Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-10-07
CITY COUNSEL
AND THE MAYOR
RIDDLE CRITICS
Facts and Figures and Admin
istration Records Given in
Public Addresses.
Mr.. NUGENT cAUSTIc.
MR.. HAUSSLlNG POINTED
Nothing Left to the Imagination
of Hearers in the Heavy
Artillery Fire Last Night.

Before a crowd that filed the rooms
or the I.eni Lcnape Clubhouse last
night and overflowed into Court
street. the first guns of The political
campaign were fired by the Demo-
cratic forces The shots We're of the
heavy artillery order. with rapid fire
pieces now and then raSing the politl-
cal enemy fore and aft.
There was big array of speakers
md each was listened to attentively,
hut chief interest was centered in
City counsel james r. Nngent, who
took up the criticisms hurled at him
personally and the administration
generakN by the, Newark Evening
News. and in the address of Mayor
Haussling, which was an exhaustive
review of the record of his adminlstra-
ton for the eight years that he has
hecn the city's chief executive.
Both the Mayor and the city coun-
sci were well equipped with facts to
refute statements of political or other
critics 1t was a eose of the big
Guns cutting loose, and the large
audience manifested appreciation in
frequent outbursts of cheering
Utteranccs Backed BY Figures.
1t was 10:30 o'clock before Mr..
Nugent arose to speak, tile mayor
having concluded his address had de-
parted for other sections OF the city
to keep other engagements. The city
counsel presented trial balance sheets
and other documents containing
mass of figures, prepared, he eN-
planned, by expert accountants, III
support of every statement he made
in regard to municipal affairs
Referring to the Evening News, he
charged that the owner of that paper
is chiefly actuated oy mercenary and.
selfish personal motives i'm its 'edi-
torial utterances rejecting upon the
present city administration.
MIR. Nugent called attention to
News article intended to involve him
dscreditably in a transaction en-
tered into by Charles Bierman'. real
estate dealer, with the city for the
purchase of property under Martin
Act provisions, and Mr.. Bierman's
written reply, which clearly shows
that the Evening News had gone far
afield to do him, Mr.. Nugent. an in
Justice. and likewise4sns iajnstjee 40,
Mr.. Herman.
Welcomes Honest Criticism.
,'The criticism of men in public
life is to be expected said Mr..
Nugent as he settled down to his ad-
dress in a determined way 1T is a
part of the price that is paid for serv-
ing the public. 1t goes with every pub
lie office Honest criticism is always
welcomed by every honest man. The
door of my office and the door Of my
home by day and by night have been
opened always to any man or to any
body Of men who might come with
clean hands and with honest hearts
to criticise my actions as a public
official, and there is no man who
welcomes suggestions more gladly
than do.
sBut there is criticism, gentle
men, that is not honest, that is not
actuated by honest motives, that
does not spring from honest hearts.
And it is to such a criticism that |
desire TO call your particular at
tenKon this evening, on this, the be-
gigning of the campaign.
1.-THE Newark Evening News has
Lnlade the statement that the expense
of maintaining and conducting the at
fairs Of our municipal administration
has increased so per cent. from 1907
to 1914 This statement is unquali-
fiedly false, it is atrociously false, it
is maliciously false, it has no founda-
ton in fact ! am frank to tell you
that the man who makes this state
ment is either fool or a knave, prob
ably a combination of both. ! do
not know what school of accounting
he is attending. / do not know what
system of bookkeeping he is studying.
but I do know that IL his tuition is
costing him anything, he should in
stitute an action against his in
structors for obtaining money under
false pretenses.
when Figures Lie.
"They say that figures don't lie,
except when liars do the figuring. And
while ] hesitate to cast aspersion at
the author OF authors of these won
derful articles with their marvellous
mathematical computations. in JUS
tice TO myself, in Justice to the Demo-
cratic party whose servant am, in
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