, 1903-05-01
Friday, May 1, 1903.
Communicated.

To the editor of the JoURNAL:
In the last issue OF the Mr.. /. V.
VanHorn, Borough Collector, in a commu-
nication attacks me for my action at the last
meeting of the Borough Council, and respect
fully ask that you allow space to reply to
same. Having spent a considerable portion
OF my life in a printing office, l long ago
learned that it was, as a rule, an unwise thing
to rush into print before giving a matter ma
ture elaboration, and Collector VanHorn's
statement has strengthened me in that opin-
ion. Since he has chosen the public press for
the discussion of local questions, l accept the
situation and shall attempt to meet him upon
his chosen ground, and l would say in passing
that / feel more sure of my footing here than
l would in a Council where the presiding Off
Ger has denied me of my law-given right of
offering an amendment to a motion, a ruling
that causes the alleged arbitrary rulings OF
the late Thomas D. Reed, as speaker Of the
Collector VanHorn devotes the first forty
lines OF his communication to setting up a
fallacy and then proceeds to knock it down.
l never said that "the Collector had overdrawn
his accounts two or three times.n What / did
say was that Council had overdrawn certain
appropriations without the passage of a res
olution authorizing the same, and l will here
add that no men ton, in any way, was ever
made Of such a proceeding in open Council.
The Collector wants to know where l was
...during the passage of these bills" Admit
ting for the sake of argument, that / was in
Council, how was / to know that certain ap-
preparations were overdrawn without a report
to that effect from the Collector, chairman of
the hnance committed or the borough clerk.
- disO abhH IL IL but Uudltc tOuliIllbbtt
for" and "what does Council hire a clerk for"
and "what is Council for.'i must confess
that this is a poser. This is something l have
been trying TO find out and i hope that Mr..
Inquiry will lead to a solution OF
the matter.
have always supposed, heretofore, that it
was the duty ofthe finance to over
look the financial condition OF the borough
government, but l have heard the chairman
OF that say, in open Council, that
he did not know what was the financial con-
dition of the borough.
Mr.. III asks what right has he to
turn down q borough order properly, signed
and sealed by the borough seal If he has the
mone to pay 1t. That question l will have
to refer back to him for an answer, as l held
a borough order about ten or eleven months
last year and after repeated applications for
the money finally gave it up for a bad job and
held it until l paid my taxes in December last.
And right here L desire to set Mr.. ID
right upon the groundwork of this whole con-
troverSy. He seems to be 1aboring under the
impression that | first introduced the matter
of his administration of his Office into Coun-
Gil. Such is not the fact. TIL first time l ever
heard complaint made against him, it was by
the clerk, at a meeting last fall, when the
statement was made that n demand had been
repeatedly made for certain documents or
money my memory fails me as to details),
but had My been able to obtain promises
Such being the case the clerk was upon mo-
ton instructed to notify the Collector to fur
nish the documents or money, whichever 1t
was, or to appear at the next meeting OF Coun-
Gil and show cause why his office should not
be declared vacant. AT another meeting of
Council the clerk again complained that upon
repeated efforts he had beeh unable to procure
a check from the Collector for moneys in his
possession belonging to the Sinking Fund.
Mayor Baker sent Marshal Ferris to request
Mr.. Milo to come to the Council cham
Der, and upon the Marshal's return he stated
that the Collector was busy and COULD not
- Tho NJ ounr f1ap