The Penn's Grove record., 1909-03-26

assembly at the funeral.
Expect Fight on Option Bill.
Senator Plummer's local option bill
had been made a special order for
tuesday, and a battle royal on the sub
ject had been looked forward to. The
adjournment, however, put the fight
over to Monday next.
After a long speech in its favor by
Senator Alderman, the senate on Mon
day night passed the Union mans bill
which regulates the liability of EN-
ployers for injury or death on account
of defective machinery or tools in the
absence of negligence on the part of
the employee. The only two votes
against the measure were those Of
Senators Osborne Of Essex and Silzer
of Middlesex, Democrats.
Senator Browns bill providing for
the preliminary steps for al ocean
boulevard from Sandy Hook to Cape
May passed the house, but not until
Assemblyman Matthews of Hunterdon
had made a supreme effort to have it
amended so as to provide for a boule-
ward in the northern part of the state
which somehow or other would go
through his county. The house re-
fused to take his proposition seriously
and voted down his amendment. The
house also passed a resolution calling
upon the representatives of the state
in congress to oppose the proposition
to impose a national inheritance tax.
Blauvelt Resolution Turned Down.
Mr.. Blauvelts resolution providing
the property of corporations using the
public streets for the information of
local assessors came to- grief in the
house. The committee on corporations,
of which Mr.. Buck of Cumberland is
chairman, reported the resolution ad-
versely, and Mr.. Blauvelt failed in a
heroic effort to have it placed on the,
calendar nevertheless. In making his
report Mr.. Buck pursued the unusual
course of submitting a long, carefully
prepared statement the burden of
which was that the resolution carried
an appropriation of $4,000, and in the
present financial condition of the state
that should not be passed.
The spectacle of a woman lobbying
for a railroad bill was presented to
the house Monday. Last week Mr..
Won Winden Of Middlesex introduced
a bill which it was claimed would re-
vive every defunct franchise in the
state.
The committee on municipal corpo,
rations reported the bill with alacrity.
and it passed to second reading before
any question was raised as to its true
import. Then it was sent back to the
committee. Mrs., Mary w. Board of
Metuchen appeared before the COM
mittee and declared that she and not
the public service or any other grasp
ing corporation was behind the meas
ure. 1t was intended to revive a char
ter for a trolley line between Plainfeld
and M~etuchen, a great part of which
she owned, and she submitted an aft
davit showing that a search had been
made and hers was the only road it
affected.
James r. Nugent of Newark and
George L.. Record of Jersey City in
sisted that the bill was an Ubiquitous
one, and the committee decided to re-
port it adversely.
County Tax Boards VIII Stay.
After a long debate the assembly
bill repeating the act creating the coun-
ty boards of taxation was killed Mon
day in the house by a vote of % to 80.
The bill was killed by Republicans not
withstanding the oft repeated declara-
ton of the governor that the tax
boards had served no useful purpose
and should be abolished. Only three
members spoke against the repeater
and all they said was that there was
no sentiment against the boards in
their counties. All the Democrats with
the exception of Mr.. Baker Of Hudson
voted for the repeater and the "new
idea" Republicans were all for the bill
The house held three sessions Tues.
day, sitting well into the night. The
afternoon session was devoted almost
entirely to a consideration of the con
stitutional amendments which were
passed by the legislature last year and
have passed the senate this year. The
amendment of Mr.. Blauvelt, offered
several weeks ago, which seeks to pre-
vent the court Of chancery from com
hitting for contempt unless the con-
tempt was committed in the courts
presence provoked a lively debate. It
began in the morning and was carried
over into the afternoon, but was final
ly defeated.
AS Monday night was the last time
at which, under the present arrange
ments, bills can be introduced without
unanimous consent, members fastened
to make the best of the opportunity,
with the result that a flood Of meas
ures flowed in.