Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1921-02-25
County Chamber of Com
merce Listens to Senator
Mackay and Acts on
Road Bills

Inc last meeting OF the Cape May
county Chamber of Commerce was
h7ld at Seaville on Thursday evening,
February 18th. 1t was very well at
tended and the grange hall would not
mold the people. Senator Maekay was
introduced by President Ogden. The
Senator said it was the first time he
had ever spoken before a Cape Nav
county audieu ce. He told about the
method of passing bills at Trenton and
touched also upon writs of certiorari,
explaining what they were. He said
that a lawyer was better fitted to be a
legislator than a layman, for the reason
That when such words as "certiorari"
appeared in bills the layman would
not understand what they meant. The
Senator might be told that there are
some laymen in Wildwood who know
something about the word. The up
Jersey Senator gave All interesting ad-
dress, at the close of which there was
music and a most complete lunch. One
OF the matters considered by the Cham
Der were the state highway bills nov
before the Legislature. Mr.. Ogden ex-
planned them in a brief way and the
meeting voted 10 endorse them, al
though it las evidentthat very few I'M
derstood the bills.
Senator Parry, of Essex county,
stands sponsor for these bills, which
bave the avowed purpose of forcing all
government bodies granting contracts
for pavement of highways to advertise
''open specifications" At a recent
session of the State Chamber Of Com.
merce, in Newark, these bills came up
for discussion, Senator Parry being
present. Job Lippincott, an official Of
Warren Bros. Co., was also present.
The patent pavement, "Warrenite,"
has been said to have been favored in
so-called closed specifications advertised
by county Boards OF Freeholders.
Senator Parry said: "This bill is simply
to give the people a chance to get a
road that is just as good as the patent
road for the anne or a lower price. 1t
is to compel county bodies to do what
they should have been doing all along
advertise opeu specifications" Mr..
Lippincott retorted: 81 hear a whole
lot about open and closed specifications
and just as good and equally suitable
there is no such thing. L admit War
reDite has been backed by propaganda,
every com pany uses pr paganda to
push its product, but The trouble is now
that some other company with a
stronger propaganda. than ours is trying
to drive Us out under the guise of a
campaign for so-called open specifca-
tons. [ claim .that any law that ex-
cludes any producing company from
entering bidding competition provides
closed specifications. Why don't you
put all pavements on the same basis.
Don't exclude patent pavements by
placing them in a separate class and
drive them out by forcing them to en-
ter o mpetition with cheaper materials
that cannot serve the purpose for which
they are made"
"What you want is the old scheme
of choosing one material for roads as
provided III the old law" s.id Senator
Parry.
"But your bill does not give the
governing bodies any discretion In the
choice Of the materialfor their roads
They must accept that Of the lowest
b,dder-the cheapest, whether it is best
fitted for their purpose or not. DON'T
you believe that the boards should have
some discretion ?" Mr.. Lippincott
a-ked.
mo" replied Senator Parry; latter
nv experience with some Boards Of
F eeholders in Essex county"
The State Chamber Of Commerce
will take a referendum Die of it's menu
bers on the road bills, to ascertain
whether it shall oppose or favor them.
-OGO-