The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1902-09-25
COLLINS
STOPS IT..
Writ of Certiorari Holds
Up the Single Head
Street and Water
Commission In
fanny,
H'DtRH0TTsPETITI0N
Great Democratic Lawyer
Exposes the Unoonsti-
tutionality Of the
Statute.
RECORDS PETTY TACTICS
Pleas for Delay Which the
Court Contemptuously
Overruled-Hearing
at Once.
RECORDS PETTY TACTICS

Justice Collins in the Supreme Court
this morning granted a writ of certiorarl
to enable Congressman Allan L. Nc
Dermott to test the validity of the Pagan
single-headed Street and Water Board
act in the Supreme Court. The appli-
cation for the writ was made by Mr..
McDermott on behalf of Colonel Robert
G. Smith, president of the present Street
and Water Board In allowing the rule,
Justice Collins stated that the writ would
not act as a stay, but that he would
make it returnable before the Supreme
Court at Trenton tomorrow, so that an
early date could be fixed by the court
for the argument.
Mr. McDermott informed the court
that he was prepared to go on with the
argument tomorrow, but Corporation
Counsel Record, who appeared for the
Pagan administration, surprised lawyers
and spectators in the court room by say
ing that he was not quite prepared to
argue the question at an early date.
PAGAN FIGHTS FOR DELAY.
1t soon became apparent that delay
was the object which the Pagan contin
gent sought, but Mr.. McDermott was
not to be caught mapping. He immediate
ly suggested that Mr. Record make apph-
cation to the branch Of the Supreme
Court sitting at Trenton tomorrow to fix
a date next week to hear argument of
counsel. Mr. Record reluctantly ac-
quiesed to the proposition.
The act which Mr. McDermott seeks
to have declared unconstitutional is the
single headed Street and Water Board
act, which was passed by the last Legis-
lature at the dictation of Mayor Pagan,
who seeks to Gust the present Street
and Water Board Commissioners, con-
sisting Of FIVE Democrats. The Board of
Finance recently adopted q resolution to
submit the act to a popular vote at the
ensuing fall election and it is upon this
resolution that the application for writ
of certiorari was made this morning.
Congressman McDermott was accom-
panied in court by his son Walter, who
nominally made the application. The lat
ter made the argument for the writ while
his father sat behind him and followed
his arguments with interest mating sug-
gestions whenever he deemed it neces-
sary.
Corporation Counsel Record was as
sisted by Corporation Attorney John
Wahl Queen, who listened to the pro-
ceedings with interest but took no part
in the argument.
REASONS FOR THE WRIT.
In his opening argument young Mr..
McDermotts stated that the reason why
the applicant-Colonel Robert G.. Smith
fought writ of certiorari was because
the single-hea1ed Street and Water
Board Act of 1902 was unconstitutional
and defective in many respects. First:
he claimed, the title of the act was mis-
leading and defective because it did not
adequately express the objects of the act.
1t provided for a single-hcaded Commits
sioner to take the place OF five members
elected by the people and gave the single
Commissioner power to take control now
vested in the present Board, This, he
contended, was one of the hnconstitut-
icnal features of the act.
He delivered a lengthy argument to
sustain such contention
Another reason assigned for seeking to
have the act declared unconstitutional
was thai there was ND proper scheme of
PIE for their approval. The act merely
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