Perth Amboy evening news., 1904-08-20
LET MIDDLESEx TRY AAGlN.

The voters of Passaicsount, this fall, are to be given an opportunity
3 to decide whether the Board of Freehoders shall be abolished there Or not.
A petition has been duly filed with the county clerk aud the referendum
d will be placed on the ballots to help add to their length. Passaic, like Mid
desex, voted on this subject once before and the result was the same as it
\ was here. The proposition was turned down. Its possible, however, that
both Passaic and Middesex jumped at the opportunity for relief too quickly
and threw the matter before the people before they knew what it was all
Y about and, rather than change SO old and established an institution IS the
{ Of = eeholders, without fully knowing what they would substitute for
il, the voters defeated the suggestion. Things are different now and people
are thinking differently as is shown by the following editorial lin the passac
Daily News, which was against the change the previous time it was put be-
4 fore the people:
"Now that the petitions for the Strong act have been filed with County
Clerk Slater, and there is no longer any doubt that this important question
will be submitted to the voters in November, it behooves readers of the News
to think the matter over.
] provides that in all counties where the law is ratified by a referendum vote,
the present Boards of Freehoders shall be abolished, their places to be taken
! by new commissions to be elected at large. The size of the commission diff
aNers according to the class of the county In PaSaic county there would be
y seven members. The act has already been ratified by several counties, and
the result has been most gratifying. An attempt was made in this county, in
1909, to submit the act to the people, but the movement failed, because the
petitions were not filed within the proper time At that time, The News
fought the plan to submit the act to the people, fearing that the voters would
ratfy the act without understanding it, and that the result of the application
of the Strong Act to Passaic county would be bad.
"Thes News is not above acknowledging its own mistakes. For the
years ago. was the same Is that we hear expressed by townspeope now
SPassaic would lose in percentage of representation. This is true, and yet
UNTRUE. At present, Passaic has four members in a board of twenty-one
members, and each Freehoder is elected from a ward and township. Under
: the proposed order, Passalc would have a many of the seven commissioners
elected at large as was considered fair. The fact must not be lost sight of
however, that the commissioners would not be elected to represent local and
purely selfish interests, but they would be elected at large, and would repre-
sent the best interests of the whole county.
aAny one who has looked into the situation at all must know that tie
Board of Freeholders which now represents" the people of Passaic county
is unrepresentadve, inefficient and corrupt. A change cal on'y be for the
better"
There is no doubt but that, if the idea of having a Board of Commits
soners to replace the Board Of Freehoders in Middesex county now, the
result would be decidedly different than before. Other counties have tried
+ it and found it good. Why not Middlesex get into line?