Perth Amboy evening news., 1915-03-04
CHANGES TODAY
IN OPERATIONS
ON FRONT ST. JOB
Council of War Follows Criti-
cism of Yesterday and the
Working Force Reduced
Mismanagement Denied.

mere came CuduSt III Uptfhtloho
on the Front street paving Job today,
solloY ing publication of an article
conce ming the work in the NEWS
yesteE ay. Conference, among al
derm / were held today. There were
count IS of war and every step posi-
BILE v s taken to off set the criticism
VIII. was published. Alderman
Chrit Jorgensen. chairman of the
stree and sewers committee of the
Boat of Aldermen, denied that
therf was any mlsmanagement what
soeH Alderman John ]. Clark,
anot er member of the committee,
spoke In Mr.. Jorgensen's behalf, de-
claring that the cost of excavation
WAS less than twenty cents cubic
yard instead of SIS, as was stated
by Alderman William C. Wilson
yesterday. Several of the men at
work on Front street were laid of
last night and today. When several
Of the aldermen visited the scene of
activity this morning they found
those employed by the city working
most industriously.
Cause Of CONSERVATION.
The article published yesterday
concerning alleged mismanagement
of the paving work caused conster-
nation among many connected with
the operations. There came increased
feeling when the size of the working
force was reduced today. One decla-
ration, in which 1t was stated that
workmen had made a hasty exit from
a Front street saloon when an alder
l1an entered. was especially the cause
of much bitterness. Mr.. Wilson did
not want that feature made public,
concluding 1t to be private informa-
ton. He issued a statement today as
follows:
1.-The article in yesterdays NEWS
about my breezing in the front en-
trance of a celebrated Front street
wet good emporium, and thereby
causing a considerable draught or
exodus through the rear entrance
while the story In substance is true.
1t was told as a joke, among friends
IN a private place, and was not In
tended -iis@ publication, which / so
stated at NE time, and 1t appeared
In the paper very much against my
wishes"
Claims made by Alderman Wilson
that the excavating was costing ap-
pro0imately SIS cubic yard and
that one of the trenches for curbing
had to be excavated twice, were fatty
denied by Mr.. Jorgensen today. He
was borne out to some extent by Mr..
Clark. The street department head
declared that It had become neces-
sary to take few inches off a trench
on one side OF the street, but that
operation, he declared, was far from
digging the trench over again. In
regard to Mr.. Wilson's claim that
the assessment would probably be
ten times as high as the estimated
cost, Mr.. Jorgensen said that would
remain to be seen.
ALI Workers Are Worthy.
1t was the claim of Mr.. Jorgensen
today that every man engaged in the
work of paving Front street was
worthy. He declared there were
many Americans as greatly In need
as the so-called foreigners, who
would not appeal to the citizens re-
lief committee. Many of these were
accommodated with employment on
Front street, he said Mr.. Jorgen-
sen told of having served as an inves-
tigator for the citizens relief COM
mittee and said that having had ex-
perience along those lines. he had in
vesttgated the cases of many of those
employed on Front street. At this
juncture, Mr.. Clark spoke and said
that in event there were a dozen
men, six foreigners and six Ameri-
cans In similarly poor straits, he
would engage the six Americans. AS
regards the foreigners, Mr.. Clark
said he would not be surprised to
see many OF those aided by the relief
committee take the first vessel
across the Atlantic ocean when the
European war was at an end.
Alderman John Kutcher, who is
chairman of the poor committee, is
the second member of the streets and |
sewers committee. Efforts to locate
him today to ask him what steps had |
been taken to benefit the most needy |
and worthy by the Front street job, |
proved futile. 1t is known that no |
efforts were made to confer with |
members of the citizens relief COM |
mittee to ascertain who the most /
worthy men were. Mr.. Jorgensen |
stated today that the relief commit
tee seemed to want to unload on the |
city when 1t stopped work. but he |
held they could stop when they were
through and intimated that the city !
would not take up the work where
they left OF.
Regarding the complaints made to
Mayor Ferd Garretson that some
single men were given steady work
in preference to heads of families.
Mr.. Jorgensen stated that three or
four men had been given steady work
on account of the necessity of retain
ing their services daily for a period
to lay out some lines and do other
important tasks. In regard to Mr.,
Wilson's claim that 1t was imprac-
tical to pave half of the street at a
Continued on page A.