Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-05-05
HAGUE AND FAG|N
USE 'UGL|ER WORD
+
Call Each Other Liar" at Jer-
sey City Commission
X Meeting.
FORMER SAYS MAYOR is
PLAYING LOW POLITICS
-. -
Other Reyerses the Charge and
Tells of a Concealed"
Letter.
Especial to the Evening start


JERSEY CITY, May 5-The bitter
est political fight in years is expected
to develop in this city as a result of
yesterdays meeting of the City Com
missioners when Mayor Mark NJ.
Pagan and Commissioner Frank
Hague banded charges and counter
charges, passed the lie to each other
and otherwise managed to make the
session a particularly noisy and dis
orderly one.
Commissioner Hague charged the
mayor not only with playing politics
in the police department, but with re-
fusing to aid him (Hague) in his eff
forts to establish discipline in the de-
partment BY Withholding his vote,
Hague charged, the mayor was en- :
couraging drunkenness among the po-
lice. Another accusation made by
Hague was that Mayor Pagan is hold
ing daily conferences in his office with
the president of the Patdolmen's Be-
nevolent Association, and that the P.
B. A. and the mayor are running the
Jersey City police.
Mayor Fagan's reply to these accu-
sationS was merely a general denial
and the assertion that Commissioner
Hague was lying deliberately. Not to
be outdone Hague called the mayors
denial of his charges a lie.
Storm clouds gathered at the out
set of the meeting. Commissioner
Ferris, who had handed in his resig-
nation, ito take effect May A." was
present at the meeting. Mayor Fa-
gan and Commissioner Moore assert
ed Ferris had no right to take part
in the proceedings, saying his resig-
nation took effect at midnight Sun
day. The commission was scheduled
to make three appointments to va
cant positions, and Mayor Pagan and
Commissioner Moore questioned the
possibility of making the appoint
ments legally were Ferris to vote
on them. 1t was Immoral If not IL
legal for Ferris to sit with the COM
mission, they said. This phrase,
turned by Commissioner Moore, fur
nished Mayor Pagan with an inspira-
ton to say the members of the COM
mission were acting ''immorally II
not illegally in not keeping their
prediction promises to give Jersey
City an economical efficient govern
ment.
This prompted Commissioner Bren-
singer to hint that the mayor was
doing little to promote economy and
efficiency in his own department.
"More Politics in City Than Ever"
Finally the mayor said:
81 believe that the appointments
which are said to have been arrang-
ed for the making today are a pol1t-
icaI dicker. | believe there is more
politics in Jersey City now, and OF
lower order, than ever before.
This brought Commissioner Hague
to his feet.
"You have made no good move in
your department but what you have
had my support and my VOTE began
Hague. land | say no what you were
entitled to it as head of your depart
ment, so long as you tried to do what
was right But if anyone has played
politics here it is you.
81 have tried to get the police de-
partment to do actual service for the
CITY. and you have Above dpolitlcs
to remain in the police department OF
Jersey City. When I wanted to es-
tablish discipline that would wipe out
drunkenness, you refused to give me
your support and there was politics
in your refusal
Brensinger Chimes In.
AS Commissioner Hague sat down,
Commissioner Brensinger got up.
81 have voted to support you, Mr..
Mayor, in all that you have wanted
to do" said Brensinger, sometimes
eevn. against my better judgment in
the belief that you were entitled to
support just SO long as 1 was con-
WINGED that in the main you were
working in the right direction. Even
when I thought you were playing
politics, gave you the benefit of the
doubt. 1 am amazed at your criticism
of me here"
at is hard to answer all this with
both you men talking" said Mayor
Pagan.
"There is no answer to NINE" said
Hague. my charges are unan-
werable."
"You are easy" said Pagan
"You can't throw it off that way
declared Hague, again rising to a
standing position. II charged you
with having tried to break the disci-
pline of the police department with
politics, and charged you with pro-
tecting drunkenness in the depart
ment through olitics, and if that is
easy to answer I now charge publicly
for the first time that the P. b. A,
with your assistance, is running the
police department of Jersey City.
say"
But Hague was interrupted by the
mayor
And you have done everything in
your power to bring the P. B. A. over
to you. You have even done what Is
Illegal. You have withheld a letter
sent in to YOU by a captain of po-
lice"
Theer was a pause. Mayor Pagan
expected Hague to answer that, but
Hague thought the mayor had more
to say.
Didn't you withhold letter about
policeman who is up on charges?"
asked the mayor.
Certainly not. I simply held the
letter in my ocial possession, where
it belongs. No captain is going to be
allowed to run my department for
me-" said Hague.
you have IL right to bring it here.
claimed Mayor Pagan.
THE captain is not trying this
man" said Hague. I'm running this
department, trying to make an effi-
cient working force out of it, and
you're working against me with the
p Is. Az
That's lie, replied Mayor Pagan.
you know you're in touch with the