Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-03-08
SAY LOBBYIST
MOST ACTIVE
Secretary for the Undertakers
Personally Engineers Pas
sage of Legislation

TRENTON, March 8.-One of the
most brazen pieces of lobbying seen
on the floor of the House of Assem-
bly, in many a day was witnessed
yesterday afternoon when John z.
Martin, of Elizabeth, secretary of the
State Board of Undertakers and En-
balmers, personally engineered the
maneuvers for the passage by that
body of Senate Bill 54, which, If it
becomes a law through the signature
of Governor Silzer, will require that
all persons in the future desiring to
obtain licenses to be undertakers in
this state must be high school gradu-
ates or have equivalent educational
qualifications.
The bill was introduced by Senator
Pierson, of Union, at the behest of
Martin and after several attempts
twelve out of the twenty-one sena-
tors were finally induced to support
it. 1t came over to the House of
Assembly where some of the most
effective pulling and hauling upon
House members to vote for it and a
companion measure has been in
progress for the past two weeks.
In fact so effective was the efforts
of the "Undertaker Trust that As
semblyman Heulings Coles, Repub-
lican, OF Camden county, chairman
of the House Committee on Public
Health, to whom it had been antici-
pated that the bill would be referred,
had already pledged himself to re-
port it out. although he had not yet
received the measure and admitted
he had not seen its provisions.
The effort of this proposed law is
that 1t will limit the number of per-
sons in the state who may enter this
business. In other words the legis-
lature of New Jersey was yesterday
used to advance the personal profit
of a number of undertakers who did
not want more competitors in their
business.
Martin, who has been here for
several sessions working to have this
high school bill made law, occu-
pied a seat on the floor of the House
of Assembly most of yesterday aft
ernoon, sitting beside Assemblyman
Pascoe, of the Union county delega-
ton, when Senator Pierson looked 10
in the House to speak for the bill.
Acting Speaker Rowland, of Cam
den. who was serving in the absence
of Speaker Evans, of Passaic, who is
i'll, was adverse to putting the bill on
the desk for final passage because
he did not favor its provisions.
It is customary when lobbyists
have bills they are interested in to
work for their passage in the lobbles
of the assembly. But Martin was
seen during the course of the after
noon to walk down the center aisle
of the House to the rostrum to speak
in behalf of the bill he wanted to
the acting speaker.
1t is seldom that such open at
tempts to influence legislation as this
is witnessed. Had representative
of the Anti-Saloon League. the Pub
lie Service Corporation, the Jitney-
mems Association, the supporters OF
the water bills for North Jersey or
any other lobbyist had the temerity
shown by Martin yesterday after
noon, he would probably have been
expelled from the floor of the as
sembly and been excoriated.
At the beginning of the present
session for instance, Assemblyman
Hershfield, of Passaic, had adopted
a resolution, calling upon the House
to keep all lobbyists off the floor. Let
yesterday, oddly enough, it was Mr:
Hershfield who materially aided
Martin in having senate bill NO. "a
passed.
Failing to move Acting Speaker
Rowland, Martin was seen to make
a trip to the office of State Trea-
surer William T. Read in an effort to
induce the latter to influence his
Camden colleague, Rowland, to act.
Mr.. Read had gone for the day.
Returning to the House of assem-
bly,, the secretary for the undertaken
board resumed his seat beside Mr..
Pascoe on the floor and witnessed
the speakers secretary remove all
the bills from the desk and carry
them into the speakers private OF
fee, Senate 81 included. Meantime
Martin had been conversing with Mr'
Hershfield, who was acting majority
leader in the absence of Assembly
man Corio, of Atlantic. The acting
leader went into the speakers PRIV
ate office and shortly thereafter In
went Martin, too. When they came
out Hershfield carried the bill Mar
tin wanted and walked over to the
speakers desk presented it smiling
ly to Rowland. The latter, VINO hao
withstood pressure most of the att
ernoon, finally yielded and the bill
was given a. roll call. The hour or
adjournment a was near, many mem
hers had gone, in fact 1t was ques-
toned later whether a quorum was
present, Pascoe failed to state the
true character of the measure, simp-
Iv saving it raised the educational
standards for undertakerS and the
clerks desk recorded that 1t had re-
ceived Al votes in the affirmative
and none in the negative, although a
minute examination of the roll
showed only Sc in the affirmative.
It was sufficient in any event for the
passage of the measure in the op1n-
ion of it's supporters and Martin LETT
the chamber of the House imme-
1Alx