Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-01-13
STATE OF NEW JERSEY,
Executive Department.
Trenton, January 18th. 1920.

Executive Department.
Trenton, January 18th. 1920.
To the Legislature.
While the views n recommends
lions Of an incoming Executive are Of
much more interest and Importance
and rightly so, than those Of one who
is about to leave his Office, l believe
1t will not be taken amiss IL DIT this
time i make such remarks and rec
omme ndations as seem to me pcrtin-
ent for the consideration of yourselves
during the session now about to open.
That ours is u great and heavy re-
s~ponsibfltty is cogni2 by all. Sc
many problems are pressing for solu-
ton ana conditions are so unsettled
that it behooves us all to proceed with
caution and yet with steadfastness
and hrmness Of purpose.
Taxation.
The subject of aXation Is, of course,
of prime importance, as 1t has always
been. The Commission appointed
during the early part of last year to
study taxation has given much time
and thought to the examination of this
vast subject and Will, 1 know, bring
forth recommendations we'll worth
you consideration. While 1t does not
seem advisable to me to recommend
at this time any general legislation in
advance of the Commissions report,
1t would seem that perhaps attention
might be given to the advisable ty Of
seeking some new sources of revenue,
and along this line / woul ask you to
take under advisement the proposition
of increasing license fees upon motor
trucks and a mineral tax. And I
would also counsel consideration Of
the proposition to hold forth the
greatest possible inducement TO naan
u~facturers along the lines of exempt
ing, In whole or in part, the tax upon
factories and machinery. This line of
legislation has been adopted In some
of our neighboring states and l feel
that New Jersey must offer induce
ments fully as great as any of the
other states.
Liquor Legislation.
In speaking briefly upon the sub
tect of legislation affecting the liquor
traffic I desire to be understood, not
as making any recommendations from
a wet or a dry standpoint, but with a
due regard only for the reputation and
fair name of the State. It seems to
me, in view OF the fact that there are
not wanting agencies which are taking
ell possible steps to gain q decision
from the United States Supreme Court
regarding the validity of the Eighteenth
Amendment, that 1t would be mad
visable for New Jersey to undertake
any legislation in the meantime which
might be interpreted as attempted
notification of the Fedora Constitu-
lions PROVISIONS. Onul the aIlclu-
ment In question shall be finally
passed upon it must be regarded as
the absolute law of the land and The
plain intent n purport of It's Ian
guage should be held by all in the
Same veneration as accorded any
other section Of the Constitution. Let
New Jersey take no step until her
right so to do along constitutional
lines shall be fully determined.
Woman Suffrage.
1t seems extremely probable that
the ratification OF the Nineteenth
Amendment, according suffrage to
women will pass at his session. I
am glad that such is the case and trust
that nothing may stan in the way of
attainment of this end, A great many
of us who doubted formerly the adj
Visibility of this step have, through
the agenVies and lessons of the war,
come to \he conclusion that there is
no logical reason or excuse lett 10
deny this privilege 20 the women OF
our State. Especially are we urged
to this conclusion by reason of the
fact that legislative action in both
New York and Pennsylvania has ia
vored his condition and that New Jer-
sey women are thus left In a position
distinctly inferior to that of their SIS
tiers in New York and Pennsylvania.
1 trust that action upon this question
may be both PROMPT and emphatic.
Sabbath Observance.
Concerning my recommendations
upon this subject I want to say that
to my mind the STRONGEST argument
against legislation looking to The
breaking down of the so-ca led Amer
lean Sabbath Is the fact that those
agencies which are bent most Vigor-
ously upon the leStru3tio1 of our
American Institutions ard ideals are
the most Goddess ones. They refuse
to recognize the existence of a SUI
preme Being and therefore any legis-
iation accommodating the surrender OF
the American Sabbath must be taken
as a compromise with these forces.
I recognize full we'll that it is not
our part to dictate the beliefs or ac'
tions Of our fellow citizens. but The
great moral obligation at this time is
to defend our American institutions
as they have existed from the begin
ming, against those who would shat
ter and tear them down. For that
reason I hope that any LEGISLATION
looking to the doing away of the pro-
lection heretofore GRANTED the Sab
bath may be defeated.
Prohtccrs.
New Jersey, unfortunately, has her
prohteers and that they should be de-
tented and driven out is a most desir-
able end. Present day conditions are
hard enough to meet. without the
added burdens imposed by those
whose insatiate greed has made the
problem of SUSTAINING life and any de-
gree Of creature comfort a most diff
cult one. I would therefore recon-
mend legislation forbidding the prac-
tice In general and as incident there
to, providing in case of proven guilty
for the conspicuous pubic advertise
ment OF the name and offense of the
one so charged: I believe the enact
ment of such legislation would of it
self go far toward discouraging this
nefarious practice.
Rent ana Housing Conditions
In our big centers Of population the
problem OF housing is Of very serious
import. and much suffering has al
ready been o~ccasioned by reason Of
the lack of h~abitations. the tremen-
dollsly high cost of holdingsupon-ha
dous'y high cost of building opera-
tions and the merciless demands OF
many landlords. In the first place, /
recommend the enactment Of such
new landlord and tenant laws as Will
give ma istrates more discretion than
fhey at present have in preserving
the rights Of honest tenants against
the rapacious demands of speculative
and trickster landlords. Secondly, 1
would urge upon building and loan
associations as liberal a policy to-
ward prospective home builders and
owners as is consistent with safety,