The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1904-12-19
The pRUNINCKNIFE
AT WORK J
Opportunities Which Stokes
Can Seize Of Cutting
Down State Expenses
POLITICIANS TALK ECONOMY
Some OF the Bills That Will
Be Fought at the Coming
Legislative Session.
POLITICIANS TALK ECONOMY
Special to "The Jersey city News,

Special to .'The Jersey City News.')
TRENTON, Dec. 10, 1904 There has
been considerable speculation among the
politicians as to whether Goyenor-elect
Stokes would give dinner to a small
coterie of the Senators and arrange with
them for an era Of retrenchment in the
running expenses of the upper chamber
of the Legislature, as he did last week
with the Assembly. 1t was stated early
iii the week that the new Governor had
said that he would do so, and as the SEN
in the rooms of the Republican Club, on
East Hanover street. the wise ones are
not SO sure that the meeting has not al
ready taken place. Those who are with
the incoming Governor in this matter say
that there are plenty of places in the
Senate in which he could manipulate his
pruning knife with advantage. Although
the upper House is only triie over one-
third the size of the Assembly, they
point out, the Senate has almost two
thirds as much patronage, according to
the salaries paid, as the House has
Much of the interest is taken from
Monday nights caucus Of the Senate by
the fact that the principal offices have
been agreed upon and that the others
will be left to the steering committee
As has been already stated, Senator JOS
eph Cross, of Union, is to be the presi-
dent, and Senator William J. Bradley, of
Camden, chairman of the caucus and
leader Of the majority on the floor How
ard Tyler, of Cumberland, who was the
assistant secretary of the last Senate, is
slated for promotion to the office of sec
retary, which was held last year by Cap
tain Walter r. Edge, of Atlantic. There
are several candidates for this old pos
ition prominent among them, being Rob
ert e. Bustard, of Passaic, who was the
calendar clerk of the last session. There
is an impression that Mr.. Bustard will
have to be satisfied with his old place
and that the assistant secretryship will
probably produce something of contest
| in the caucus. Although the wounds
caused by the pruning knife at Tuesdays
| House caucus have not entirely healed
/ yet, the leaders believe that the action of
/ the caucus was wise one and will re-
suit in the benefit to the party.
No delegation has perhaps done louder
protesting than that from Union County,
which labors under the impression that
| it has been treated very harshly. The
leaders on the other hand, say that in
view of the fact that all the Union men
are one-year members, the delegation did
very well. They say that as the vacancy
| in the county's representation caused by
| the death Of Mr.. Embree is not to be
L
filled according to present understanding,
the county has only two members, and as
Union was given the assistant clerk and
one page, that makes a position for each
/ Of the members, which is all that could
be reasonably expected under the cir
cumstances. To this the Union men re-
ply that, although Mr.. Embree is dead,
he made certain promises of reward to
one Of his workers which the party is in
honor bound to have carried out
! Notwithstanding Speaker Ayis's earn
est plea at the caucus Tuesday afternoon
to the members for boy pages, the indica-
tions at this time are that there will be
at least one page appointed who will
never celebrate his sixtieth birthday
again. One of the members who was
dealt page in the shuttle could hardly
| trust himself to express his honest opin-
ion of the whole matter.
man in his district now more than sixty
/ years Of age who had been a faithful
worker at the polls in his district for for
] ty years without any substantial reward
] for his valuable services. The member
! had promised him 4 place as doorkeeper
I in the Assembly this session. and the am