Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1905-03-30
THINGS TALKED ABOUT.
Cleaning Cooper Street.

In lhe innocence OF ignorance of the law
ssin such cases made and provided Coun-
Gil, at its last meeting, adopted motion
made by chairman Of the street committee
Samuel B. Mupyan, that sufficient length
of hose be secured from the fire companies
to pass water from the fire hydrants to the
new brick pavement to the end that the
aceumulations of the Winter be removed
therefrom. and its even surface be again
restored and cleanly and healthful atmos-
phere pervade that section of the city
The result OF that ill-considered action
of our City Fathers threatened, for a time, to
disturb the smooth flowing of the current
Of our municipal life as greatly as did the
purchase of the .'Manley LOU for site
for new school house, by the Board of
Education in 1904, and only the judicial
leniency of Mayor Ladd averted catas
trophy to workmen Delvin and Whilden,
as overwhelming as overlook Educators
uOlc anu 4CV Anl pACfiouo'
BY virtue of the action Of Council and
instructions of Chairman Mnnyan, Road
Supervisor Batten led his assistants to the
houses of Good Will and Friendship
early on last Friday morning and with
his jewelled finger pointed to bits of
hose he thought desirable for that purpose
and forthwith those faithful servants
shouldered the aforepointed hose, and
straightway attached them to city hydrants.
Remember, Supervisor Batten did not
touch them. Al the noon hour Of Friday
Fire Chief Shivers. who is sworn to pro-
tect the city s investment in FIRE apparatus,
passed down Cooper street as is his won't at
the noon hour, and his sight was smitten
by the use to which the city hose was re-
duced by these unholy hands and straight
way he resorted to the law for justice
Warrants, in which no legal mind could
detect a flaw, were issued by his Honor, the
Mayor, aud tie base Tsers Of fire hose were
placed under she baa of the law. 4 first
hearing was accorded them that same even
ing, but on account of the seriousness of
the offence, their cases were continued to
Saturday evening in the City Hall, where
the facts were discussed, the eupability of
Council and its employees to serious
punishment made plain and admitted; but
in consideration of this being the first Of
fense, sentence was suspended and the
aforesaid wofkmen allowed to return to
their homes with their week Is wages intact
Under the law, Councilmen and the Road
Supervisor escaped all liability Of punish
ment by reason of the fact that they did not
touch the hose in transit from the fire house
to Cooper street, which possibly moved the
Mayor to suspend judgment on the poor
workmen.
The lesson our citizens are to draw from
this incident is that fire hose may legally
be used for fire purposes only, and neither
Councilmen nor the city employees may
legally consecrate it to vulgar purposes
The SGhUOL 4tSOES1lON.
The pain and excitement OF the election
of School Trustees or, more properly
speaking, members of the Board Of Edu-
cation, are no doubt effaoed ere this--the
wounds of defeated candidates (if they
had any and the elation Of victory over
the Manly Lots humiliation, practically
subsided. Whether or not that patch Of
ground is going to survive the scorn which
the voters have heaped upon it, is one Of
the problems which the failure will solve.
To our mind it is an ideal site for such
manufactory as the School Board, excuse
us, Board Of Education, and Council had
maped out for it (the turning out Of
American citizens) 1t is remote from the
enough to encourage healthful exercise,
and will permit extensions to the building
as the city develops.
In the past twenty-five years our coun-
try's population has increased so per cent.
while the population of our city has
increased 100 pei. cent. A splendid show
ing, that, for our little city, yet at no period
of this space of time has Woodbury. en-
joyed a boom. Changes have come in SO
peaceful and quiet way that they have
attracted little or no attention. And
during this period our country has passed
through intervals of great business depres-
sion, through all Of which Woodbury. has
kept on in the even tenor of her upward way
What has been the result Of these years of
progress? The academy with its eight class
rooms was built in 1880, and there were
rooms to spare-four we are told. In 1889
and 1890 the two ward houses -four rooms
| each--were built. In 1880 Green's Block