Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-04-06
CANAL BILLS
AUTHOR WILL !
PROBE JOKER
AssembIyman Godfrey Admit
Measure Differs from His
Draft.
WOULD GIVE 100000
TO THE LEHIGH VALLEY
Now Up to Commission TO Ex-
plain Why Bill Was
Disturbed.
IspeclnI 10 the Evening star.T

Especial 10 the Evening Star.I
TRENTON, April 6.--There is All
sorts of guessing and every evidence
Of trepidation and worriment in cer-
tain sections here today over the dis
covery that a change of vital import
III the Norris canal abandonment bill
from the form in which it appears in
tho commissions printed report, and
al it was later introduced in the
House of Assembly, had been made.
In effect the bills are different and
the altered one gives to the Lehsgh
Valley Railroad Company nearly
Si,000000 that it was not originally
intended should go to the corporation.
Assemblyman Carleton Godfrey, OF
Atlantic County, who introduced the
Morris canal bill in the House, today
announced his intention of requesting
thorough probe by the Huse into tha
changes in the document Immediate-
~ upon his arrival in the state House,
Mr. Godfrey made a comparison OF
the bill with the commission report
snd admitted that the measure had
been changed from the original draft
made by the commission.
Il stand for the report absolutely
and the bill introduced by me was
supposed to be u verbatim copy OF
the one i'm the report" he said ut
Is sure error OH somebody's part
do not know who is responsible, but
it has not changed the purpose OF the
bill. II must not be changed"
Mr.. Godfrey compared parts Of this
! bill House 766 with the report and
noticed several changes. He said a
| probe deep into the matter would bo
| asked for. and he would try to hava
| the bill made o duplicate copy of the
commissions report.
No one in the executive offices
seemed to know that the bill had been
| changed, as the matter has not been
before the executive department ia
| any way.
| Proviso in Another Place.
The commission report bill says that
| the Lehigh Valley Railroad shall pay
not less than one million dollars for
! the canal basina, but the proviso, in~
stead of being put in its proper place,
Is placed at the end Of a paragraph
relating 10 the million dollars to be
paid 10y the Lehgh Valley Railroad
for the Two canal basins at Jersey
I City.
The bill printed in report, page 81
end of paragraph E. the /l1st g q
iaas.. sltssse q nf thir geGrion states
not less than one million dollars tsee
report', but the prcviso In the bill.
instead of being placed at the end OF
paragraph T., is at the end of section
to sale of property from Paterson to
Fiddier's Elbow, and the proYiso says
that this property shall bring sum
| which. together with the amount OF
money to be received from the Lee
high Valley, under clause u of Sec
tion /. which clause refers TO the re-
leasing OF amounts of money involved
in the impending suits, viii equal tho
sum Of one million.
Eject Of the Change.
The effect of this change is as foi-
lows: The bill as printed in the
| commission report viii mean that
the Lehigh Valley will be obligated
10 pay at least one million TO the
State II ii secured title to the por-
tion of canal from the Hudson River
70 Fiddler's Elbow or II this portion
! of the canal is sold to any other
party the State should receive at
! least one million for the right Of way
In addition to what it would receive
! for the part Of the canal from New
ark TO Paterson.
The change Of the part Of the pro-
viso making it apply To receipts from
tie sale of property from Newark to
Paterson would mean that IL the
property sold for say eight hundred
thousand the Lehigh Valley would
only have to put up the money TO
make the difference of one million
dollars.
The bill provides that the comn1is-
sion shalt sell all the land from Pat
erson to lNiddlers Elbow, with cer-
tain conditions. Newark is TO have
the preferential right Of purchase of
the property, except the undersoii,
within its limits. The andersoil is to
be reserved for q railroad company
the Lehigh Valley or its nominee.
And Newark must decide quick. The
commission viii give it limit of
time and fiX tho price. II the city
defaults the property VIII 20 10 sons
private interest.
The canal between Newark and
Paterson Is To be used for a railroad.
From these two sales the commission
( will realize a large sum, The prop-
erty in Newark alone will probably
bring over q million dollars, and the
property between Newark and Pater.
son million more.
But there are two items that seem
to figure in the joker. One is the sur
render Of the canal company's per-
fectly worthless claim TO the money
it has paid out in taxes back to the
time when the Legislature in 1sS4
abolished its tax exception, the law
being sustained by the Court of Errors
in 1856, and the $47 coo on account Of
what the company paid Illegally 10
the Riparian Commission for the
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