Gloucester County Democrat., 1909-01-14

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pay the bonded debt as it matured
would soon wipe out the debt and
| probably in fifty years would practical
lly give either free water or by the
charges for water greatly relieve the
other burdens of taxation.
Incidental to this the commission
should purchase and control the forest
land in upper Passaic, covering about
| 10000 acres.
1t is matter worthy of careful con-
sideration whether our state alone can
do all that is necessary to protect the
water rights in the hills of the north
ern part of our state. The boundary
| line between our state and New York
runs through these hills. @he streams
from which our supply is to come rise
in New York, and If that state does not
| join with US in action to conserve.
these waters and prevent their pollu-
! ton the results may be serious. If the
| two states could act by a joint commits
sion and take over the 10000 acres or
| more of watershed within New York
and the like acreage in our own state,
the results would be protected supply
/ of great value
Consolidation and Abolition of Offices.
l recommend the abolition of the in
spectors of the state prison. / recon-
mend that the board be abolished and
its duties transferred, if any transfer
is necessary, to the warden and SUI
pervisor respectively, as may be proper
/ / strongly recommend that the bu-
reau of statistics of labor and indus
tries be merged into the department OF
labor.
Experience has also convinced me
| that there is no reasonable excuse for
the continuance of five members of
the state water supply commission.
This should be a department under a
single head
/ also think that there are too many
oyster commissions in the state and
that there should be a bureau with a
single head having charge of all the
oyster industry in New Jersey. The
legislature should do everything in its
power to foster the oyster industry,
and nothing will be Of more benefit
than the creation of a responsible de-
partment and the putting in operation
of a system of leasing the oyster lands
| Of the state
Inland Waterways.
l earnestly recommend that provi-
sion be made for further continuance
of the work of the department on in
land waterways by the proper appro-
priation and that a canal be dug be-
4 Do
river When this canal is completed
the headwaters of Barnegat bay will
be salt and about 1900 acres of oyster
lands will come into use. At present
the water at Bay Head is not suffi-
GENTLY salt for oyster propagation
! Steps should be taken by the legisla-
ture to request the congress of the
! United States to open Manasquan in
let and dixie and protect it so that
ships of quite heavy draft may fnh
harbor in the Manasquan river and
smaller craft use the inlet to approach
the canal and BarnegSt bay, and thus
on down to Cold Spring Harbor at Cape
May.
Public Roads.
If possible, the state should take
/ over with the consent of munieipali-
ties, of course, all of these roads which
may be considered through highways
from the chief points in the state and
maintain them. 1t has seemed to me-
If the counties and localities con-
sent, that it would be wise for the
state to have transferred to a proper
| body to be designated for that purpose
the maintenance of all the highways
connecting the various county seats of
/ the state with one another. This would
make a continuous roadway under
maintenance by the state of about 745
| miles,
A strong movement has been started
| by residents along the New Jersey
! coast for an ocean boulevard from the
Highlands in Monmouth county to
| Cape May, in Cape May county. the
idea being to eventually have a high
! way by the sea from the one point to
4 the other What this road would mean
to New Jersey one who has not given
| it serious thought cannot comprehend
1t would be 127 miles in length. The
! state possesses no greater asset for the
benefit of it's people than its seacoast,
! and everything should be done to build
it up.
/ recommend that a commission be
created consisting of the governor, the
| president of the senate, the speaker of
| the house and the state road commits
sioner, who shall have authority to
take over all highways herein referred
i to from county seat to county seat and
| along the proposed shore boulevard
route, that they may be maintained by
the state through the state road de-
| partment without expense to the locali-
/ ties through which the roads pass, the
| control of the surface of these roads
] heing transferred to the commission by