Perth Amboy evening news., 1903-07-31
OF GRAFT IN
MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
-Four Column Article appeared Last Night Telling of the Dongs of
Director Fountain of the Board of FreehoUers-Matter
Explained in Det0if-Anboy Bridge Matter

erS sOlQ Sl5O, ,UOO Issue OF county
bonds to pay for the construction of
the new wagon and trolley bridge
across the Raritan to connect South
Amboy and Perth Ambov. The Perth
Amboy Trust Company offered to pay
three per cent interest on the money
| If it was deposited there. The New
Brunswick Trust Company, of which
Ross, the Democratic county leader,
is director, and two or three other
county banks were willing to pay
interest at two or three per cent
| Peter Francis DAILY, the Democratic
surrogate, wanted the money dis
tributed among several of the banks
to give all of them a benefit In the
face of all this the freeholders passed
resolution at Fountain s behest de-
posting the entire amount without
| interest in the South River Bank, the
smallest bank in the county, which
has capital of $50, 900 and no surplus.
Fountain is stockholder in this
bank David Serviss, of South River,
whom Fountain had appointed as
county collector, is its president, and
| Robert Fountain, a cousin of the
county director, is its cashier. About
$40, 600 OF this money is still on deposit
in the South River institution. Since
| it was put there the board has borrow
| ed several thousand dollars on five
| per cent county notes from the bank,
using the money to meet payments on
! road contracts. In other words, the
| South River bank is having the use
of the bond money flee of charge and
the county is borrowing it back and
paying five per cent for the loans.
/ ''One of the concerns in which
Fountain is interested is the Madison
Transportation Company. His father
, in-law, Hendrick H. Brown, former
member of the Court of Errors and
| Appeals, and now county supervisor
of roads, is president of the company.
Fountains S interest in the company is
that of stockholder. For a couple
of months or SO in the summer the
company runs freight boat from
Cheesequake Greek to New York,
carrying produce to market. The COM
pany's boat used to land at Rose s
dock, between Matawan and South
Amboy. Some time ago it bought
tract of meadows fronting on the
creek, about / 900 feet from its form
Ell landing place. and announced its
intention to build a new dock there.
"Soon after the new dock vas de-
II
contract to the Madison Transporta-
tion Company for $500 to build a
road from Halls Corner to the pro-
, posed new landing place. Although
the dock has not yet been begun and
the riparian rights have not even been
secured, the road is being built, and
when it is completed the county will
own a highway leading to a point
near Cheesequakes Greek, where there
may at some time be a private boat
landing.
Among the contracts awarded in
preparing for the erection of the new
Amboy bridge was one for a road
leading to the bridge approach on the
South Amboy side. The lowest bidder
for the work, which amounted to
something over $4,000, was James ID.
Murray. Tho next lowest was Rue &
Fountain, the difference in price
quoted being about $500 or $400.
James Fountain, one of the members
of this firm, is brother of Asbury
Fountain. The director himself is
said to be interested in the firm S
affairs. Rue & Fountain got the con-
tract. The only reason they are not
building the road is because Murray
refused to be ignored and secured au
injunction to prevent the consumma-
tion of the deal until the courts can
decide whether he, as the lowest
bidder, is not entitled to the award
while this contract was being
investigated by the grand jury Asbury
Fountain admitted that while much
of the road to the approach would
have to be supported by piling, no
provision had been made in the speci-
fcations for the piling, and that part
of the work would have to be paid
for as an extra.
"a couple of years ago the free
holders built bridge across Wood
bridge river to connect Perth Amboy
with Boynton Beach. The contractor
for the job was John f. Cutley, of
Jersey City. After the bridge had
been built, as wagon bridge, in
accordance with the specifications,
the freeholders agreed to give the
Perth Amboy Traction Company the
right to run it's cars across for 81 900.
The bridge had cost about $11, ZOO.
Then it was discovered that the grid
ers were not strong enough to carry
the weight of the cars and that it
would cost 50, 600 additional to make
them strong enough. Cutley refused
to do the extra work, and the bridge
has never been changed Wagon and
foot passengers now cross the bridge,
but the trolley cars stop on either side
and passengers have to walk across.
| "Care of the roads and bridge in the
rural sections of the county is the
secret of Fountains strength and his
ability to retain control of the board.
For years Middlesex has been build
/