Bayonne bill. Then there was great
scurrying around, and finally Newark and
| Jersey City both came in under the Bay
onne bill, issued the 100000 of bonds
necessary at that time to complete the
buildings in each city, and finished the
various buildings. But it was close
shave. The six months time limit forced
into the Bayonne bill by the friend of
the public Schools" Governor Voorhees,,
very nearly proved too much for the two
great cities Of the State; but by good work,
| Newark came in and got its bonds issued
two weeks before the expiration of the
time limit, and Jersey City got its bonds
issued on the very last day possible under
| the bill.
Again, in the same session, (1898), the
| Republican friends of the schools" had
another chance to show their friendship.
| Assembly bill, No. 1872, introduced by
Hudson Democrat, after reciting that more
| than so, 600 children were unable to find
room in the schools of this State, not only
authorized, but required the cities in this
State to provide school room for the chill
dren, and gave power to the cities to issue
you think that bill became a law? Oh,
no These friends of the Schools" the
Republican majority, rallied to the support
of the public schools in the same way they
always did, and refused to pass it.
The whole record of the Republican party
is in line with these two instances.
"But," say our friends on the other side,
| if you don't like our record on the school
question, 1--WE are the friends of the labor
| ing man; we have done much for labor,
and therefore should be continued in
power"
| This claim is as hollow as their claim of
| friendship for the public schools
| | had the pleasure of sitting as mem
Der of the House Of Assembly in the
Legislature during the years 1898, 1899
and 1900, and saw some of the actions of
| the Republican majority in reference to
bills on behalf of those who labor. Two
of those measures | want particularly to
call your attention to.
| In 1899, there were 26, 600 railway men
of this State enrolled in their labor unions.
| The various lodges elected delegates to
their annual convention at Trenton; these
delegates in convention selected an execu-
| tive committee of five; this committee
drafted bill to be introduced in the Legis-
| lature on behalf of the railway employees.
After the bill was drafted it was considered
by the convention and approved, and was
then printed and sent to every lodge where
it was voted upon by the 26, 600 employees,
liter which it was introduced in the House
of Assembly. Do you think that these
friends of the laboring man" this great
| Republican majority rushed to the support
of this bill? Oh, No
The bill was good one. 1t required
| that three men instead of two be employed
on all ''hog- back" engines, because on this
| type of engine, the fireman and engineer
cannot see each other, and it is unsafe to
run trains drawn by such engines without
having two men instead of one in the
cab. The fireman away down in the pit
can't see into the cab at all, nor can the
engineer see into the pit. The bill also re-
quired that certain number of brakemen
should be employed for certain number of
cars, and that no person under eighteen
years of age should be employed as tele-
graph operator for the handling of train
orders or dispatches
The law of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and
Massachusetts contains all these require
ments. The bill was enterely for the pro-
lection of life and property on the railroads
of this State. 1t passed the House and
went to the Senate where it was referred to
committee composed of Senator Miller,
Republican Chairman, and Senator Francis,
Republican, and Senator Barbour. The
committee voted unanimously to report the
bill favorably, and the railway men went
away satisfied. The chairman however
didn't report the bill. He held it and then
lost it. We found it for him. He lost it
again, and again we discovered it's hiding
place for him. Then he promised to report
it Tin little while" and then Sin a
minute y and again fright away, nand so it
wore along until the last day of the session
and then when he was finally cornered he
had the Senate adjourn for recess. At
recess he talked with noted lobbyist in
the corridor, and after recess when the
secretary of the railway mems committee
went with me to him, he said to me
Benny, can't report it," Of course he
couldn't. The button down in Camden
had been touched. The lobbyist received
the message he repeated it to Senator
Miller, and the Senator had to kill the bill
or face political death. And so the laboring
mans bill was murdered. The whisper of
the lobbyist was more powerful than the
plea of 26, 600 working men.
The next year the bill was again pre-
sented to Republican legislature. It
didn't get as far this time as in the preced-
ing year. It was introduced in the Assem-
bly, again and referred to the committee of
railroads and canals, composed of four
Republicans and one Democrat. This COM
mittee held it until the last days of the
session, and then reported in without COM
ment or recommendation. Thirty-one
votes were needed to pass the bill. We
mustered thirty for it, and then begged for
one more vote, even calling Republicans by
name and asking" Will you give the vote
which will pass this bill?'' For answer we
were only laughed at The bill failed, and
yet this party responsible for its defeat now
comes to these same railway men and asks
their support on the ground that they are
the friends of labor.