Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-04-19

commensurate with the horsepower. Inc
agent receives the same commission
whether he collects SO for a first class
registration or $40 for a third class; his
commission is the same whether he
collects 81 for a first class drivers IL
cense or 81 for a second class.
Il respectfully suggest that the fee
of the agent be fixed on a percentage
basis. This would lead him to collect
the highest registration fee and the
highest license fee consistent with the
motor vehicle law.
Scores Commission Plan.
"A fee to the agent of 5 per cent.
of his gross receipts, with no allowance
for expenses of any kind, would prob
ably be a sufficient inducement to en-
able the department to secure efficient
agents.
II asked Mr.. Dahl for the file ION
tanning the agreements with agents,
but he knew nothing of any such file
or agreements. l approached Mr..
Smith and stated that I had found that
his business arrangements with his
agents were not uniform. | said to
Mr.. Smith: You do not seem to ave
any record or writing setting forth
YOUR relations to agents as to compen-
sation or allowances He said: No,
the arrangements with the agents are
all verbal But l said again, your
relation to the agents is not uniform,
and, there being many of them, [
should think there must be In your
archives some record or memoranda of
the compensation and allowances made
to each of the agents. No he said,
you can get these facts by reading the
reports of the agents I asked for a
copy of the commission issued to an
agent constituting him as agent, but
none could be had.
"On a previous page l called your at
tention to the unlawful manner of pay
ment of the expenses incurred by the
agents. l now respectfully invite your
attention to the question as to the
legality of the payment of the ex-
penses of the agents by the depart
ment. The law provides for the fixing
of a fee for the agent, to be retained
by him from the amount collected, but
1t does not seem to authorize the pay
ment of agents expenses, nor Is there
any appropriation made by the Legis-
lature for such payment.
During the period under considera-
ton, the supplies shipped to agents
were not charged to them. Shipments
of envelopes of different sizes and
qualities, of writing paper, of blanks
and cards, of various sorts of markers,
together with postage stamps, nave
been shipped to agents with no bill
stating the quantities shipped, nor the
cost of each article, nor the total value
of the invoice. Nor is there any such
invoice entered in a book in this de-
partment giving the itemized total
values of the shipments to agents.
Hence, no one knows just what the cost
of maintaining each agency is. I in
sist that every item shipped to an
agent should be charged to said agent
in a book, with the value stated, and
an invoice should go to him in regular
form, which he should be required to
file until audited. 1t should hen be
possible to ascertain accurately the ex-
pense of each agency and also to put a
check Upon wastefuI agents.
Some Agents Not Bonded.
1.-THE chief inspector, Edward john
SON; the cashier and book-keeper, Otto
Dahl, and the clerk, Lee J.. MacAuley,
are bonded; Johnson and Dahl In the
sum of $1,000 each and MacAuIey In the
sum of $500. All of the agents are
bonded ave j. 3. Rue, of Red Bank.
and f. H. Elliott, of New York. Mr..
Dab expressed surprise when l called
his attention to the fact that Rue and
Elliott were not bonded. The amount
of these bonds is $500 each, except In
the cas- of John c.. Kaiser, of Jersey
City; A. B. LeMassena. of Newark;
Joseph H. Forsyth, of Camden, and
William ]. Morgan, of New York, who
are bonded in the sum of 81, 900 each.
/ consider that the bond of Leo j. Mac
Auley is inadequate and should be in
creased to 81, 500. I am disposed to
think that the bonds of Messrs. Kaiser,
LeMassena, Forsyth and Morgan
should be increased.
Advertisement was made bv the
commissioner of motor vehicles for
sealed proposals to furnish 4 1900 pieces
of automobile identification markers,
said proposals to be received at his office
on October 26. 1908, and the successful
bidder, Horace E.. Fine, agreed to fur
nish the 10000 markers known as No. l
for the sum of $s,49S, this being at the
ate of .4066 cents Der pair: he also
agreed 10 furnish ZUU sets OF markers Tor
manufacturers and dealers for $3.50, or
at the rate of 40 cents per pair. The
contract aggregates $8,S5S. Provision is
made for additional markers at the same
rate, but there Is no provision for tile
supply of duplicate markers to take the
place of lost markers. The contract is
regular N form and execution, the
specifications are carefully and clearly
set forth and a bono is given with Ell
wood L. Fine n Hadaram M. Fine as
sureties. Neither of these sureties
make affidavit as to their worth.
THE motor vehicle law provides thai
the commissioner shall fix the coInpen-
sation of inspectors at a rate not to ex-
coed three dollars per day. The law
does Tot authorize the payment of the
expenses of the inspectors. h Legis-
lature of 1908 made an appropriation
Tor expenses and equipment of inspo.-
tors notwithstanding the absence Of a
provision for such payment from the
motor vehicle act.
81 asked Mr.. Dahl for the duplicate
bills rendered by the inspectors for their
exper SEES. He replied thar he had seen
NO such bills and nj nothing cf them.
Subsequently, / asked Comu.issioner
Smith for these duplicate bills, and he
said he thought Johnson must have
them. / asked IL Johnson would have
these bills in Jersey City. instead Of
their being filed here in the department.
II. -. A. To4tAr -Axt ~ III q f,Inrxy