Perth Amboy evening news., 1913-03-20
WITTPENN MAN |
is GIVEN PLACE.
John Griffin Named Vice
Chancellor Today
(From the NEWS Correspondent.)

(FfOnt the NE w COTTsSpOnuSfE-J
Trenton, March 2O:-County Coun-
sci John Griffin, of Jersey City, was
today appointed by Chancellor Edwin
Robert Walker as Vice Counsellor,
to succeed Lindley NJ. Garrison, of
Jersey City, who recently became
Secretary of War in the Cabinet of
President Wilson. Mr.. Griffin, who
has been County Counsel of Hudson
for seventeen years, is named for
full term OF seven years at salary
of $4,000 year. The salary may
be made $4,000 by the present
Legislature, as bill to increase the
pay of Vice Chancellors to this
amount is now pending as a COM
panion to the new law raising the
salaries of the Chancellor, the Chief
Justice and the Associate Justices of
the Supreme Court.
The new Vice Chancellor is an
Otto Wittpenn Democrat and the ap-
pointment Is a good thing for the
Jersey City Mayor who aspires to be
Governor. The appointment means
that Mr.. Griffin will resign as County
Council. The man already talked of
as his successor Is former Assembly
man James J. Murphy, Corporation
Attorney of Jersey City, also Witt
penn man.
Vice Chancellor Griffin will sit in
the Chancery Chambers in Jersey
City, where he will be associated
with Vice Chancellor Vivian M. Lewis
who is now dividing his time between
the Chambers In Jersey City and
Newark. When Chancellor Walker
received the resignation Of Vice
Chancellor Garrison, he announced
that he would appoint in his place a
Jersey City Democrat who would be
at all times accessible to the mem
bers of the bar of Hudson county.
Mr.. Griffin is a native of Jersey
City, where he was born flfty-fve
years ago. He attended the old
Bergen school No. II, OF that city,
so that he is product OF the Jersey
City public schools. He attended the
Jersey high school, but before being
graduated there he took up the study
OF law in the Offices of Bedle, Huir-
held & McGee. He was admitted to
the bar as an attorney in 1881, and
shortly thereafter formed a partner
ship with James A. Romeyn, son
of the we'll known Rev. Theodore e.
Romeyn, of the Reformed church, OF
Hackensack. Subsequently Mr.. Crit
fin went back as a junior partner IN
the old firm headed by Governor
Bedle, where he remained until 1886.
He was admitted to practice as coun-
selor in 1884.
Admiralty law Is one OF the special
ties of Mr. Griffin, and he Is recog-
nized authority on the subject. In
his early practice he took up this
study in a special way and 1t was he
who succeeded in establishing In
1855 the Jurisdiction OF New Jersey
to the middle of the Hudson river.
Prior to that time New York state
had exercised authority to the New
Jersey shore. Mr.. Griffin has also
framed considerable municipal law
and has established several court
preccedents in the seventeen years
he has been In charge of Hudson
county's legal work. During the
thirty-one years he has practiced, he
has had an extensive practice In the
higher courts and in the Supreme
Court of the United States.
Two important legal fights stand
| to the credit OF the new Vice Chan
| cellor. He conducted the litigation
to reduce the passenger fares on the
West Shore and Bergen Point ferries
from Ave to three cents, and saved
| Hudson county some 100000 by
forcing the abandonment of the blast
ing of rocks along the Hudson Boule-
| ward. He has had a large Chancery
Court practice.
This is the third Vice Chancellor
| Chancellor Walker has named, the
| others being Vivian M. Lewis, OF
Paterson, and John H. Backes, OF
| this city