The Penn's Grove record., 1914-04-17

WORK FINISHED
Final Adjournment Taken With
out Customary Confusion
BILLS PASSED AND REJECTED
Governor Fielder Points to Number Of
Good Things Done-Short Session
of Thirteen Weeks to
Fulfill Promise.

"
special Trenton Correspondence).
Trentpn.-There is not much to say
about the late Legislature. 1t finished
and vent home and not a soul has
been found who has expressed sor-
row. Fact Ms, everyone seems rather
happy that the end came so soon
and so quietly. 1t was not the ex-
tremely short session that had been
promised at thel opening in January.
1t ran thirteen weeks, which is
normal, and about she average. What
it actually accomplished could have
been done in less than one fourth of
that time. Its session was one of
omission rather than of commission.
1t fumed around a great deal about
a lot of things and brought forth com
paratively little that was of real
worth. Immediately after the close of
the session the Republicans got to
work and sent broadcast over the
. State a resume of the work of the
session, with a Characterization of it
along the lines that despite the fact
that Democrats were in control in
both houses, and in the Executive
chamber they did little for the State
or the people, and failed to keep
many Of their platform pledges. Per
sons who have followed the work of
the Legislature during the winter, and
who are without bias, made comment
differing little from those of the par
tisan critics. The Democrats have
declared that they believe that their
record will permit them to go before
the people next fall and ask for votes
to return them to Trenton on the
strength of what was accomplished by
the Legislature. Governor Fielder is
among those who points to a number
of good Ehhags that were done, but
he admits that the session and its
accomplishments were not entirely
pleasing to him.
Democrats and Republicans alike
express displeasure over the failure
to take up and dispose of the Morris
Canal abandonment matter after it
had been reported upon by a State
commission, and a series of bills for
action had been presented to the Leg
islature in the House of Assembly.
The reason given for not having act
eG upon the matter is that the com
mission report reached the Assembly
SO late in the session that it could
not do anything. Later it was found
that some change appeared in the bill
after it was printed that did not ap-
pear when 1t was given to the House
by the commission. No explanation
was forthcoming for this, but it was
at once seized upon as a a of
finally setting the whole subject aside
for this year through. an adverse re
port Of the committee having it in
charge.
There was also general disappoint
ment over the failure to pass any OF
the series of economy and efficiency
commission bills, which had for their
object the abolition or consolidation
Of various State boards, bureaus and
departments, and the saving thereby
of several hundred dollars a year tc
the State in salaries and operating
expenses. Some of them got a start
in the Senate, but they ran into politi
cal play in the Assembly, and the
snag was too strong to overcome
There were charges and counter
charges of insinercity, and worse, in
connection with these bills and some
bitter arguments resulted on the floor
of the Assembly and outside of the
chamber. The net result was thai
the bills did not get anywhere, des
pite the efforts of the Governor tC
have the controversy which they had
aroused ended, in order to gain the
benefit of the proposed legislation fol
the State.
1t has since been declared by Repub
lican interests that if the Democrats
had been sincere in their expressed
desire to pass the economy and eff
cheney bills they could have done sc
in exactly the same n that they
forced to a successful conclusion the
direct inheritance law and the banl
stock tax law. The two latter meas
ures are beiag generally referred K
as the big things of the entire session
They were both backed by the Gov
ernor and in each case he had a hare
time getting them through. He stood
his ground, however, and won gu
after a pair of as bitter contests al
were ever witnessed here. He wal
handicapped by the split in his owr
party in the Assembly and but fol
help received from the equally spill
Republican minority might not have
been able to come through a winner
against two distinct opposing ele
ments.