Perth Amboy evening news. [volume] (Perth Amboy, N.J.) 1903-1959, 1907-10-30

J. Franklin Fort, the republican
candidate for governor, last night, in
Washington hall, replied to the state
meats of Charles A. Bloomfield re-
garding the connection of Mr.. Fort
with the Amboy bridge matter, and
uttered a complete denial that he ev-
er, directly or indirectly, urged Gov
ernor Stokes to approve Senate Bill
262, which validated the payments
for the county bridge. The nominees
statement was greeter with cheers. 1t
was the most important feature of
his address and was as follows:
Mr.. Charles A. Bloomfield, in a
speech delivered in Newark on Aug
ust 10, made the following statment:
while on the bench. His acts outside
of that are matters for public criti-
cism, II deserving it; and as far as I
am concerned, / shall not hesitate to
speak as I know and as / feel and
he then proceeded to say that in the
last days of the legislature of 1906,
Senator Jackson Introduced Senate
Bill, No. 262 and l and my attorney
and several others appealed to the
governor not to sign that bill as it
would tend to encourage crime in
public ofiicials and rob the people of
Middlesex county of tens of thous-
ands of dollars, as that bill legalized
every act of the Board of FreehOlders
and every payment made by them to
the contractors. The bill was signed
and to that bill was attached me-
morandurn practically throwing the
blame for 1t onto Judge Fort; and
also received two letters from the
governor sent him in which he stated
to me that he had signed such bill
at the request of Judge Fort"
"The charge contained in this
statement is that had to do with the
signing by the Governor of Senate
Bill 262, which validated all the IL
legal matters in relation to the Perth
Amboy bridge.
From whomever Mr.. Bloomfield
received this statement he has been
misled. | want to make the state
ment as broad as 1t Is possible to
make It,"
Then followed the paragraphs
quoted above, after which the state
ment continued, thus:
ION the 9th of October, 1907 Gov
ernor Stokes wrote me letter, which
l have in my possession, in which he
says:
4 have absolutely no remembran-
ce of your asking me to sign the bill
in question, or advising Mr.. Bloom
field that had signed it at your re-
quest. | signed the bill after an opin-
ion of the encouragement that had
been given that the bill did not re-
lieve any one from the consequences
of wrongdoing; and after deliberate
conclusion that the measure validated
bonds that had been taken in good
faith by innocent parties
Governor Stokes also advises me
that June Z, 1906, he wrote to Mr..
Bloomfield, and he sent me copy Of
that letter. In that letter he states
to Mr.. Bloomfield:
Whether you agree or disagree
with the attorney generals legal
opinion, am bound to be governed
by 1t, so far as the laws are concern
ed. Occepting the fact that his legal
statement is accurate. there would APP
pear to he no objection to the BILL
HE also says in that letter that he
had had a talk with Mr. Willard P.
Voorhees,, and after such talk he saw
no reason for withholding his sigma
ture to said bill, No. 1852
II want to add also that never
spoke to Mr.. Strong, the counsel of
the Board of Freeholdefs, nor he to
me, with relation to thiS pending leg
islati0n, and that I In mo way took
any part in 1t whatey
s'Ia the quotatio1ibf Mr.. Bloom
f1aIflsa rc111 > ~ = VIII u 4 have made he