Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1919-01-24

ing of Cape May County's Board OF
Chosen FreehoIders was held on Tues
day last, January 21st, in their regular
meeting place on second floor of the
court house building at Cape May
Court House.
Apparently designing to "make hay
while the sun shines" Director Ruth
erford got into action early and raped
for order with his attractive gavel made
of flemish OAK, full five minutes before
IL a. M, by the hands of the trusty
county clock. On roll-call, only eleven
freehoIders answered to their names,
three absentees being noted as follows:
Otto Koeneke and Augustus Hilton of
Wildwood, and John r.. Groves OF
Ocean City. Expressed i'll commercial
terms, it was a IS per cent. meeting.
The minutes of the previous meeting
on January>7th, were read rapidly yet
distinctly, and promptly approved as
read.
When the chairman OF the commit
tee on jails was asked to report, j.. p.
McKissic arose and with an air of pride
informed his colleagues that "the Jail
was clean'-not a solitary prisoner
tsleft to tell the taIe.p Mr.. McKissic
informed an inquirer that the last pris-
oner was forcibIy elected on Tuesday,
January 18th. He was "taken from the
county jail" thrust into an automobile,
driven beyond the county line, dumped
out there and ordered ''never dare to
come back again" This prisoner had
been incarcerated on technical charge
of vagrancy, and evidently found Keep
er Lewis Smiths prison fare SO good and
plentiful that all offers of money and
tickets for him to leave were spurned.
Captain Benefits and Joe McKissic's
resourceful minds devised the forcible
election plan as described. 1t has been
so long a time eince Cape May county's
Jail has been untenauted, that one
pauses to marvel at the change for the
better. May many, many days elapse
before its corridors shall again echo and
re-echo to the tread of culprit feet.
1t was exactly Ills when the 1919
appropriation budget was taken up and
q hearing given to any or all persons
desiring to discuss or criticise any of
the items of the big schedule. Aaron
w. Hand, county superintendent of
education, was the first protestant to
address the Board of Chosen Freehold
ers. He pleaded the cause of the coun-
ty vocational schools, and asked that
the appropriation therefor of $25OO be
increased TO $32O0-an advance of $3.50.
Whatever appropriation is made by
the county for the use of the vocational
schools, a like sum is appropriated by
the state. Last year, therefore, S5OOO
in all went to these schools. This year
they will receive $4,000, because the in
crease asked for by County Superin-
tendent Hand and others, was granted
and the appropriation budget so amen
ded as to take care of the increased de-
mand. No item of the budget a be
legally increased or decreased more
than 10 per cent, without necessitating
the Reimbursement of the whole bud
get. This fact was emphasized by the
clerk to the freeholders, Frank w.
Fowkes, and he pointed out how the
vocational school increase could be eff
fected. At his suggestion, the original
appropriation of $500 for the voca-
tional schools was increased ten per
cent, making 1850; and the contin-
gent fund appropriation of $4,000 was
also increased ten per cent, making
this item read S., 800. Taking this $500
increase to the contingent fund and
adding to it the 50, $50 vocational item,
totals So, $50, which sum was estimated
and fixed upon for 1919 by the county
COMMITTEES on estimates. This commit
tee met in May, 1918. 1t consisted OF
the following persons: Aaron Hand,
Judge Eldredge, a Mr.. Bayard, OF
Woodbine; and Freeholders Young,
Eustace and Koeneke. 1t vas unfor-
tunate for the tax payers that not one
freebooter attended this meeting in
1918, inasmuch as once the estimate
was made, the claim was then set up
that the passage of an appropriation
equal to the estimate because manda-
tory upon the Board of Chosen Free
holders. In 1917, $500 had been ask
ed far the use of the vocation school
scheme. MI. Young vas present at
that meeting, and succeeded in cutting
down the request $1,000. Thus only
$4,000 was appropriate in 1918. To boil
ster up his demands at last Tuesdays
meeting, Superintendent Hand had
quite an array of testators in his efforts