The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1902-12-20
PROMOTIONS
BLOCKED
G. 0. P. Police Commission
ers Have No Use fer the
Recommended.
JUGGLING OVER MONEY
Pretext That the Appropria-
ton Is Insufficient, Which
Plainly Is of No Avail.

At the meeting of the Board of Police
Commissioners last night the principle
topic of discussion was whether it was
legal to promote the eighty-6ve acting
patrolmen, recommended by the Chief
and various Captains At the last meeting.
Corporation Counsel Record at the last
meeting was asked to furnish an opinion
on the question and the same was re-
ceiyed last night. The opinion was to the
effect that under the Lewis Act of 1876,
anybody who contracted for the expendi-
ture of more money than was appropri-
ated by the Board of Finance was liable
for malfeasance in Office and unless the
salaries account of the Police Board was
sufficient to cover the increased amount,
necessitated by the advancement of these
men, the Board had no power to incur
the additional expense.
LIGHT FROM DIR. M,GILL.
A motion to receive and file this com
munication was made and a vote asked
for. DIR. McGill, before voting, said:-
s'There can be no danger of our ex-
ceeding our appropriation at the present
time as we have at our command the
entire appropriation for 1923. 1t has
been proven that in years past at least
$4,000 can be saved every year and
these promotions will not entail any
greater expense than $4,000. 1t aston
ishes me that the Corporation Counsel
has not taken this into consideration.
We certainly should promote these
eighty-five men, if only for the good of
the department Out of this body there
are only fourteen men who have ever
had charges preferred against them.
They are young men, and should we fail
to promote them the consequences would
be simply direful to the department. 1t
would tend to make the men careless,
they would lose ambition and some of
them viii leave the department Ii
would be a retrogressive step, fraught
with i'll to the department, and | can
see no objection to promoting the men
and according to the act of 1902 it is
mandatory
SUBTERFUGES.
Commissioner Mitchell replied to DR..
McGili:-
u have no objection to promoting
these men, but we have not got the
appropriation, and are depending upon
something of which we are not sure
do not intend to take any chances. We
did not make up the deficiency last year
and l am not sure we would make it up
next"
DR.. McGill explained that at the begin
ming of last year the amount to be made
up was $4,000, and in addition toTthat
the Board of Finance failed to give the
Police Board 1920 that was expected.
Commissioner Mitchell continued: II
clear. but the men have lost day and
half's pay this year, and I don't see
how they are going to get it as they have
already waived all claim to it, and I'm
pot going to take any chances.
President Tilden admitted that he was
law seemed to say to go ahead and an
other to prevent promoting the men.
LAW FROM HUDSPETH.
A communication from Senator Robert
S. Hudspeth was received which stated
that he had been employed as counsel by
the acting patrolmen to enlighten them
as to where they stood in the matter. He
explained that Chapter 43 of the Laws
of 1902 made it mandatory upon the
Board to promote these men one grade,
but did not make it necessary to increase
their pay.
DR.. McGill again spoke in favor of pro-
noting the men, and 1aughingly said
that in case the appropriation was not
sufficient to pay them the extra money
their pay could be reduced to such fig
ure that they would resign Commits
siener Mitchell said that this would not
do. AThc communications from Corpora
tion Counsel Record and Senator Hud-
speth were then ordered received and
filed.
President Tilden offered the following
resolution which was adopted
Resolved, That the Board of FL
nance be furnished with a copy of
these resolutions; and be it further y
Resolved, That the same Board Of
Finance be requested to appropriate
the sum of six thousand nine hun
dred and sixty-fve dollars additional
to the salaries account of 1902 and
1908.
No further action will be taken in re
gard to promoting. the acting patrolmer
until the decision of the Board of FL
nance hag been learned.
About eighty of the eighty-fve men
slated for promotion are Democrats.
In regard to the payment of the men
for the day and half's pay deducted
last pay day, the city has already con-
fessed judgment and the men will with
out 5oubi get their money.
GUESTS AT THE WASHINGTON