Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1908-04-02
STATE LEGISLATURE.
Republican Legislators split ON Sine
Die Question. special Message
Very Hot.
lspeeiaa c~respondence.I

of interest III the legislature this week
were the governors special message
urging the adoption Of certain impor-
tant legislation before closing the ses-
sion ami The heated conferences and
caucuses on the question of sine die
adjournnscnt.
Nearly The Whole Of Tuesday was
taken u5 With Adjournment discussion,
and little legislative business was
transacted Ia the afternoon the house
and senate Republicans went into
joint conferences Oh the subject of adj
jouluneiit Senator Robbins of Bur
lington WAS IN The chair Mr. Martin
was insistent tli,if The conference
pledge Itself 10 keeping off final adj
journlheft until Il comprehensive pub
lie utilities bill was passed He want
ed to bring in other bills, but was
ruled out Of order. The. conferees
would not pledge themselves to pass
this measure
Mr.. Avis offered d resolution calling
for final adjournment April 8, and it
was adopted by a vote of 81 to Is. The
conference went on record as favoring
the passage of the conference civil
service measure provided the house
and the senate conferees on this meas
ure could get together. Then the con-
ference adjourned with nothing bind
ing being done on the matter of final
adjournment.
The house sought to go into session,
but Leader Martin at once called a
caucus. When the doors were closed
tight Mr. Martin moved that Mr.
Gibbs of Camden take the chair MI
Martin announced that he would not
be bound by the result Of the caucus.
He and his friends said they would
.stas and refrain from voting, but
Win the distinct understanding that
they would net be bound by the result
Of the vote.
Mr.. Thompson (AIercer) introduced a
resolution calling for sine die adjourn
ment April 8. It was moved on the ta
BILE, and the tabling motion was lost
Several speeches We're made by the Es-
sex men, who wanted to stay and fight
they remained all summer, and when
the vote came twenty-four voted for
the Thompson resolution, fourteen re-
framing from voting. Those who re-
Trained from voting, or, in other words,
the Hbolters,' were Brown, Clark, Col
gate, Lowrey, Hines, Martin, Morgan,
Smith of Essex, Devine and Fake of
Bergen, Crosby of Ocean, Pierce of I'm
ion and McCord and Whitehead of
Passaic.
The Democrats held a Joint confer
ence and agreed to stand by Martin
and the new idea" wing. At this
writing the prospect for the getting to-
gether of the majority and fixing a
date for final adjournment is not very
bright. Many believe April Q, how
ever, will be the date.
Free Bridges.
AssembIyman Holcombe introduced
a concurrent resolution calling for the
appointment by the governor of New
Jersey members of a joint New JERSEY
Pennsylvania commission to take up
the subject of acquiring toll bridges
over the Delaware river.
Senator Ackerman, on behalf Of the
committees appointed to confer with
The house with respect 10 senate No 8
(eiyl service bilb, reported that the
conferees had agreed upon an act for
the creation Of il civil service commits
sion, Il copy of which bill accompanied
the report. and it was ordered on sec
ond reading without reference. Messrs.
Alderman. Frelinghuysen. Martin aud
Stelle signed the report Mr. Geb-
hardt announced that the minority re-
sort would be submitted soon With the
views of the majority in every par
ticular except that they would insist
upon an elective and not an appointiye
commission
The senate passed Assemblyman
Young.s bill which authorizes the gov
ernor to appoint three colnselors at
law to revise al the public acts Of the
state. Another bill that met with IA
vorable action in the senate was that
fathered by Mr.. Colgate. which makes
1t lawful to take any game out Of the
state where the same game can be
lawfully brought into the state,
Warm Special Message.
IN Il special message to the Iegisla-
ture Governor Fort insisted that his
reform bills be passed before the law
makers adjourn. The governor said:
IN my inaugural message the hope
was expressed that the present session
of the Legislature might be 4 short one.
That hope has not been abandoned,
but the question Of adjournment, aside.
from personal convenience Of legisla
tors, is not as important as whether