Pleasantville weekly press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1890-1911, 1910-07-09
CLEMENT J.ADAMS
ISSUESSTATEMENT
He Has Served Atlantic City's Schools for
Nearly Score Of Years and
Without Pay

From this ruling of the Committee,
think the character Of the investigation
| can be best determined without any
further comment.
While not obliged to, and in the face
Of this condition, | took the witness
stand for the purpose Of correcting some
| Of the erroneous statements which had
been made, and for the purpose of stat
ing the truth concerning my connection
with any Of the School Boards trans
actions.
1T seemed that these criticized trans
actions consisted of the following four
things:
Il. While member Of the Board, |
was member of the Board of Direc-
tors of the Guarantee Trust Company
and permitted the deposit Of the general
school funds in the Guarantee Trust
Company without interest.
=. While a member of the Board
and a member of the @. j. Adams Go.
to be interested in the sale fthree
pieces of property to the School Board,
on account of which sales the C. J.
Adams Company collected commissions
from the seller.
'3. While a member Of the School
Board and a member of the c. J. Ad-
ans Company, the G. J. Adams Com
pany placed about one half Of the in
surance on the school buildings.
4. While a member of the School
Board and a member of the G. 4. Adams
Company, and Immediately prior to my
retirement from the Board, | permitted
the c. J. Adams Company to cancel the
insurance on the high school building
and re-write the same for three years.
Board Consented
To the best of my recollection, these
are the four charges which have been
/ stated in the newspapers az something
extremely reprehensible, if not criminal.
Now, let us examine these charges
in their order, and, in the spirit of fair
ness, see whether, under the circum-
stances, could or should have done diff
| ferently.
The deposit of the school funds in
the Guarantee Trust Company was made
| by the consent of the Board of Educa
ton, and was because of the fact that
all other city funds which were con
trolled by separate departments Of the
city, We're at that time held in institu-
| tions selected by those departments, and
the deposit of the school funds in the
Guarantee Trust Company, gave that in
| stitution only its reasonable pro rata
share of such general city deposits. That
was done, however, after a consultation
between city officials and those in con-
troll of the various deposits. The only
| account which the Guarantee Trust
Company had of the school funds on
which it did not pay interest was that
commonly known as the general account.
That was an active account, subject to
check, and generally maintained bal
ance in the bank for only three or four
months of the year. All of the so-callad
bond moneys, or moneys obtained from
| the sale of the school bonds were held
in the Guarantee Trust and Marine Trust
Companies, but received three percent.
interest.
80. The C. ]. Adams Company, a
New Jersey Corporation, is and has been
4 for many years in the real estate and
insurance business, and Of all the prop
critics purchased by the Board OF Edu
cation during the nineteen years of
which | was member of it, that Com
pany happened to represent as clients
l LOT years IHe OWHeIS Vi luIee VI IHt7e
properties, and when these properties
We're selected for purchase by the school
board, by reason Of the influence which
the G. j. Adams Co. had with the own
ers of these properties, We were enabled
to get them for the school board at less
prices in every instance than the school
board could openly have purchased them
for. Commissions were paid in these
three instances to the O. J. Adams Com
pany, but they were paid by the seller
Of the property and not by the Board
of Education.
Now, as to the third charge: The
Q. J. Adams Company did place about
one half Of the insurance on the school
buildings in Atlantic City. During the
time, say from 1908 to 1909, the period
to which this examination was generally
limited, the G. J. Adams Company re-
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