Palisadian. [volume] (Cliffside Park, N.J.) 1906-current, 1915-01-23
Hennessy's Appropriation Committee.
Says State Has Been Hard Hit.
Roadways of New Jersey Built At Cost Largely Out Oh
Proportion TO Real Value, And County Engineers
to Blame for Present Condition.


Senator Charles O'Connor Hennes-
sy and his Appropriations Committee
let loose a bomb that rang through
New Jersey from end to end. In ex-
PLANTATION of the report, Chairman of
the Committee said:
LaboriOus Report.
"The report is the result of patient
consideration by all the members of
the committee excepting Senator
Munson, who did not hear the testi-
mony, being unable to attend any of
the meetings. To meet the view of
the different members of the commit
tee some changes and notifications
were made in the findings of the COM
mittee as originally drafted.
''The report in it's general form ex-
presses the agreement of every mem
Der of the committee, excepting Sen
ator MunsOn, to whom it has not been
submitted. One member, however
Mr.. Richards, has expressed disse: .
from the recommendation as be 1g
not sufficiently specific. Bills WI
be introduced hereafter to give effect
to the recommendation that have
been made"
In beginning its report the COM
mittee says:
Department Cost Increasing.
"The committee was led to make
particular investigation of the finan-
cial needs of the State Road Depart
partment leads all the other expend-
itures, exclusive of the salaries and
other Incidental expenses OF maintain
ing the department have increased
steadily during recent years"
Million and a Half.
The committee then goes into de-
tail as to the money received and ex-
pended by this department, and says:
"For the year ending October 81,
1912, the department received $S01,-
1856 in direct appropriations and mo-
tor vehicle fees. For the next year
the total was $1,171,622 For the
year ending October 81, last, the to-
tai has risen to $1,247,825. Of this
amount over 100000 came from the
motor vehicle department and $175,-
600 was received. For 1914-15 $685.
900 was appropriated for State aid
in road building, besides 100000 for
the convict labor account, and it is
estimated that the motor vehicle fees
for the year will approximate $780,
900.
The committee then says it be-
lieves the system of handling the
States money by this department is
wasteful, expressing its belief in
these words:
System is Wasteful
"The trend of the voluminous tes-
timony taken by the committee indi-
Gates clearly, we regret to say, that
the system under which the vast sum
of money is expended annually is
wasteful and inefficient. But in the
mass of testimony taken there is
enough that is undisputed to show
that conditions are very bad and re-
form very much needed"
Col. Stevens Honest.
Continuing the committee says
| rbat II docirac II ,,nJorc+ooJ +b,+ no
question of the integrity of Col. Ed
win A. Stevens, Commissioner of
Roads, has been raised by anyone.
Attention is called to the activities
of certain county engineers in behalf
of certain kinds of patented paving
in succeeding paragraph of the re-
port, which says:
Patent Stuff Costly.
'In some of the counties, where
automobile traffic is very heavy,
great sums have been expended for
the bituminous concrete type of pave
ment, which includes products known
as amecite, warrenite and bitulithic;
there is strong evidence that certain
county engineers have favored the
patented pavements, with the result
of imposing considerable unneces-
sary expense upon the taxpayers.
"The unpatented bituminous con-
crete pavement of the so-called To-
peka type, as was shown by the testi-
mony, is as good as the patented ar
ticle and can be built for much less
money. Commissioner Stevens APP
pears to have constantly contender
for an open specification under which