Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1915-01-23
HENNESSY COMES
BACK At RICHARDS
OVER ROAD REPORT
Says He and SmaIIey Are Try
ing to Cover Results of
the investigation.
Special 70 the Evening Star

TRENTON, Jan. Ex-senator Charles
O'Connor Hennessy, of Bergen, chair
man of the joint appropriations COM
lnittee of the Legislature, which re-
Gently reported its findings in the
State road department investigation,
today answered the criticism other
members OF the committee made be-
cause Senator Hennessy gave the re-
! port 10 the newspapers before he sub
mitted It to the Legislature.
The criticism came from two mem
hers az the committee, Senator W, w
Snalley and former Assemblyman
Emerson L. Richards. the Republican
minority members. They said they
could not concur in the report and
csIled the investigation theatrical
exposure of the road department"
Senator Hennessy said today
"The interests In the State which
have vainly tried to prevent the pub
lication of the damaging facts of our
report are now seeking to divert pub
lie attention from the facts and con-
centrate 1t upon a new, false and
relatively immaterial issue-as to
whether two members of q committee
Of nine had agreed to the report or
not"
Senator Hennessy also strongly de-
MED the charge that the committee
had played party politics in the Tram
ing of the report. reading OF the
report by any fair-minded man, he
said, would disprove this charge.
Senator Hennessy made 1t knows thar
Senator Smalley ana NJ. Richards
had endeavored to prevent the pup
lication of the road department re-
eraphed TO Senator Hennessy last
wednesday asking him not TO make
the report public Senator Smalleys
telegram was in these words:
I'VE should report to leglslast
ture, not to public. Don't give IL
to press In advance"
Mr.. Richards's telegram was:
Understand you are giving out
report to newspapers. Must pro-
test as report should first he pre-
sented to the legislature. and be-
cause committee has not otlclai-
ly agreed thereto.
Senator Hennessy answered Senator
smalleys telegram with letter as
follows:
New York, January 20, 1915
Hon. William W. Smalley.
Bound Brook, New Jersey.
Dear Senator Smalley-I did not
reach my office until two o'clock this
afternoon, when l found your tele-
gram advising me not to give the re-
port to the press before II was sent
to the legislature. 1 had already ar
ranged TO send an advance printed
draft of the report to every member
of the legislature, so that 1t would
reach them before publication in the
newspapers. To avoid the raising or
any question of technical propriety,
/ did not attach the names of any
member of the committee TO the re-
port, as MIR. Richards contends that Il
has not been officially adopted. l.,
nevertheless, in transmitting the re-
port made the statement, which l as
sumo you will not question, that the
report in its final form had been
patiently considered and had the ap-
proval of all the members of the COM
mittee excepting Senator Munson,
who has not been asked to approve
had expressed his dissent from the
recommendations of the committee as
not being sufficiently specific.
II have been aware for more than
two weeks, as you no doubt have
been, that extraordinary EFFORTS were
being made In several directions to
delay or prevent the publication of
this report. To the extent that those
efforts were prompted by unworthy
motives, 1 am sure they did not have
your sympathy or support. But re-
(Continued on Page 10. Column IL