The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1906-03-29
Philip Krimke, a Newark
Pawnbfoker, Says sena-
tors Shinn and Martens
and Fred Kissam Tried t.
Extort Money to Defeat a
Fill
SENATE TO ACT MONDAY
ACCUSED MAKE CoNTRADIC-
TORY STATEMENTS. BUT De
GLARE THERE is NO TRUTH IN
THE sToRy-ALLEGED AEMoUN
THE STORY ALLEG ED
AMOUNT WAS $4OO.
special to xrhe Jersey CITY News,

special to &rhe Jersey CITY News,'9
TRENTON, March 20, 1906.-A pro-
found sensation was created in the House
yesterday afternoon when it was learend
that Philip Krimke, of Newark, presi-
dent of the New Jersey State Pawnbrok-
ers' Association, had sworn to an atti-
davit charging Senator Shfnn, of Ocean,
County. and Senator Martens, of Hum
!erdon County, with having attempted
to extort money from him last Monday
night to defeat pawnbrokers' bill which
Senator Shinn had introduced.
The alleged amount involved is $400
and the alleged attempt to extort bribe
from Krimke is declared to have been
made in the rear of the Senate Chamber.
The alleged object of the two Senators
named by Krimke to obtain money was
to compensate them for entering in
proposed agreement to kill, through the
COMMITTEES on Labor and Industries, two
bills affecting the business of pawnbrok-
ers. Senator Shinn is chairman of that
committee and Mr. Martens is the Demo-
cratic minority member.
The bills are Senate 1874 and 1876. They
are characterized by the men whose in
terests they affect as strike bills" The
first proposes to reduce the legal rate Of
interest on pawnbrokers' loans. from two
to one per cent. a month and requires the
selling of pledged articles at public auc-
ton after ten days public notice shall
have been given
The second bill provides that pawn
brokers shall be liable to the owners of
stolen property that has been pledged,
for the return of such property and also
for damages to the same extent as the
person by whom such article was
stolen or misappropriated, irrespective of
whether the pawnbroker received the
article with or without knowledge of the
theft or misappropriation.
Mr.. Krimke relates the alleged facts
Df the attempt to extort money from him
In an affidayit, part of which reads as
follows
about two weeks prior to fhe date of
making this affidavit deponent was told
by Daniel Cohn, a pawnbroker doing
business in Hoboken that there were two
bills in the Senate of the State of New
Jersey which would, if passed. have a
bad effect upon the pawnbroking busi-
ness, which bills were Senate 184 and
ls5.
s'Deponent further says that on the
twelfth day of March, 1906, said Co1n
telephoned deponent that one Nissan, a
lobbyist at Trenton, had called upon said
Cohn to get together some money and
to come down to Trenton and bring the
money with him, for the purpose of kill
ing said bills 1S4 and 1S5; and deponent
further says that said Cohn told deponent
bn the following Sunday. to wit, the
eighteenth day of March, 1906, that said
Kissam again called upon sa4d Cohn and
told him to come down to Trenton on the
following Monday with money. and that
would be the end of the two bills.
4Deponent further says that on Mon
day, the nineteenth day of March, 1906,
be went to Trenton with Mr. Cohn, Mr..
Mayer, Of Jersey City. and other pawn
brokers, about said bills 1S4 and 1856; that
while in Trenton in the State house said
Kissam met said Cohn in the corridor of
the State house and held conversation
with Kim about said bills. Then Mr..
Cohn called deponent and introduced him
to said Kissam; that. said Kissam said
that the bills or bill 1874 would come up
for third reading that night if the money
was NOT Forthcoming to kin the said bills.
lie said that it might be necessary to
have about $500 to kill them, and asked
deponent if he and Mr.. Coin and the
other pawnhrokers had the money
Deponent says that he todd said Kis-
sam hiatt he had not that amount of
money and could not raise it; that there
were only two or three rich pawnbrokers
After the grip. or other serious illness.
Hnnd,s: Sa1.s. 1aa.ills, = tEa .aac.lsz.;,aa to