The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1904-01-29
PRESENTMENT
STATE OF NEW JERSEY,
County of Morris, to wit :

DC ~ ItluSmDcIcus llldU dU d OOuTU
of Oyer and Termner, holden at Nor
ristown, and in said County of Morris,
on the third Tuesday in January in the
year ofo Lord nineteen hundred and
four, by the Honorable Abram O. Gar
retson, one of the Justices of the SUI
preme Court of Judicature of the State
of New Jersey, and Alfred Elmer
Mills, Esquire, Judge of the Inferior
Court of Common Pleas, in and for the
said County of Morris, by the oath of
Emile Hurting, John Shippee,
Edison j. Rood, Robert G. BARLEY,
Merritt B. Lum, Johnathan Barkman,
Horace L. Cook, Charles Koska, Sep
timus S.Walling, Charles Comfy, John
Husk, Jr., John S. Green, Max Heller,
Jonas w. HulSe, Clifford S. Rutan,
Daniel M. Fighter, Alvah l.. Rey-
nolds, William E. Budd, Thomas B.
Tone, Joseph Hamley, Elsi B. Daw-
son, B. Frank Howell and Frank NJ.
Merchant, good and lawful men of the
said County of Morris, duly summoned,
and then and there duly sworn, and
Icharged to enquire in behalf of the
State of New Jersey, in and for said
County of Morris, it is presented in
manner and form following, to wit
MORRIS COUNTY, IS: ~
The Grand Jury would present to
the Court that it has come to their
knowledge that the Board of Educa-
tion of the Township of Jefferson, in
the County of Morris, has been con-
Quoting the business of the Board in
very lax and unbusinesslike manner
and, in several respects, in violation
of the statutes governing such Boards
No meetings of the Board have been
held since August fifteenth, nineteen
+, hundred and three, although the school
! law provides that monthly meetings
shall be held. With scarcely any ex-
ceptions, the bills against the Board
have been paid without being veri-
fed by the oath of the claimant or any
one representing him, and without be-
ing presented to the Board, but mere
! ly upon being presented to the Clerk,
who, with the President of the Board,
has drawn orders upon the Collector
of taxes for the amount of the bills
The minutes of the meetings which
have been held are incomplete and do
not show all that has transpired at
the different meetings of the Board.
| From the minutes of the meeting
held in April, nineteen hundred and
| three, it appears that the matter of
furnishing transportation for the chill
dren of one portion of the district to
another portion was referred to the
Clerk of the Board with full power
and without any restrictions as to
compensation. A member of the
Board present at that meeting was
subsequently engaged by said Clerk to
perform the services mentioned, and
while the minutes of the subsequent
meetings do not show at what rate he
was employed, the testimony pro-
duced before the Grand Jury shows
that he was employed at the rate of
Twenty-Five Dollars per month. While
this is not claimed to have been an
immoderate charge, yet no bids were
called for by the Clerk or by the Board
and the employment Of the member
of the Board of Education was clearly
illegal. In at least two other cases
members of the Board have been paid
for services rendered or materials
furnished by themselves to the Board of
Education and while they were MEM
bers thereof, which was also in violation
of the law. 1t does not appear that the
people have suffered any loss by reason
, of these acts which seem to have been
: done without any intentional viola
tion of the law and in utter ignorance
, of the provisions of the statute. 1t
would appear to be the duty of public
officials to acquaint themselves some
what with their duties and as to the
restrictions placed upon them by the
statutes before entering upon the
activities of their office.
Another matter which does not seem
to be contrary to statute but open to
criticism and which has given rise to
; complaint being made to the Grand
Jury, is the manner in which the con-
!, tract work has been let. The Board
has not called for bids but has been in
the habit of assigning certain school
buildings to certain members of the
Board and these, in turn, have awarded
The contract, at what is charged as
excessive prices, to personal friends or
relatives. This system shuts out com
petition and enhances the cost to the
public with the added danger of hav-
ing the work done in less satisfactory
manner.
The Grand Jury do not deem it adj
viSable to find a bill of indictment at
| al
Education or the members deriving
profit Hereunder believing that by
calling the attention of said Board of
Education to the foregoing facts that
the evil complained of will be rene
died.
EMILE HURTzIG,
N @. Toms, Foreman.
Clerk.
(ENnORSEN EN'Fl