Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1909-03-04
BOROUGH ARGUMENT
BEFORE SENATE Com.

There were about $50 residents of
Deptford and West Deptford town
ships who went to Trenton on Tues
day to argue on Senator Gaunt's bill
providing for the merger of Westvllle,
Newbold and South Westville, and for
the incorporation of the Borough of
Westville. The arguments were be-
fore the Senate committee on Bor-
oughs and Townships. Senators
Hand, of Cape May, the chairman, and
Brown, of Monmouth, were the only
committeeman present.
The Gaunt bill is not to become a
law until the merger proposition has
received the vote of a majority of the
citizens of the proposed borough at
a special election. Opponents of the
annexation scheme insist upon an
amendment which would permit resi-
dents of Westville and South West
vile to vote separately from their
neighbors of Victoria and Newbold,
and thus hope to prevent the merger.
Francis B. Davis, chairman of the
Republican County Committee, and
Mr.. Loudenslager's chief lieutenant,
was in charge of the borough advo-
Gates, while the opposition was under
the direction of ex-senator Avis.
Joseph Kirk, of Westville, told the
committee that four villages had 3S9
voters, of which 239 lived in West
Vile and South Westville. The total
population is about 1900
THE time comes to every village"
said Mr.. Kirk, when it feels that it
should be Incorporated We believe
that under township government we
do not get the improvements to which
we are entitled Half the revenue of
the township comes from Westville
and only about one-third is returned.
To get good streets, lighting and po-
lice protection, we must amalgamate.
We want to spend our own money for
our own good. Our schools are in a
deplorable condition, and we want to
improve them. OF Isl signatures to
a petition fer the passage of this bill,
241 are legal voters, the others are
property owners
H. w. Petit, Henry Stanley, George
L. Barker, jeffrey Stuart and others
spoke in favor of consolidation.
DR.. James Hunter was the principal
speaker against consolidation. IN
1905, when the first move to form a
borough was made, he said, "the chief
opposition came from Westville. Town
meetings were then held and commit
tees, which made inquiries of the cost
of borough government in five towns,
reported adversely. Township gov
ernment, they found, was far more
economical, and it was adhered to-.
Since then in Newbold we have pro-
cured electric lights and better streets
and valuations have increased. West
vile has made few improvements.
Her streets and schools are bad
"WestvilIe wants to improve at our
EXPENSE, and that is the secret of
the proposed merger. If the four
towns vote together on the borough
question Westville will outvote us 2
to /. Its citizens admit that without
us they are too poor to incorporate.
We object to this way of voting at a
special election.
John Redfield, Mr.. Hilliard, H. A.
Dettard, T.. Wood Wynne, and Joseph
Pratt and ex-senator Avis also spoke
against Incorporation, while County
Chairman Davis made the closing ar
gument in favor of the Gaunt bill.
Several of the speakers admitted
that politics had found it's way into
the controversy. One advocate of an
nexation charged an Avis follower
with having made the remark at a
town meeting that 1--WE will see who
has the most influence at Trenton" :"
Senator Gaunt, of the Loudenslager
forces, will fight for the passage of
his bill in it's present shape, while
Assemblyman Walter Heritage, it is
believed, will endeavor to have
the bill amended so that Westville and
South Westville may vote together
and Victoria and Newbold may do