The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1903-04-10
COUNTY
SOLONS
Held an Interesting Meeting IN
MorristOwn on Wednesday
Of This Week.
AN EXCITING SESSION


Cook Objects. County Collector Me-
Leans Statement of Finances. Are
short of Funds, due to Expenses of
special Election and jail Improves
ments.
The April meeting of the Board of
F'reeholders which was held last
Wednesday morning was lively and in
teresting. Money, of course, was the
principal theme. Not all parts were
strictly harmonious, but clean mel
ody was easily distinguishable in all
the major and minor chords.
1t developed in the course of a few
remarks by certain freeholders prior to
the meeting of the board, that the
county was in arrears for the past year
$lo,S43. This seems to scare several
members OF the road committee. and
a private meeting was held on the
platform behind the directors desk.
At this short session County Collector
Mclean stated the exact position the
| finances of the county were in, and
thought, owing to the increased ex-
penses of the special election and the
jail improvements, things were not in
bad condition. Freeholder Hoagland.
member of the road committee.
agreed with the collector. He brought
up the subject of awarding the con-
tracts for roads, and said he had never
found any taxpayer objecting to the
building of good roads. After this
conference came to a close Director
Becker called the board to order
A communication was read by Clerk
White signed by two-thirds of the
property owners in Hanover township
along the Whippany and Troy roads,
asking the Board to macadamize the
road. The petition was referred to
the road committee.
Freeholder Mills, reported as chair
man of the aims committee, bills
amounting to $1SS.09. Number in
aims house last meeting, 10; one adj
mitted during the month, 5 discharged,
leaving II at present time. For the
Children's Home, he reported bills
amounting to S4l6.3S. Number in
Home last meeting, 81: one admitted,
4 discharged, leaving 54 now in the in
stitution.
The court house and jail committee
reported bills amounting TO 1924. 93.
Number Of prisoners in jail at last re-
port, 26; admitted during the month,
80; discharged, 35; leaving 20 in prison.
DR. Griswold's report as jail physician
was read showing he had made visits
during the month, and had treated for
illness three prisoners. Also that
Anna Mansfield had been taken to All
Souls Hospital Fifteen hundred dol
lars was reported expended for per
manent Improvements.
The committee on printing and cleo
tion asked for the payments of bills to
the 1886, of this amount $1sl was for
printing and $75 for elections.
Committee on insurance and miscel-
laneous reported bills: For freeholders
salaries, S499.4S; officers, 1918. l6; i'm
cidentials, $40 and street lighting,
1858.
The finance and auditing committee
reported receipts from all sources
amounting to S32, ,0OS.Ol; disburse-
ments, 1924, 7l0.0S leaving a balance Of
ST, 297.93; court expenses, $694.61, sta
tionery, $l2.50.
For the road committee, Major Dal-
rymple asked that the final payment
to Colefax & Steele of S443.67 be made
He said, further than this the COM
mittee had nothing to report except
to call attention to the certain rec
concentrations made at the special
meeting of the Board held March 18th,
which he felt the board should pass on
at this meeting.
1t was right here the clouds that
had gathered since the last meeting
broke, and the down pour of opinions
came. Some were freely expressed,
others, pointedly, and Others, lacon-
| ically,
Freeholder John Mills was first to
speak. He asked if the board were to
vote on the bids reported by the road
committee, and if so, he wanted to
have it embodied in the contracts that
all contractors shall stop work on 10
days notice by the county engineer.
This was carried, although Counsel
Quayle said such a stipulation was in
all contracts drawn up by him for the
county.
Freeholder Cook was the next to
speak. He said as the matter of
awarding the contracts had been laid
over until this meeting of the board
he thought the members should have
more light on the subject II am
heartily in favor of good roads, said
Mr.. Cook, land all the people in my
section are clamoring for good roads,
but | believe we ought to go carefully.
If we are to vote all the money APP
plicable for roads now, what condition
, do we leave things in for the new
board"
In answer to this, County Collector
Mclean made a lengthy reply in which
he said this year had been a bad one.
b Moreso than all the five years in which
he had been collector. He said the
county's expenses ran from two hum
dred and ten, two hundred and twelve
to two hundred and sixteen thousand
dollars a year. This years expenses he
: believed would reach S2l7,000. The
) reason of this he stated was owing to
special matters, that Of the special
election, which cost the county $4,000,
and the remodeling of the jail, which
was nearly $1,000. The county's deficit
| he said was $l5, S43.
: The State Aid account of road Z
CONTINUED ON PAGE FOUR.