The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1906-08-13
Section 5 of Bishops Law
Giving Power to County
Judges to Appoint Com
missioners Declared I'm
constitutional
OPINION FILED SATURDAY
ACCOMPANIED BY JUDGEMENT
OF CUSTER SPECIAL LEGIS-
LATION THE GROUND
MAYORS BOARDS GO BACK TO
POWER.

Supreme Court Justice Reed on Satur-
day, at Trenton. fled a decision declar-
ing the fifth section of the so-called
Bishops Bill unconstitutional. The eff
feet of the opinion filed is to set aside the
Excise Boards named by the judges of
the Court of Common Pleas in Jersey
City, Newark and Elizabeth and restore
to power the Board appointed by the To-
cal authorities in each of the respective
districts. By this decision the Blair
Board in this city is knocked out and
Mayor Fagan's Board is re-instated.
Justice Reed. in concluding the opinion
filed directed that a Judgment of custer
should go against the commissioners APP
pointed by Common Pleas Court justices,
and that the Commissioners should be
removed at once 1t is hardly likely
that the matter will be taken to the
Court of Errors and Appeals.
The decision came as surprise to
many, especially the trainers of the bill.
The argument urged by those who had
the section inserted was to the effect
that by giving the appointive power to
the county judges the boards would
thereby be taken out of politics.
Had every city in the State been in
cluded in the provision it might have
been sustained Special legislation is
the principal cause given for declaring the
section unconstitutional. Justice Reed
holds that tn section rs clearly uncon-
stitutional because sit selects for CLASH
fcation only such Excise Commissioners
as were then appointed without includ-
ing those who were elective. 1t is fur
ther special in narrowing the class of
appointive functionaries to such as are
now appointed, regardless of the possible
coming into existence of similar appoint
i've officers in the future"
The question was taken before the Su
preme Court by members of the Pagan
Board. which was ousted under the new
law. just before they retired they re-
fused to grant number of licenses to
applicants against whom charges of not
running their places in a respectable
manner were made by the Boards Ex-
else Inspectors and the police. Believing
tHdI ediC9 were thc hINlAliio VI PoIltlSdl
persecution some of the reflective apph-
cants applied to the new Blair Board
and their licenses were granted. Local
speculation is rife now as to what the
rehabilitated Fagan Board will do con-
cerning the granting of licenses by the
Blair Board to those whom it refused
licenses
One of the peculiar features of the
present situation is that while Jersey
City saloon keepers look upon the de-
cision and the consequent restoration of
the Fagan Board with disfavor the
saloon keepers welcome it in Newark.
The Saloon keepers there feared
tyrannical enforcement of the law by
the Board appointed by the Judge of the
Court of Common Pleas more than it did
from the Board appointed by Mayor
Doremus, which goes back into power
under the decision of the branch court
handed down by Justice Reed. The
Colby faction in Essex also welcomed it
on the ground that it would help the Fa-
gam Record faction in Jersey City.
Salon keepers in this city, who heard
of the decision Saturday afternoon were
more strict in their observance of the
Sunday closing feature of the law than
ever, and the result was that Jersey City
yesterday was the dryest Of any Sunday
since the new excise law went into eff
feet Meanwhile thousands of would
be-Stay- t-homes went across the river
and spent thousands of dollars that
might as we'll have remained in Jersey.
With the exception of three, all the
twenty-seven applications granted by the
Blair Board, nearly all which had been
refused by the Pagan Board were closed
down by the police to-day on the ground
that, though their applications had been
approved by the Blair Board they did
not have certificates of licenses. The
three places allowed to remain open were
the saloons at No. SS AEcAdoo aevnue
No. 6T2 Summit avenue; and No; 341
Henderson street. The list of the places
closed include No. 8 Exchange place
recently opened in the name of james
Kelly after Matthew Foster had with
drawn his application for renewal of Ii
cense from the old Pagan Board to ruI
an Inn and Tavern License at the same
place.