The Penn's Grove record., 1914-04-10
LEGISLATURE IS
READY To CLOSE
Appropriation Bills Chief Work
But Others May Be Attempted
GOVERNOR WINS BIG FIGHT
Bank Stock Tax Goes Through Both
Houses and Has FieIder's sigma
ture-Pleased that Legislators
Showed independence.

mittee, a joint body, has donesits work
with exceptional care, has investigated
every matter that has been brought to
it's attention III regard to the needs
of departments and institutions and.
has been as fair and as free toward
each applicant for money as the needs
and the condition of the State finances
warrant. This is known to every
member of the Legislature and has
the approval of the Governor, and it
is not expected that any meddling will
be tolerated. 1t was the work of the
appropriations committee that held
the 6nal adjournment of the Legisla-
ture back a week and prevented con
summation of the original plan to get
away earlier. When it was found that
this would be impossible and that the
members of both branches would have
to come back, the session was cut
short for the week and there was a
cessation of labor. The members of
the appropriations committee, how
ever, had to remain here to complete
their work,
WnO FoOI4O ain llAoL o0JOuIA
ment might follow as soon as the ap-
preparation bills were presented and
disposed of. There are scores of bills
that have someone or something be
hind them that will make a final effort
to put them across to the point o:
awaiting the signature, but It is I'M
derstood that there is pretty good
agreement among the members of
both houses that nothing will be done
in anything but matters regarded as of
first importance. 1t is not expected
that even the administration bills of
the Economy and Efficiency Commits
sion will get through. There has been
a row over several of the measures
and it is not likely that any of them
will get over the home plate unless all
could be sent across. This is admittedly
an impossibility, so the one rest bet
is that they will all go to the legis-
lative morgue to repose until next
year.
Ask Special Session.
The Morris canal bills are also to
go into the deadwood so far as action
at this session is concerned. There
is a movement on foot in Newark to
ask Governor Fielder to call a special
session for the purpose of taking up
the canal bills and settling the long
standing and troublesome problems in
volved, but whether he will do this is
problematic. He will at least not have
anything to say along those lines until
the present session has adjourned.
After a hard fight against an ele-
ment of his own party which was OBJ
posing him, Governor Fielder had the
pleasure of seeing the bank stock tax
measure go through to final passage
in the Legislature and come to his
desk for signature. He made it a law
at once and expressed his pleasure
that the Legislature, especially the
Assembly, had shown sufficient indie
pendence to pass it and to show out
s1ders that they were fully capable
Of attending to the matter in hand
without the assistance of meddlers
and opponents of the administration.
1t was a notable victory for Governor
Fielder and demonstrated that his
claim to State leadership of the Demo
cratic party because of his election
as Governor is not an idle one. He
developed strength which surprised
and pleased his friends and knocked
the plans and hopes of his antagonists
in the fight endwise.
This measure and the inheritance
tax laws are the only matters of i'm
portance that the Legislature has
made into laws during the session. 1t
is said that before the Senate and
Assembly get together again 1t is like
ly that some arrangement may be
made by the Democratic majority. un-
der pressure from the Governor, to
pass some Of the many bills which
have had little or no attention, and
which have an important bearing upon
the matter of redeeming the party
pledges and the promises of the can
didates made during the campaign
last fall.