Perth Amboy evening news., 1904-08-26
COMMISSION
BIG SUCCESS
IN HUNTERDON
Board of FreehOlders Abolished
There and The County is
Saving Money.
FACTS And FIGURES.

In the following editorial the Newark
Evening News gives some facts and
figures show Ing how much better a board
Of commissioners Is working in governing
the affair. Of Hunter Ion county that the
old Board OF Freeholders. Middlesex
should profit by the example
"f the citizens and taxpayers of Passa-
10. Mlddlesex or any other counties are
still In doubt as.to the utility of substi-
tuting o county commission for the
present ponderous and corrupt chosen
freeholler system. let them examine the
resnlts Of the experiment made in Hun
terdon County, a county of 1S,000-not
$500 as some insIst-bridges and a for
nler record for dishonesty hardly second
to any In this State. A more convinc-
Ing comparison between corrupt old
methods and honest new ones could hard
" Be. made, and a more potent political
campaign document han that which
Hunterdon County presents, could not be
complied by the friends of reform In any
county no wavering between the continu
ance of the old system and the adoption
Of the new, under the Strong aet.-
1T VIII be recalled that of the several
counties taking advantage OF the Strong !
law, Hunterdon was the only one that
decided to abolish it's Board OF Chosen
Ffeeholders, consisting of t~wenty-one
zs1---sRs AL -adnnt--a commission of
three. AT abont the same time charges
were preferred against the county gov
ernment and the court ordered an ~investi-
cation. Illegal and useless expenditures
OF money, gross extravaganza and reck-
less squanderlngs of the public funds,
were brought to light, and although the
courts have been unable to bring the
guilty officials to bar and infllict ade- |
quate punishment for these derelictions,
ths people feel that the investigation has
been fully Justified .and that the change
Id the form of county government was
made rome too soon.
rIast year, says the Hunterdon Ga |
zette, the old board appropriated SlOO, 500
and spent that amount in eight months,
iii addition to spending all of the sinking
fund Of more than So, 900 and Carrying over
unpaid bills Of ~, 900 for the new commits
sion to meet as best 1t could. This year
the three commissioners appropriated
$Tl, 200. Al, which is to run the county for
the whole year, pay the 1900 legacy of
debt left by the old board, and also meet
the expense OF the judicial investigation,
which aggregates 81, 800. In a word, the
expenditures of the old Board OF Free
holders for the past year amounted to
$1OG, 500, while those of the new commits
ofnn for fha nracont vaar avoIuciva of tho L
cost OF investigating the odd board, will
be only s64, 600.4f, a saving of nearly
$42, 600 la a single yeai. The taxpayers
viii realize this difference when they re-
ceise their tax bills, for the rate viii be
iednced from fifty-six cents to about
forty, and It is now estimated that when
the new commissioners systematic their
work, cut off all unnecessary expenses
and put the county's affairs on an honest
businsss basis they will be able to further
: sdpl = annual appropriation by at
W"K neef certainly a remarkable show
ing or of honesty over dishonesty, |
In fat -~of genuine business management
over l-Sfaft,' in favor of a commission
Of three over a board seven times ms large
and seventy times as greedy for opportu-
mites to disburse the Taxpayers money.
IL Passaic and Middlesex will study these
figures and facts In all their bearings,
and Will see that they get into the hands
Of the property owners, there will be no
doubt OF the results when the issue Is
placed before the people. The f~reeholders
aud their friends will fight to retain their
places, and undoubtedly they will use
their almost endeavors, fairly or unfairly,
10 weaken the force of the Hunterdon ex-
ample, but the fact will remain that In a
single year the county expenses were re-
dnced nearly forty per cent. by the sub
stltntlon Of an honest, competent COM
mission for an incompetent, dishonest
freeholder system.
ERgleston-Dunn Wedding.
BINGHAMTON, N. T., Aug. 26.--In-