The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1902-05-24
REED BREAKS OUT
Somerset's Discredited Sena
tor Relieves His Mind
and Abuses the
Press.
fspecial 70 .sThe Jersey city News

PLAINFfELD, May "a, 1902.-In de-
fence of his public actions in connection
with the proposed secession of North
Plainfield from Somerset County and in
advocacy of the subject OF annexation to
Union County and consolidation with this
city, Senator Charles A. Reed addressed
his fellow townsmen last evening for the
first time since he has become the tar
get for the verbal shots of large pro-
portion of his constituents. The an
nouncement that he would speak at the
mass meeting held under the auspices Of
the Union Association of North Plain
field drew a large crowd at Saengerbund
Hall, and the audience made up of friends
and foes, taxed the seating capacity of the
place. During the course of his remarks
Mr.. Reed bitterly attacked the public
press that had opposed him and struck
at his enemies in general
Other addresses were made by former
Mayor William L. Saunders, the father of
the annexation movement; Joseph O. Os-
good, chief engineer of the New Jersey
Central Railroad Company, and Newton
B. Smalley, Mayor of the borough; Mar
tin I. Cooley acted as chairman of the
meeting and a large number of prominent
citizens favorable to the scheme filed the
hole OF vice presidents. In introducing
the Senator Mr.. Cooley referred to him
as "a man feared by his political enemies,
honored by his colleagues and beloved and
trusted by his best friends"
In launching forth on a tirade against
the press, which, he alleged, had mis-
read in the4 newspapers is not always
AZ -. \
being called a robber, but he seriously
objected to being put down as an idiot
IN an effort to show that he had endeav-
ored to feel the public pulse in the bor-
ough, he dramatically said: 1T it wasn't
for North PIainfield I'd never have been
Senator. When it comes to a question
between North Plainfie,d and some other
part of the county, I stand for North
Plainfield." Concerning the political
scheme back of the movement. which has
been hinted at repeatedly, he offered 500
to any person who could show in the
measures under discussion any scheme
| which would benefit him and his friends.
A. v. D. Honeyman was assaised in
strong language. One opponent of the
annexation measures, he said. had ad-
mitted spending sl.s00 to prevent the peo-
pie voting on this subject, and he added
that he didn't know how much, if any,
of this amount Mr. Hoheynan got AS
for the resolution introduced in the coun-
Gil to hold an election within two weeks,
he charged that it was a scheme TO kill
the measure by certioraring the resolu-
tion to the Supreme Court in order that
the dates for the elections might pass
before a decision was handed down. In
closing, he declared that employees of the
School Board and others were hired to
obtain signatures to the petition address
ed to the Governor to veto the bills, and
| referred to w. w. Rowland, the chair
man of the anti-annexationists, as IAN
honest, pompous and egotistical gentle
man. who spoke on a subject of which
he was profoundly ignorant.
William L. Saunders. yice-president OF
/ the In2ersoll-Sargeant Drill Company,
! gave a talk filed with facts and figures,
! beneficial to the cause, Illustrating his re-
marks by diagrams. His reference to
Somerset county as "this poor old thing
| of antiquity evoked considerable laugh
ter, as did also his picturing "the proud
Mr.. Howland, the good Rev. Mr. Honev-
man. Tie dyed-in-the-woo Democrat, JUS
tice Smaliey and the double-dyed- d-in-the-
wool Democrat Dave Carney, linked TO-
gether against the cause. Justice Smalley
at this juncture left the hail, as the
speaker, who is also a Democrat; shouted
| after him that no offence was intended.
| Mr.. Osgood dwelt briefly upon the bene-
! fits to be obtained by annexation, through
the Plalnfield sewerage system, while
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