Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-05-02
ny DIXIE WELLINGTON

the short. quiet, COMMISSIONING hah'
who. it is admitted, knows more
about the election laws than any man
In the county and probably more tHah
any man in the state. -,
Ii was hard work to get Mr.. Mahr /
started talking of his quarter CEN
tury experience in the county elerk
office. for he is the most dlInoeht u
mon. Rut without fear Of contradlc- ,
zion from ANYBODY, except Mr.. Mahr
himself. it can safely be sald that
nine tenths of the Improvement IN
methods and system IN the clerN
office during the past quarter cen
fury are due to him.
Mr.. Mahr. or George, as he Is
known to everybody in the court
House as we'll as to all the lawyers
IN town. started work in the county |
clerks office in 1888. twenty-six years
ago. At that time Samuel A; smith
was county clerk. In 1872, Wheh u "; /
James T. Wrightson was electeo
clerk Mr. Mahr was made deputy |
oieris at the age of twenty-one years, |
tha voir gest man that ever held the |
position. and he has kept IT ever
Since ptfrine that time he has served I
,in5er William o. Keubler, Arthur /
Horton and John b. Woolston IoI
fbeir fllll term Of five years, ana IN
der Joseph McDonongh, the present
incumbent. -.4.d 70
When Mr.. Mahr first started 70
work the office force consisted OF Lopi
49,, as follows: Samuel A. Smith,
county clerk; George e. Ebbinghou-
son. deputy clerk; George L. Mahr |
and William H. Terhune. clerks. NOW
4he force of the office consists OF
eighteen persons. ,,,,,
Ii 1SSS the county clerk personally
looked after the work of the criInl-
nal courts. or rather court, for there
was but one branch at tnat lline'
Row the county clerk simply super
vises the work of the court CLERKS u
whom there are six-three in the
criminal courts, two in the civil anu
one in the Juvenile Court
Mr. Mahr was the first man IN the
Court House House to operate
fvpewriter. the machines being lrst
hrni,eht into general use at that
time 1855. At that period there were /
hIIt two courts in the county-CoIn-
mon Pleas and Circuit. NOW tnere
are three branches of the Court VI
Common Pleas-the supreme Courl
f,ircuit. the Circuit Court ana the
I,,veriie Court. The business of the
courts has increased fully 50O per
cent and. of course, the increase OF
work in the courts means resultant
increase in the business OF the
clerks Office. 49, .,,-.z,,,. ed .
chan nv printing the figures show
inc the business of the civil pranch
of the Essex courts in 1888 and 1915,
figures for the present year. o 90
course, not being available In 1000
The business for the entire year con.
naC
the total cases was Las, an hiSi eaSe
of almost 425 per cent
The criminal business of the couH-
tv would show an even greater IN
crease in that same length OF time
So that il can be realized that during
Mr. NIahr's auarter-century IN the
county clerks office the work must
have increased 500 per cent, il not
more.
"In 1sss.'' said MIR. Mahr, in talking
of the increased work, there Were
very few blank forms used by the
office. We did not need many. NOW
there are over 1000 blanks in almost
daily use" -.
These blank forms have all been
drown nv Mr. Mahr personally ana
are now in use throughout the state.
If is no uncommon thing for clerk
from another county 10 come TO the
Court House and ask to see tine man
Who is an encyclopedia on taxation
of costs in criminal and civil mat
ters."
And thew always reach Mr.. Mahr,
Cor that Is exactly what he Is, IAN
of information" on any
matter connected with the conduct or
hus ness of the county clerks de-
nartnaent. The administration OF the
Essex county clerks office is recog-
nized all over the State as being the
very last word in completeness OIL oe-
tail and in the systemfzatlon OIL the
work.
Getting warmed up a little in the (
discussion of matters on which he is
so we'll informed Mr.. Mahr con-
tinued: '"Fhe work in connection with
etect fons has increased and the Leg
fslatl1re by the passage of new laws
is constantly adding to the work Oh
the office. Just to call to mind Few
laws passed in recent years that have
increased the work of tn ONCE
might speak of the employers la
bility act, the widows pension act
and the law creating the juvenile
courl.
an 1888 when l started to work in !
This office, there were, / believe, six
tv-seven election districts in the city
and county. Now there are 3lo dis
tricts. almost six times as many. L
remember the ballots of 1888. They /
were printed separately for each dis
trict. by Ward & Tichenor on foot I
power presses. The ballot was only /
about three or four inches in length, /
far from resembling the big blanket +
ballot of today. That was the ballot !
that was used under the ballot re-
form act of 1888. /
81 remember the ballots were print
ed and then weighed, being sent to
the different districts by weight In
stead of actual count as is the
custom nowadays. 1t was a hard
task getting the forms in shape for
that ballot Before that time each
party was required to print its own
ballot.
"Was the work in getting out the
ballots in those days harder than It
is now?" Mr. Mahr was asked.
mo" was the reply, 81 should say
the work of getting out the present
day ballot is ten times as great as
In 1888, but the cost of getting out
the ballots has not increased in the
same proportion. l mean by that
that 1t does not now cost ten times
as much to get out the ballots as 1t
d d in 1888.
"In those days, 1888, and there
abouts, it took six clerks three days
to canvass the result of an election.
: Now 1t takes forty clerks the greater
part of a week to do the work and
t thev have the aid of adding machines
! and other mechanical devices that
were unknown in 1888"