Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1912-07-30
DEFECTIVE LAW
SWEEPERS' BANE
Raise Dependent Upon Appor-
tionment at impossible Time,
Says Commissioner.

A flaw has been found in the man.
datory appropriation law. to which
Commissioner Arthur r. Denman
looked yesterday for relief in meet
ing just such an emergency as had
arisen in the case of the street
cleaners. He said that next year the
board could fix its own appropriation
for streets and be n longer de-
pendent upon the finance committee
Of the Common Council, which now
acts as a check on the Board of
Works expenditures.
The board had hoped to take adj
vantage of the law this year, but it
was not passed ove the governors
veto until April Il, a day later thar
the late fixed in the law for the filing
of a statement or estimate of the
amount of money needed.
The law, which is chapter SS7 of the
laws of 1912, is an act relating to the
care and maintenance of streets and
highways in. cities of the first class.
and provides that the body having
charge of the streets prepare a state
ment not later than April l of each
veal of the mount in its judg-
ment necessary for such fiscal
zeal for street, cleaning, ETC.; and
that such amount be included in the
tax budget, provided that the amount
SO raised shall not exceed the proper
ton of one and one-quarter mills on
every dollar of the ratables upon
which the tax budget is based.
In this city the apportionment Is
made impossible because the ratables
are not known in April, and in fact
not until August /. In the opinion of
lawyers this flaw makes the Law in
effective.
In a talk with union represent
atives Mr. Mungle limited that If h
five cents an hour increase was i'm
possible a raise of a few cents might
be expected.
To prove that some employees
above the ranks of the men handling
he broom in the street departments
received a raise last year The Star
today secured the names of the men
who obtained additional money. The
lists show that office men, as we'll
s the outside supervisors, were in
cluded.
In June last year the late Superin-
tendent of Street Repairs Frank d.
Aber, from $500 to 81. 700; Book
keeper Oscar ]. Lieb, from 81, 800 to
S 1920; Trolley Inspector Joseph
Crawford, from $1,000 to 81 900; Time
keeper Edward A. Bechler, from
S1,430 to 81, 500.
TWenty-sfX foremen in the street
department successfully applied for a
raise from 81, 144 to 81 200 and secured
it on June 1 last year.
Here are the twenty-six men:
Charles Zeigel, John Blanch, Jacob
Weiss, Arthur Barnard, Gilbert
Lytle. Frank Gehrlein, Thomas J..
Scanlon, Julius Bonnet, James e.
Dove, Jean P. Murat, Arthur Land
messer, Frank Rebels, John j.. Fitz-
gerald. Charles H. Feldbush, Benja-
min F. Levan. Louis Kaufman.
Daniel H. Hunt, Bentley Hunt, Jo-
seph Brownston, Henry Lind. Fred
erick w. Ubhaus, Joseph Hector,
Henry B. Snyder. Alfonso P. Fill
pone, Jules G. Rath and John G.
Donegan.
Int liSl-Idiiltd Cilldh was BUS
pended by Deputy Chief Engineer
James C. Hallock last week for neg
lect of duty.
Announcing that bread AND butter
was the issue and that no evasion of
the real issue would be tolerated, the
representatives of the street laborers
pushed their "nickel-an-hour" fight
before the Board of Works yesterday.
The men asked for a definite answer
as to whether the laborers viii get
the raise or not. 1t was a trying stu
alton for some members of the Board
of Work., who are dependent upon
the labor vote for their reelection this
fall. Representatives of the ESSEX
Trades Council made the issue plain
No funds available, was the plea Of
Commissioners Denman and Mungle
who asserted that until the budget il
passed by the Council next Friday
night an answer cannot be given
The labor leaders then agreed to wait
until Thursday, August s, for a def
mite answer to the nickel-an-houi
raise demand.