Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-03-01

alone Tor the rejection of the bill.
ut least until the governor had been
| heard from.
Majority Leader Stevens of Mon
mouth, defending the measure, de-
clared the bill would preserve the
| federal aid funds for New Jersey
! roads of the state, because of the
way in which it was drawn with re-
gard to patented paving materials
He declared the bill was the carry
| ing out of a Republican platform
| pledge.
1--WE will drive out of New Jersey
all talk about fraud in the letting
of contracts declared Senator
Stevens.
Theaction of Senator Pierson OF
! Union, in seconding the Mathis
amendment to the measure and in
defending on the floor Of the senate
1.-THE whole bill, whom he himself had
an open specifications bill in the
upper House, Senator Simpson as
serted:
"The senator from Union publicly
charged sometime ago that the pat
euted paving interests drew this bill;
what puzzles me is the eleventh.
n our conversion of the senator from
| Union.''
II have no hesitancy in saying"
retorted Pierson, that L heartily
support this bill. II is in better Ian
guage. more easily understood than
my bill. and 1 believe it will accom-
plish all I hoped to-
The charges and counter charges
were flying thick and fast, and the
session looked as if it might end
merely in wordy recriminations be-
tween Republicans and Democrats,
L. AIoX XINs
serted that so far as he knew no
patent interest hal seen the bill and
that his only object was to safe
guard the states money.
'Have the minority members had
conference with the governor on
open specifications" queried Senator
Case, of Somerset, of Senator Simp-
son.
Yes replied the latter.
''What is his position?' inquired
Case.
1--WE could tell the senate what the
governor thinks, but we feel it's dis
courteous declared Simpson; "if
the senate will not listen to the gov
ernor it certainly will not listen to
u.s."
After few desultory remarks
further, a vote on the bill was taken
and it passed Is to /, thus accom-
pIishing the Republican senate's ap-
parent purpose, that of forestalling
the governor on open specifications
legislation.
The vote on the measure was as
follows: For the measure. all the
Republicans present, including Sena-
tors Allen, of Salem; Blackwell, Mer-
Ger; Bright, Cape May; Case, Somer-
set: Larson, Middlesex; Mackay,
Bergen; Mathis, Ocean; Parry, Es-
sex; Pierson, Union; Richards, At
lantic; Roberts, Burlington; Smith,
Passaic; Stevens, Monmouth; Wall
worth, Camden; Whitney, Morris.
Against the bill: Senator Simpson,
Democrat, of Hudson.
Not voting: Senators Agans, Dem
ocrat, of Hunterdon, and Barber,
Democrat, of Warren.
Absent: Senators FODDER of Glou-
cester and Reeves of Cumberland,
Republicans, and Senator kayS, of
Sussex, Democrat.
The sudden passage of an open
specifications bill and the surprising
unanimity of the Republican sena-
tors on its enactment is being vari-
ously interpreted Lere at the state
house. The first reason hit upon, in
view of the fact that the passage of
the measure came Immediately after
the governor had announced he had
something he wished to say on the
subject, was that the Republican
legislators wished to "steal the thun-
der" of Silzer and to forestall him in
the first move on the Question.
Another reason ascribed yesterday
to the senate's action ON the bill was
60 J,o 20
majority has been given some rather
unpleasant notoriety recently, be-
cause of it's marking time' on the
question of the confirmation of the
road board, the appointments to
which Silzer sent to the senate sew
eral weeks ago, and the Republicans
in the senate wish to show at least
that they have done something to-
ward solving the important problems
confronting them, and which have
been held up waiting upon the solu-
ton of the highway tangle. So far,
the only piece of legislation of out
standing importance which the SEN
ate has enacted has been the mo
night work for women" bill. The
open specifications bill just passed,
will, it is thought in some quarters
here, serve to divert attention from
the fact that the legislature is prac-
tically at a standstill as far as i'm
portant legislation is concerned.
Senator simpsons charge that the
patent paving combine was interest
ed in the passage of the committee
substitute for the Mathis bill, is ex-
planned by the statement that the
bill is a loosely drawn and a mild
one, and it is said thai to prevent the
passage of an open specifications
bill armed with more formidable
teeth, the present bill was supported
by them.
Shortly after the enactment by the
senate of the Mathis bill the joint
session of the legislature met, and
were addressed by Governor SilZer
with regard to his views on the sub
ject of open specifications legislation.
Assembly Business
Notwithstanding the veto, of Gov
ernor Silzer, the House yesterday
passed Senator AIackay's
bill establishing election bureaus in
and Essex counties, the
OF which are to be
elected by the legislature. The
measure has already been passed
over the governors veto by the SEN
ate and now a law.
AS was the case when the bill
came before the House,
the Democratic leader, George, of
waged an attack against its
tassage, but as the votes had been
collected at conference of the Re-
publicans ten minutes before, his
remarks were of no vail. The vote
was 39 to 13.
The House also passed a measure |