The Jersey City news., 1906-06-02
Ice and It's High Rate Was
the Chief Topic Discussed
By the Executive Com
mittee Last Night
SILENCE AS TO HIGH LICENSE
TWAS HINTED THAT IT NEED
ED THE ICE TO COOL THE
MEETING WHEN THE SUBJECT
CAME UP BUT NO DETAILS ARE
GIVEN OUT.

The executive committee of the Hud-
son County Liquor Dealers Association
met at Association headquarters, Frank
lin Hall, yesterday afternoon and dls-
cussed several important questions. Al
ter the meeting it was announced that
the principal theme discussed was the IN
crease in the price of ice which had been
made by the New Jersey Ice Company
on that served to hotels, saloons and res
taurants and the anticipation OF FUR
ther increase in the price of the commo-
dity in July. The increased rate went
into effecr Yesterday and the saloon keep
ers. who are also anticipating an increase
in the cost of their licenses, consider
themselves a much abused people
Those who attended the meeting re
fused to discuss the proposed increase IN
+ba cost of licenses for publication. and
soma even declared after the meeting
that the subject was scarcely foucheu
,,nan but from a leak here and there 1t
is safe to say that there was some red
hot criticisms concerning the proposition.
ON the other hand. there are some VINO
do not even believe that the license zee
will be raised cent, not even TO Vne
minimum fee of $500 prescribed by the
new excise law. They seem to beileVe
that the present Excise Board Will refuse
- mat.a +be increase. and. as under the
new law they hold over twenty days al
+er the law goes into effect, July 4, they
will have the issuing of licenses lot tne
coming wear in their hands and the new
Poard 10 be appointed by the Court will
have no power to revoke the action OF
the presest Board in fixing the fee Com
missioner John O'Brien. who owns three
saloons. and Commissioner Gustav
P6ngsten who represents the Hudson
CITY section, have already publicly de-
clared that they did not favor any in
crease. and it is believed by many that
their colleagues will stand by them.
As to what was said of a political ma
ture. none of the members of the eXecu-
five committee who attended the meeting
zvould talk on the outside. On that sub
iect they were as dumb as oysters, put
some of them had not hesitated to ex-
press their personal opinion prior to the
holding of the meeting. One of them
+ba dav before said he was almost IN
favor of the liquor dealers putting
ticket of their own in the field next fall
INST what effect such a course would
have on the complexion of political re-
suits is a matter of conjecture.
AS TO the subject of the increase IN
the cost of ice, which those in authority
declared was the main subject discussed,
a committee that had formerly been ap-
nointed TO confer with the Merchants
Refrigerating Company and ascertain
the terms on which that concern would
furnish ice to members of the Hudson
County Liquor Dealers Association
could only report progress. The commit
tee was composed of E. t. vessels
Hugh Meehan and Bernard J. Foley.
They had failed to see the principal man
of the concern, who was i'll. The plant
of the new concern, which will manu-
facture ice, will be completed and IN
operation the middle of the month. II
will turn out 100 tons of ice daily.
nanaap FEnH