Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1915-01-27
GR|CE SUCCEEDS
CONGLETONAS
POLICE JUDGE
Political and Legal Circles
Were Treated to a Surprise
Early This Morning.
coNcLETON RESIGNED
YESTERDAY AFTERNOON
Declares He Gave Up Place for
Personal Reasons, as He
Found It Uncongenial.

Political, business and legal circles
were stirred to the limit today when it
became known that Jerome 7. Congle-
ton had resigned as judge of the first
and third criminal courts, and that
J Horace c. Grice, a lawyer, with offices
in the Prudent al building, had been
appointed in his stead.
The fact that Mr.. Congleton had re-
signed and Mr.. Grice appointed did
not really become generally known
until the session of the first criminal
court was opened this morning.
There was no judge present at 10
o'clock, the usual opening time of the
court, but a 1ew minutes later Mr..
Congleton, accompanied by Judge
Grice, VINO had just been sworn IN
ct the City Hall, walked into the
court room.
In a few words Mr. Congleton &C.
quainted the court clerks and attend
ants with the fact that he had re.
signed and that Mr.. Grice had been
appointed as his successor. Surprise,
not to say CONSERVATION, reigned in
the little court room and for a few
minutes all business was forgotten ii.
buzz of conversation.
Judge Grice on the Bench.
For several minutes former Judge
CongIeton and Judge Grice were
closeted with Richard P. Rooney,
clerk of the court, and Elmer Free
land, assistant clerk, during which
time the details of the work of the
police court were briefly discussed.
Judge Grice was then escorted to
the bench of the court room by his
predecessor and the business of the
court taken up, the former judge sit
ting close to the new one and advis-
ing him on procedure in the cases
pending.
Congleton Makes Statement.
Before going on the bench with
his successor Mr.. Congleton gave out
brief statement in which he said
that his reasons for resigning were
purely personal ones.
MY resignation went to Mayor
Raymond at o'clock last night, al
though for several days | had con-
templated such action. My reasons
| for resigning are purely persona
ones. / am free to. say that ] be-
| lieve now l made a mistake when
first accepted the position of police
/ judge"
Asked to explain the. latter state
ment, Mr.. Congleton admitted that
, he had not found the work congenlal
and for that reason had determined
! to resign.
There is really nothing l can say
except that l resigned for personal
reasons" repeated Mr.. Congleton
/ Asked as to whether his relations
with the mayor were still friendly
Mr.. Congleton replied that for sew
eral hours last night he had sat in
close conference with Mayor Ray
mond at a meeting of the Charter
Revision Commission, and that II
any bad feeling had existed between
them it would have cropped out
there.
DO you expect another appoint
ment? ?" Mr.. Congletop was asked.
"I do not" was the emphatic an
swer. ''I have nothing further to
add to the first statement 1 madc
and that is that resigned for purely
personal reasons"
Judge Grice was present when Mr..
Congleton made the above state-
ments, and just before he left the
room to make his first appearance
in a judicial capacity said:
"I knew nothing of my being ap-
pointed to the position until l was
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