Perth Amboy evening news. [volume] (Perth Amboy, N.J.) 1903-1959, 1909-07-15
PROTEST ON
new BUILDING
CODE ARISES
Tammany Politicians Are
Aroused by the Widespread
Agitation Caused.
ACTING MAYOR,
MCGOWAN, UMPIRE
official Who Also Had to Do
With Coney island Fare
Urged to Use Veto.

New York, July 15:-The curtain
has not yet fallen on the fight over
the new building code which was
rushed through the Board of Alder
men on Tuesday. Representatives OF
the concrete interests, who declare
that the new code gives an ironclad
monopoly. on the fireproofing busi-
ness to the so-called fireproofing
trust, are now going to continue
their vigorous fight before Acting
Mayor MCGOWAN, who, 1t is under
stood, will contrary to custom, give
a special public hearing in the mat
ter.
Tammany politicians who were
congratulating one another on Tues
day night over their action viewed
with some alarm yesterday the agi-
tation that was started on all sides
to have their work undone. The
Committee of One Hundred, always
alert for ammunition to use in their
anti-Tammany campaign, came out
with a public statement denouncing
the action of the aldermen; the Citi-
gems Union announced that 1t will
Join with other organizations to
hold mass meeting of indignation
in Cooper Union, and Acting Mayor
MCGOWAN asserted with emphasis
that he will not sign the new code
until he has studied every line of 1t.
Mr.. MCGOWAN is Tammany man,
but he was never active In politics,
and despite the fact that Charles F.
r. Murphy gave him the nomination
that made him president of the
Board of Aldermen, he has been In
dependent in his political course:
That has caused some of the fathers
of the new code to worry lest he re-
3ect the ordinance. Such action is
hardly looked for in we'll informed
circles.
1t requires a two-thirds vote to
pass over a mayors veto, and the
building code had bare majority of
two.
Mr.. MCGOWAN does not expect that
Mayor Mcclellan will come down
from-the Adirondacks to take action
SHOULD the mayor beside to do
So" said he, "of course l would have
no objection to offer l think that he
is the last man to evade his duty,
but 1t seems to me that ! have had
srorne of the toughest propositions of
the administration to handle. Three
years ago, while Mr. Mcclellan was
in Europe, that five cent fare to
Coney Island fight came to crisis,
and now the building code is up to
me. OF course 1t has Just happened
30 each time"
The statement of the Committee
of One Hundred reads in part, as
follows
The new code would never have
been passed by Board of Aldermen
free from the dictation of political
machine and unaffected by other i'm
proper influences. The administra-
tive provisions of the new code had
been so drawn as to perpetuate the
system of favoritism in the depart
ment of buildings which has been de-
nounced by the commissioners of ac-
counts
Provisions which appeared in an
earlier draft of the code considered
by the revisers, securing publicity of
all decisions rendered by the build
ing superintendent to modify the
operation of the ordinance in partic-
ular cases, were very carefully cut
out of the new code before it's adop-
ton"
A committee of ten has been ap-
pointed by many of the building un-
ions to make a strong fight to de-
feat the proposed code.
Representatives of all the rein
forced concrete construction compan-
ies, cinder concrete fireproflng COM
panies and metal reinforcement man
ufacturing companies, meeting in the
rooms of the Building Trades En-
ployers' Association, arranged for
the appointment of a committee to
Nv
an open hearing. The code, they
contend, not only destroys the busi-
ness in the city of more than thirty
companies engaged in this class of
fireproof construction, but will
throw out of employment more than
$4,000 skilled union laborers