Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-03-19
CANAL REPORT NOT
PRINTED IN JERSEY
Colleagues Rap Godfrey for
BIundering on Morris Canal
Publication.

TRENTON, March 19.-In publish
ing the report of the Morris Cana
Investigation Committee, Assembly
man Carlton Godfrey, chairman OF
the committee. made sure that only
those papers who favor turning over
some of the most valuable parts OF
the canal property to the Lehigh Val
ley Railroad should get copies of the
report Mr.. Godfrey had few copies
of the report in manuscript which he
handed out as special favors while
he held the others back until nearly
noon yesterday.
1t was the first knowledge any OF
his confreres of the Assembly had
that he is sensitive to criticism or
opposition to his pet schemes. If they
had known it sooner they might have
withheld some of the roasting to
which he has been treated since the
session of the 1914 Legislature began,
when other members charged him
with messing things by introducing a
critical of the Democrats that even
the Republicans agreed they were I'M
fair and uncalled for. His actions in
this respect were the direct cause of
the split in the Republican party
which twice broke out and even now
is only lulled while he stops what
Assemblyman Scovel calls his pin
pricking' politics. The speech which
characterized him as September
Morn" is still held to have been the
funniest incident that occurred in the
House.
Printed in New York Shop.
True to his early promise Assembly
man Godfrey made another blundei
over the report. besides Withholding
it from the Governor and the Assem-.
bly, until after it had been printed
in some newspapers. He allowed the
report printed outside of the State
The charge was made the subject of
a resolut on introduced in the AS
sembly by Assemblyman Lawrence
McCabe, jr., and it was only through
sympathy on the part of some Assem-
blymen with a colleague that he was
not put to the humiliation of having
1t pass and put the House on record
as censuring him. The argument over
the resolution produced debate the
like of which the Assembly has sell
dom seen. Assemblyman Godfrey
pleaded that he was told that no New
j
to do the work. He said he had moth
ing to do W TIL the printing of the re-
port; that it had been entrusted to
G. H. Ingersoll, of South Orange, an
other member of the committee, and
would not be bound down to the fact
that he as chairman ought to have
known all about 1t.
Assemblyman Walter L. McDer-
mott went at the report hammer and
tongs asserting that the whole thing
a costly book with brilliantly colored
pictures of what might be done In
the way of turning the canal into a
parkway, was an allurlng plea to in
duce the legislators to fall in with
the Lehigh Valley Railroads plans
to grab the canal basin.
Assemblyman Mulligan wants to
know if it was not a fact that a
photograph named Dunwoodie, Of
fetal photographer of the Lehigh
Valley Railroad made most of the
photographs for the cuts in the book.
Assemblyman McDermott wanted to
know If it was not a fact that the
highly ornamental pictures and plans
in the book were prepared by firm of
architects who designed the Lehigh
Valley terminals and stations.
McCabe's Resolution.
Assemblyman Godfrey replied that
Carrere e. Hastings made the plans
and pictures, which were worth 5000
for only $500 How much are you
able to pay?" Mr.. Godfrey said the
firm asked him and made the price
to suit He volunteered no informa-
tIon as to who paid the balance.
Assemblyman McCabe's resolution
which caused all the excitement was
as follows:
Whereas, The printing Of the report
of the Morris Canal investigation com
mittee. appointed under joint resolu-
ton, April. 1912. has been done by
the Isaac H. Blanchard Company OF
New York; and,
Whereas, This is detrimental to the
printing trades of our State, who
according to law. must do all State
printing under the eight-hour law,
while the Blanchard Company is be-
lieved to be nine-hour shop.
Resolved, That we condemn the &C
ton of the Morris Canal investiga-
ton committee in having this report
printed by a concern outside of the
state of New Jersey; and, be it fur
Their
Resolved, That the House of AS
sembly go on record as being opposed
to State printing being done outside
it's borders.
The vote by which the resolution
was lost called to the support of AS
semblyman Godfrey all but one of
the Republican members of the House
and some Democrats who believed As
somblyman Godfrey's statement that
he knew nothing of the printing and
was therefore not responsible for it.
It was as follows
For-Assemblymen Agnew, Byrne,
Carroll, Curran, Foley, Cannon, j. j.
Griffin, Thomas F. A. Griffin, Leonard,
Long, McCabe, McDermott, Mulligan.
Nutting, Quigley, Quinn, Rowe. Smith,
Wheatley-19
misunderstanding B b u r,
Barradale, Brackner, Bredenbek. Car
hart, Conrad Crosby, Dalrymple, De
Voc, Dobbins, Downs, FISHER, Fisk,
Godfrey, Hammond, Holcombe, Hun
ter, johnson, Hates, Rays. Kuhlke,
Moore, Mount, Mutchler, Peacock,
Randall Richards, Scoyel, Sheppard,
Stevens, Weart, West-32