Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1921-09-30
SECOND WEEK OF CAPE MAY COUNTY
BOARD OF FREEHOLDERS' TRIALS
Josepb P. MacKissic Convicted, Being Charged With Spend.
ine County Funds on Nummytown Road, Which
Was Not a County Road
WILDWOOD CREST ROAD NOW ON TRIAL

The second week of the trials OF the
members of the Cape May County
Board of Freeholders and others COM
menced at the county seat before
County Judge Henry H. Eldredge on
Wednesday morning. The usual ar
ray of legal talent was on hand, as
was also Prosecutor Eugene Z. Cole
and Assistant Attorney General Will
liam Newcorn, who are pressing n
cases for the state. Joseph P. Mackls-
sic. of Lower township and Wildwood
Crest, was put on trial charged with
c~orruptly paying out county money on
the Nummytown road, otherwise called
the Green Splinter road, running from
the Green Creek road, a half mile or
so from the wildwood water works,
southwark a mile or so toward
Cape May to connect with another
road. When the State opened the case
there was the usual sparring between
counsel. Lawyer Bacon complained
that he had been refused a bill OF par
LlCuldI Ill lnlO CoOO Ny Wis
The latter replied that no information
had been denied the defendants, but
that he could not reveal the evidence
procured by the state. MI. Newcorn
said that MacKissic was charged with
violating Section 169 of the Crimes Act
in expending $500 or more on this
private lane," as Lawyer Newcorn
called it. Mr.. Bacon attacked the in
dictment in the usual way and asked
Judge Eldredge to quash the indict-
ment. This Judge Eldredge refused to
do and ordered Sheriff Tomlin to call
the jury. After challenging about a
dozen of the jurors called the jury
was finally made up as follows:
The Jury
George Sayre, farmer, Clermont;
Samuel Oliver, electrician, West Cape
May; William Stuart Thompson, far
mer, Goshen; John B. Mcpherson,
butcher, Cold Spring; Fred Balm
bridge, retired, Beesley's Point; Alon-
20 Brosius, farmer, South Dennis;
Oscar Huebner, musician, Wildwood;
Richard B. Sites, president of the
Ocean City First National Bank;
Charles Soffe, paperhanger, Pierces;
Mark B. Reeves, builder, Wildwood;
Larry Peterson, Waterman, South Den
mis-; Edgar ]. Welsch, contractor, Mar
mora.
The first witness c;Eled was James
Fisher. Lived at Rio Grande and
worked on road in question, hauling
cinders. who gave you orders to
haul cinders on this road" asked Mr.,
Newcorn. Answer: "Mr. MacKissic
I'suppose." The answers of the witness
were so indefinite and evasive that
Judge Eldredge r~eprimanded him
sharply two or three times and or
dered Fisher to answer the questions
of Prosecutor Newcorn without evas-
ion. Fisher then admitted that Mac
Kissic hired him. During some of the
reluctant answers Lawyer Newcorn
exclaimed to the witness: Don't look
at MacKissic; look at me when an
swering my questions" Harry l..
Adams was called as a witness. Lived
at Erma, and MacKissic employed him
to haul cinders on the road at SIS
per day. Monroe Hand, another wit
ness, seemed to be somewhat reluct-
ant to answer questions and was not
quite sur of anything. When asked
what his vocation was, Mr.. Hand re-
piled that he was a preacher and
farmed to pay expenses" Charles
Crosse was another witness called. A
tall spare man with a black mustache.
Lawyer Newcorn failed to get any in
formation from him. Crosse was very
frank and said he didn't know any
thing about the road and didn't want
to know. County Engineer L. M. Rice
was called and testified that the road
in question was not a county road.
He read from a record book furnished
him that it was a very old road, hav-
ing been laid out in 1888 by the sur
veyors of the highway. At 11.30 Judge
Eldredge adjourned court until 100,
announcing that during the recess he
had a number of minor court matters
to be heard.
Wednesday Afternoon
The first witness after dinner was
Harry Fisher, who told of being en-
ployed on the road by his father, the
first witness called on the case, and
paid by him. Dennis Fisher and
William Kimball testified to working
on the road, and Clerk Irving Fitch
was called to produce bills and checks
paid to the workmen. DR.. Wilson A.
Lake, a Lower township physician,
testified to the poor condition of this
road, said he could not get to his pa
in these days of the automobile
and asked that it be kept UP. The
witness put on the stand was Lin
wood Halbruner, a member of the
township committee, who said