Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-04-22
LEGISLATURE
HAS RECORD
Continued from page IL

@-@N
making powers upon the utility COM
mission, with power of enforcement,
so the board now can really regulate
| charges made by public utility cor
porations. 1t makes violations of
the law misdemeanors, n of the
provisions insisted upon by the Dem
ocrats. 1t retains the present COM
missioners and makes their salary
$500 a year. 1t appropriates
10000 annually to enable the
commission to perform its work.
Governors Non-Partisanship.
Governor Wilson showed his non
partisanship In accepting compro-
mise measures when they did not
sacrifice the principles for which he
was contending. So the corrupt prac-
tice bill he approved was not the ad-
ministration measure introduced by
Assemblyman Simpson. but a meas
ure combining the features of that
bill and the Prince Republican bill.
In the same way he accepted the Edge
employers liability bill, drafted by
the Fort Commission on the subject,
though It was a Republican measure,
when he found it had adequate pro-
visions to meet the needs Of the case.
Aside from the four big bills" re-
ferred to, one of the most important
things the legislature did was to rev.
olutionize the public school sysNm
of the state, following the disclos-
ures of the Senate School Investigat-
ing Committee. Many of the school
bills introduced by Senator Freling-
huysen, chairman of the probers,
were passed. The most important of
these abolishes the State Board of
Education and creates the office Of
State Commissioner of Education,
with an annual salary of $4,000 a.
year, the commissioner to be under
a new board of eight members.
This legislates out of office State
Superintendent of Public Instruction,
Charles J.. Baxter, of this city, and his
assistant, j. Brogard Belts, of Plain
field.
The other principal school bills pass
ed throw greater protection around
school finances, give better regulations
for school bond issues, require each
school board to take a school census
every two years, requiring school
boards TO ascertain what children are
below normal in their standing and
the reason therefore, reforming boards
of education so that they shall consist
Of nine members, but this does not ap-
ply to this city, as it was amended to
exclude Trenton, which has a bi-parti-
san board; regulating the depositing of
school funds in banks, requiring that
at least one woman shall be included
in every school board, etc.
Cold Storage Bill.
The cold storage bill, which caused
a bitter fight, was passed with the linn
it for storage of food fixed at ten
months. The legislature went on rec
ord as favoring the proposed income
tax amendment to the federal consti-
tuition. The use of voting machines
was abolished by the repeal of the
law requiring them to be used. Many
Of them had been already voted out
under the referendum law of two or
three years ago. In their place will
come the blanket ballot of the Geran
law, with no party columns, but with
all the candidates for one office group
cd together.
The Matthews bill was passed re-
curing the railroad companies to pay
tueTr taxes 70 rne srWte ny r~epruaryJ
each year, instead of paying In four
installments, extending into October,
each year.. This will bring the money
in ten months earlier and will enable
the school districts to get their money
from the state much earlier, a reform
badly needed. The Legislature also con-
tinued the work Of revaluing the rail
road and canal property Of the state
for another year. -~u-
Two other important bills, passed
was the one fixing sixteen years as the
limit under which children must not
attend theatres, moving picture shows,
etc, unaccompanied by parent or guar
dian, and the one prohibiting the en-
ployment of children under sixteen
years of age in mercantile establish
ments after seven O'Clock at night ex-
cept on Saturdays and during the
Christmas trade.
For Ship Canal.
The measure appropriating 100000
as needed for acquiring the right Of
way from Bordentown to South Am
boy for the ship canal was passed,
as was the bill for the surveying and
preparing of the route for the Della
ware river boulevard, paving the way
for a magnificent riverside highway
from this city to Port Jervis.
The commission form of government
bill for cities was passed at a late
hour after a hard fight.
Quite a list of important bills failed
to get through the legislature, also.
The jury reform bill died in the clos
ing hours of the session. The Sunday
baseball bin passed the assembly, but
failed in the senate, as it has for two
or three years. The local option bill
was defeated in the senas.
Although it has been tie Democratic
cry for several years that in the in
terest of economy various state boards
should be consolidated, nothing of this
character WAS accomplished this SEES
sion. The county Ia boards were not
abolished, nor was the Hillery maxi
mum tax rate law touched, though
there has been agitation in both these
directions for three or four years.
IEASICp WILSON To