Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-04-11
METUCHEN HAS
JAIL DELIVERY
Railway Dog Catcher "Ssen
His Duty and He Done It,"
sp.otal to the EVENING NEWS.

der In the brainy borough. Sunday
the sure shot ? ? ? borough mar
shals busted themselves shooting at
any stray dog that showed its face,
for you know that Metuchen had a
mad dog scare and the Board OF
Health and Borough Council have
issued strict orders that all dogs
must be tied or muzzled for a period
of sixty days. Saturday and Sunday
the marshals kept a sharp lookout
and actually fred a number of shots
lat a number of mongrels.
The real fun did not begin until
Monday morning. Bright and early
as the glorious April sun came out
of the east, so also did that famous
dog catcher come out of the east
from Railway. Now Railway, you
know, is not the slow town 1t used
to be. Down there they are getting
up-to-date and they have their little
differences over things just like we
do here In Metuchen. Before many
of the commuters had finished their
coffee, Mr.. Dog Catcher sauntered
down Metuchen streets and avenues
whistling the latest tunes. 1t was
I not long before he had become quite
popular with Metuchen dogs and In
a very short time there we're three
dogs and a man locked up in the Me-
tuehen Jail.
Metuchen has all kinds of dogs,
and while some may appear worth
less, yet their owner may regard
them as priceless. Anyway, Mrs.
James F. Mack, q daughter of
George w. Benner, a retired brick
merchant, and an uncle of Senator
George 8. Silzer by marriage, drove
to town for her fathers morning pa
per, mail, etc. You see, Saturday
Mr.. Benner broke his wrist cranking
his automobile, or else he would
have come down himself. The Ben
ner dog, q rather large animal, trot-
ted along underneath the Benner
wagon attending strictly TO it's W
business. When he was called by
the dog catcher he answered the call
like any we'll brought up dog should.
In @ jiffy he was placed in the cooler
and the dog catcher went on his way
looking for more dogs and trouble.
Mrs. Mack attempted to argue the
matter with him but there was no
use. He wouldn't argue. That dog
was caught and the Board Of Health
had condemned all dogs to death
without a hearing.
Mrs. Mack whipped the horse to a
gallop and never stopped until she
reached the Benner homestead,
which is some distance out. She
told her father about the trouble and
sumomned her brother Wesley, who
is a Rutgers student. Together they
drove like mad back to town to the
borough jail and the story Is hat
Wesley just put his back up against
the jail door and gave n mighty
push. Something had to give and
the something was the door. Wes-
ley got his dog, but in his haste eff
fected a regular jail delivery. Every
dog in the place, except the dead
ones, lost no time in getting out of
that ill-smelllng cooler. And in the
meantime the police got wind Of the
affair.
Lynx-eyed Enos and Smiling Pad
dy were the first to show up. Mar
shall Clarkson vas close behind and
Judge Weber followed at his heels.
There was q hasty conference and a
reading of law, but the police decid-
ed 1t was too deep for them. They
were satisfied the law had been
broken and positive that the Jail
door was worse than broken. Quick
action was necessary. Mayor Wash
ington Wilson and the Board OF
Health were notified. In the mean
time all hands kept watch over the
| poor little broken Jail. Theq seemed
fearful that somebody WAS coming
back to carry what remained Of 1t
away.
Mayor Wilson took In the situa-
ton at a glance. A glance was all
that was necessary. He saw that 1t
was a matter of grave Importance
and so he got in touch with the law
firm of Collins & Corbin, in Jersey
City by telephone and asked for an
opinion. Abel Corbin, of this firm,
Is attorney for the borough. Law
yers don't often give opinions on
weighty subjects hot off the grid
de-" and SO they took the matter
under consideration.
In the meantime Metuchen was
much excited. OF course the town
folk took sides. Some praised Wes-
ley for the brave rescue of his pet.
Others complained that the damaged
jaiI would result in an increase in
the tax rate. Some people thought
the authorities ought to act. Chief
! Marshal Fouratt said it was up to
the dog catcher to make a COM
plant. The dog catcher said mix"
Others thought 1t was up to the may
or. The mayor said no, 1t was up
to the Board of Health. At any rate,
the Benners have their pet dog, the
borough has a broken jail, and the
dog catcher says he Is entitled to his
fees, as he caught the dogs, even If
they did escape afterwards.
1t was not yet 8 A. M. and yet all
Of this had taken place. The dog
catcher had made a pretty good
start, but he hadn't figured on such
an abrupt ending. The officials talk
ed over matters with him and as
sured him Of their full support, 80
he started to work again. or course
the iail was out of business, but a
little diplomacy resulted In Clint
Ayers allowing the borough the use
of his Anyhow, the morgue
Ia the proper place for the dogs, said
Lone citizen. The rest OF the day was
3huiet save for a few minutes around
noon when the Railway expert got
the little black and tan dog OF Jake
Cohen, the French shoemaker. Jake
begged and coaxed to be allowed TIC
keep his dog and said he would
ovor aIJam it ont doors again hut