Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-10-15
COLBY ATTITUDE
ON WATER SNAKE
TOLD BY MORAN
Declares Progressive Candidate
Opposed Diversion Measure
of Passaic County Man.

Former Assemblyman Thomas +.
McCran, of Passaic, author of the bill
which defeated the scheme TO divert
New Jerseys potable water from
the state, issued q statement to-
day giving his version of former
State Senator Everett Colby's atti-
tnde toward the bill when it was pre-
scented TO the Legislature. The state
ment was issued from the head
quarters of the Republican State
COMMITTEE, in the Essex building, to-
day.
My attention has just been called
to statement in the newspapers III
which Mr.. Colby asserts that ne
never was associated with the water
snake as counsel" writes Mr.. Nc
Gran I'm view of my familiarity
with the facts. | was astonished TO
read any such statement as coming
from Mr.. Colby.
Immediately after | introduced the
act in question Mr.. Colby, with sew
eral other counsel, applied to the
Judiciary committee of the House of
Assembly for a hearing in opposition
to the passage of my bill. At the
hearing Mr.. Colby appeared in per-
son. and in his opening statement
remarked that he appeared in public
life in three capacities. as citizen,
n lawyer and a reformer.
I'm order to fix his status at the
hearing, asked him in which
capacity he appeared before the COM
mittee in opposition to my bill. and he
replied that he appeared as the paid
attorney of certain bondholders of the
Hudson County Water Company who
were interested in preventing the
passage of the bill in the shape in
which 1t was introduced. In his argu-
ment before the committee he en-
Aeavored to have the committee adopt
p substitute bill which would grant
abe Hudson County Water Company
abe exclusive privilege Of diverting
4he potable subterranean waters Of
this State for a period OF at least
twenty years.
sSuch an amendment would have
given to the water company an abso
lutte monopoly in diverting the waters
of this State, and Mr.. Colby wanted
this monopoly given to the company
absolutely without any regulation by
the State and without the payment
of one dollar for the great and valu-
able privilege he had asked the Legis-
1ature to grant.
Several great lawyers were en-
gagged by the water interests to de-
feat my bill, bat none of them gave
me as much opposition as did Mr.
Colby. for the reason that he ap-
peared. not only in the role of a law
yer who was being paid TO do his
work, as were the other counsel, but
he brought into the fight the pres
tige Of reformer, whose whole pur
pose in life was to serve the people,
when at the same time he was re-
ceiving a counsel fee of at least a
thousand dollars to defeat the bill
frl1 txn int IN tHn init fe.
of the people and the object of which
was to settle for all time the policy
of State conservation whereby the
peaple and not the water-snake would
control the potable waters of the
State.
THE other lawyers engaged by the
water interests were so eminent in
their profession that everyone recog-
nized that Mr.. Colby's retention as
counsel was for the purpose of giving
TO the opposition to the measure a
color of righteousness, which it might
borrow from Mr.. Colby, the reforiner.
mir. Colby also appeared before the
Senate committee in opposition to
the bill and daily thereafter was in
consultation, not only with the MEM
bers of the Legislature, in the inter-
tsts of the water company, but also
used every endeavor to prevent Gov
ernor Fort from continuing his then
o t,tftude of favor toward my bill and
IL Influence him to recede from his
then position to one of opposition to
the measure. That Mr.. Colby was
the most insidious of the lobbyists
in favor of the water interests of
this State at the session of 1910 was
known 10 everyone, and a casual ref
erence to the newspaper accounts of
xxfIH oh Oh
Mr. Colby has a very short memory
or that he Is depending upon the for
getfulness of the people as he dis
cards the mantle of corporation coun-
sci and resumes that of the re-
FORMER"