Perth Amboy evening news., 1906-06-15
WAVE
lin HUDSON co.
Enthusiastic Meeting Was Held
Last Night Record and Pagan
the Speakers.

ened in West Hudson last night by an
open air mass meeting in Kearny
Oval, presided over by a former Re-
publican town committeeman, Chas.
Hafstrom. Speeches were made by
Corporation Counsel George L. Rec
ord, Mayor Mark M. Pagan, Assem-
blyman Theodore l.. Bierck, of Jer-
sey City; Corporation Counsel Otto
j. Strasser, of East Rutherford, and
c. Won Whitbeck, editor of THE
Hackensack Evening Record"
Mr.. Hafstrom, in opening the meet
ing, touched briefly on the issues of
the new idea" and how heartily
it was being received by independent
republicans and democrats in West
Hudson.
Mayor Pagan was heartily applau-
ded. Some time ago he and other
officials of Jersey City tried at mid
night to make a connection between
the Jersey City water main and the
| suburban main at Belleville turnpike,
and were forcibly prevented by the
Kearny councilmen. But there was
no Ill feeling last night. The alder
men OF the town were among his
most interested listeners.
The mayor narrated his political
experience briefly. He said he had al
ways been a republican, although his
parents were democrats. From the
day he got into politics, he said, he
had been in trouble.
81 thought | knew something about
politics." continued the mayor,
when l became a freeholders and
was a candidate for the state senate,
but when | became mayor of Jersey
City | found | did not know anything
about the game. On my assuming
office l found the city needed i'm
provements, such as schools, sewers,
street paving, ETC., and at once began
to look around for the money with
which to provide them. | was sur
prised to find that there was hardly
a dollar available for such purposes.
/ could not understand why a city of
100000 people should be in such a
financial plight, and sought informa-
ton from the tax commissioners.
They gave me a cold shoulder, and
then began to investigate on my own
account, and found that the improper
assessing of property was the cause.
He told how big corporations were
taxed much o little. and the poor
man too much. He referred to his
legislative experience and told how
he had been rebuffed at Trenton
while endeavoring to have Legislation
enacted to remedy matters. In clos
ing he made an appeal in Mr.. Rec
ord's behalf as a candidate for the
senate.
Mr.. Record dwelt largely on the
issuse of his campaign. He reviewed
the story of Mayor Fagan's fight to
make the railroads and the Public
Service Corporation pay their proper
taxes. He said politicians had tried
to persuade Mayor Pagan to give up
his fight for equal taxation, but with
no avail. Now, he said, they would
endeavor to kill his (Record's) po-
litical movement.
Assemblyman Bierck, one of the
latest republicans in official life to
join the reform" movement, bit
terly arraigned the ''boss ring rule
at the capital. He cited personal ex-
p~eriences of his being turned down at
the request of the chairmen in COM
mittees when he desired legislation
that he believed was in the interest
of his constituency.
THE chairmen of committees at
Trenton are the henchmen of the
bosses and are obliged to do as they
are told" he said. Legislatures not
alone in our state but in others have
reflected the bosses desires. so that
the term representatives of the peo-
pie has become a mere platitude'
The only means, therefore, that the
citizens of this state have of making
known their wishes In this regard is
to be informed before the primaries
of the intentions of the candidates
for the state legislature OF all ques-
lions affecting the interests of the
people. In the past this has not been
customary. the voters merely having
to choose between candidates Of the
two dominant parties.
1.-THE great republican party has
been controlled by a system which
has operated to the detriment of rep
resentative government. 1t is our
duty, therefore, to endeavor to cor
rect this manifest evil and free the
party of this detrimental and ruinous
influence"
The speaker touched upon the can
didacy of Mr.. Record and hoped that
true republicans would stand by him,
Corporation Counsel Strasser's
speech, while brief, was filled with
references to the Insurance inVestiga'
ton. As a candidate for the assem-
bly, on the Colby ticket in Bergen
county. he said he would demand q
thorough, searching investigation oil
insurance companies and methods.
He tersely reviewed all the other
important planks in the Colby plat
form.
Mr.. Whitbeck outlined the progress