Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1916-03-24
Especial Correspondence

Ing county TAX boards. The bill pro
yides for a board of three members, to
be called a board of equalization. II
would have three members, a chairman
selected under civil service and paid by
the state and two other members ap.
pointed by the governor, whose salaries
would be paid by the counties. The
salaries for all three of the members
of the board would be regulated by the
size of the counties.
The two side members would sit only
when cases were on appeal, and they
would be of different political parties.
1t is claimed that the measure will
save the state 100000 and the counties
about $4,000. The Democrats present
ed a solid opposition to the measure.
The senate passed the Gaunt road bills.
They provide for a complete reorgani-
cation of the road department, with a
central governing board, an engineer
and an assistant engineer.
The state would be divided into dis
tricts, and there would be representa-
tives from each district. Senator Hen
messy of Bergen objected strenuously
to that provision i'm the bill which
would allow boards of freeholders in
asking for bids to have closed specifi-
cations. He said that much corruption
might arise through this provision, by
allowing certain patented road mate
rails to be specified when bids were
asked for.
The senate has passed wei the gov
ernor's veto Senator Hutchinson's res
olution authorizing the appointment of
a commission to codify and revise the
election laws, with a report II the next
legislature. A resolution by Senator
Egan of Hudson, calling for an investi-
cation into the question of fire insur-
ance rates, was passed.
Herrick's Bill Passes.
1t recites the fact that under the
present laws competition has virtually
ceased among the insurance companies
and the people using fire insurance are
the sufferers. The senate passed a bill
by Assemblyman Herrick Of Warren
county which allows the state to give
to counties the sum of $1,000 annually.
If applied for before July 4, for use in
preliminary road construction.
If any county has not applied for it's
share of the appropriation before the
18th of July its share of the money may
be devoted to work in a county which
has made application. The senate
passed a bill by Assemblyman Gilbert
allowing the commissioner of roads to
accept federal aid in road building.
Another measure by Assemblyman
Johnson, which was passed, fixes a
uniform fee of So for all drivers IL
censes instead of the present graded
rates.
The other measure passed over the
governors veto was the Schoen bill
fixing the date of the primaries for del
egates to the national conventions as
the fourth Tuesday in April. The gov
objected to that section Of the
bill which provided that any one nomi-
mated by petition to run at the presi-
dental primaries must withdraw be-
fore April 6 or his name would go on
the ballot for the primaries. The vote
passing this measure over the veto was
80 to 10.
There was very little debate on this
bill, but when the labor department
bill was up Assemblyman Godfrey of
Atlantic accused the governor of in
consistency in his objection to retain
ing Commissioner Bryant at a salary
of $4,000. Godfrey claimed that when
the measure increasing Bryant's salary
from $1,000 to $4,000 was passed in
1912 Governor Fielder, who was then
in the senate, voted for it. Minority
Leader Geran and Assemblyman Simp-
son of Hudson, Democrats, attacked
the overriding of the governors veto.
They claimed that the bill was put
ting too much power in the hands of
n man and that it was contrary to
the ideas Of the economy and efficiency
commission, who had recommended the
government of departments by boards.
They also claimed that it violated the
spirit of the constitution in taking
away from the governor the power to
appoint a successor to Bryant.
Governor Signs Bills.
The governor signed senate bill 14S.
by Mr.. Smalley, authorizing the gov
erning body of any municipality to pay
to the widow or other dependents Of
any member Of the governing body
who lost his life or was injured in the
performance of municipal duty a sum
not to exceed $500. The governor has
also signed Senator Hennessy's bill
amending the borough act by providing
that the consent of more than one-half
of the property owners shall be neces-
sary before any street can be i'm
proved.
At a hearing on Assemblyman Ran
dall's bill permitting the Morris bank
ing plan to be operated in the state
there was much dispute as to the rates
Of interest that could be charged under