Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1915-08-20
RAYMOND AND
CITY COUNSEL
BOTH BLUNDER
Err in Calling Special Meeting
of Common CounciI-Both
Severely Criticised.
NON-PARTISAN ATTACKS
IN CITY HALL CHAM BER
Aldermen Show that Officials
Do Not Know Law Regard
ing Calling of Session.

Mayor Thomas L. Raymond and his
chief legal adviser, Spaulding Frazer,
as city counsel were severely criti-
cised at the special meeting of the
Common Council last night. 1t was
not partisan criticism, either, for it
came from Democrat. Republican and
Progressive. The attack followed the
reading of the call of the mayor by
City Clerk Alexander Archibald, and
it was begun by Majority Leader
Mark Phillips.
The meeting was called by the
mayor In an effort to hasten the
settling of the furnishings contract
for the new almshouse at Ivy Hill.
He had vetoed the awards because
the total was not within the appro~
priation.
As soon as the call of the mayor
was read last night Mr.. Phillips as
serted Mayor Raymond erred when
he called the special session. The city
charter states clearly, Mr.. Phillips
went on, that veto proposition can
be acted on by the Common Council
ohly al tHe HSAl ltsu uidi hieSlihb ioi
lowing the fling of the veto message
with the city clerk.
Minority Leader e. Garfield Gift
ford then said that he understood
the law in the same manner as
Alderman Phillips. Then Mr. Phil
lips said that there was nothing to
do but to adjourn.
Before adjourning, l would like to
ask if the city law department is
represented at this meeting said
Mr.. Phillips. President Patrick G.
O'Brien replied in the negative.
THAT is strange said Mr.. Phillips.
I'VE have well paid law department.
but maybe it is just as well that there
is no representation, for this may
keep us out of trouble.
TT seems to me that the mayor--a
man who was judge and considered
a capable lawyer, and his able city
counsel, drawing the fat little salary
of 1000 per year, would know more
about city affairs than throwing the
common council into this muddle,'
continued Mr.. Phillips.
Can any one here tell me for what
reason, a certain New York university
conferred ar additional honor to the
mayor by making him bachelor of
"Some of us were called from the
sick beds of relatives supposedly on
city business, but, as we now find it,
ON a fools errand.' It is a disgrace
to the city and a shameful disgrace
to the law department and a blunder
on the part of our lawyer mayor.
I'm the past we have had a law
department of the very best calibre.
They were well trained men and
not once can any one say that we
were mis6irected. | move that we
now adjourn"
Alderman Thomas J. Lee, jr., In
seconding the motion took up the
criticism of the law departmnt.
"City Counsel Frazer is being well
paid. He should be If he was a real
city counsel
"a Bonehead Play"
'If I had man in my employ OF
the calibre of Mr.. Frazer and draw
ing $4,000 per year, / would fire him
for laundering time and time again.
We all know the calibre of the opin-
ions given us, and this bonehead play
of tonight, staged by Mayor Raymond
and Mr.. Frazer, is onl another in
dication of that wonderful adminis-
tration along economical lines"
The surprise of the evening came
when Alderman Theodore Gottlieb,
the Progressive member of the board,
arose and said that the city counsel
was the one to blame for the muddle,
as he termed 1t.
''It is with deliberation and full
knowledge Of what I am saying that
I will make the following remarks.
The poor and aims committee of
which / am a member tried its best
to be fair We showed that when
we did not do one thing that was
not in keeping with the opinion as
given us by the city counsel. The
other night when we started to prune
the specifications, we had the City
Counsel with us after a lot of coax
ing. He has given us advice and l
place the blame on his shoulders for
this entire mix-up."
Alderman Clifford then saw former
City Counsel James r. Nugent in
the back row of the council cham
Der. He offered a motion to allow
Mr.. Nugent the privilege of the floor.
This was unanimously adopted. Amid
applause Mr.. Nugent thanked the
members for their courtesy.
So that everything would be posi-
tive, Alderman Clifford moved that
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