Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1918-11-29
DOings at the Wildwood
City Hall
The Journal Continues to Report the Public Proceed
ings. For Doing This Commissioner Ryan
Would Have Somebody Clear Out the
Journal Plant" Is Ryan an Anarchist?

they call their transactions-"trash?'
And they said it. was "hurting the
CITY," If that be so, then isn't it time
that the people demand officials who
will so conduct their offices that the
city won't be hurt by a report Of their
deliberations and transactions. What
"hurts a town. most of all is unnec-
essary and excessive taxation, I'M
equally distributed and inflated assess
ments and reckless extravaganza In
the administration of public affairs.
That's what "hurts a town." and the
surest way of all to kill a town is to
"tax 1t to DEATH" Paid Board Of
Trade Managing Secretary w.
COPYRIGHT Smith was present when
the attack was made on the JOURNAL,
contributing his share to the onslaught.
SGT to Brute!" He took a decided
stand with the Mayor, Ryan and Kay
in their bitter criticisms of the JOURN-
Ais accounts Of city hall matters.
This was a great disappointment to
the JOURNAL. Having been a news
paper man himself at one time, we
had hoped hat Mr.. Smith would stand
up at all hazards, for the freedom OF
speech and of the press-those vital
constitutional guarantees essential to
the continuance of u liberty and our
welfare. When a yelled threat was
made after hat meeting, by the finance
commissioner, to deny the JOURNAL
reporter further access to the meetings,
If these publications continued in kind,
the limit seemed to be reached; and
the reporter became alarmed when
Ryan said sit is a wonder hal some Of
the people in Wildwood don't make
up their minds to tear out the JOURNAL
establishment" "Do you mean tear
down the JOURNAL building" de-
manded the reporter? "That would be
anarchy" he declared. "No! not tear
down the JOURNAL building" an
swered Mr.. Ryan; "but tear out the
place." whatever such a threat may
mean. The JOURNAL regrets the ne
cessity of reporting such language to
the citizens and taxpayers of Wild
wood; but it is a matter of public in
%terest, and the voters have a right to
know it.
How long are the citizens of Wild
wood going to tolerate such autocratic
demonstrations as this? Where does
government of the people, by the peo-
pie and for the people" come in, if
such defiance like this is to go unchal-
lenged. This attack on the Five Mile
Beach JOURNAL at last Wednesdays
meeting by the four men mentioned,
is similar in many respects to the vio-
lent attack made last summer in the
Board of Trade room on the boardwalk
by J. Fithian Tatem on both the Wild
wood JOURNAL" and the Philadel-
phia "North American" In fact, the
JOURNAL has been attacked so many
times and by so many persons in the
past few years, that 1t now proposes to
defend itself; and asks the aid and CO.
operation of all taxpayers and citizens
who believe in American principles,
including those inalienable rights of
free speech and a free, u~nshackled
press. What right has any city official
to suggest that a citizen might be bar
red from attendance at the commits
sioners' meetings, if the reports OF the
meetings continued, as they have been.