The Monmouth inquirer., 1924-10-02
CAN'T TELL NAME
OF Their OWN CITY
Although Consolidation of West
Hoboken and Union Hill Was
Upheld They're Still Separate.
PLIGHT OF 10000 JERSEYITEs
Court Is Asked to Force Name on It.
Officials of Each Place to Be Or
dered to Show Cause Why They
Are Not in Contempt.

Trenton. - About 10000 persons
along the Hudson, in North Jersey,
don't know where they live. OF
course they can all find their way
home at night, but any one of them
would have hard time telling where
that home is They are not blind nor
dumb. They live in city that has
no name.
For nearly six months since March
town officials have been trying
10 name that city, which was formed
by the consolidation referendum of
West Hoboken and Union Hill. So
far the town councils of the two
places have been unable to agree on
name and as a result there are still
two town governments functioning
within one city.
There is, however, a plan in the
minds OF the men who fostered the
consolidation, and within the next few
months the city may be forced to form
a single government whether it has
a name or not. This plan is the out
growth of action, or rather the mac
ton of the two town councils Re-
Gently, for the seventh time, the two
bodies met with the avowed purpose
of naming the new city. For the sew
enth time they went away without
having selected name. Each meet
ing of the two bodies has been much
the same.
Farce Played Seven Times.
The curtain was rung up on each
occasion as mayor and five coun-
cilmen from each town took their
seats in one or the other town hall.
Each performance began with pro-
1ogue by one OF the mayors, telling
the purpose Of the meeting. The first
act began as motions for name we're
called
AS the motions were put in order
serious hammered councilman
brought himself to a standing posi-
ton. And here the romance entered
into the plot. Drawing pretty pic
ture of the sentiment that clogged
the memory of the name West Hobo
ken he grave1y offered that as the
name of the new city. The motion
was seconded and put to the vote.
Five councilmen from West Hoboken
were for it, five from Union Hill
were against It,
The second act was much like the
first, with the exception of the fact
that the name submitted was Union
Hill, around which as many pleasant
memories were gathered. This sug-
gestion, too, was met by tie vote.
But each time, when the curtain
should have gone up on the last act,
the players forgot their lines. There
were no more suggestions Not one
man thought of drawing on his imag-
nation for a name. And so they
kicked the old oaken bucket and went
home
Seven times this farce was played,
the last time to an audience of four
The size of the house might indicate
that the show was not a paying prop
osition, but the patriotic councilmen
apparently do not think so, for they
continue to hold their positions in the
cast.
Court Asked to Act
There have been few asides in the
farce from time to time, when the
North Hudson Consolidation League,
which is attempting to get the new
city in running order, took hand in
the proceedings. 1t is in one of these
asides that the men seeking actual
consolidation as well as the rumor of
1t are basing their hopes to end the
deadlock. By an order returnable in
the Supreme Court at Trenton the
league has called upon the council
men to show cause why they should
not be held in contempt of court for
refusing to name the city, as they
were ordered to do some months ago.
This order is returnable in October.
Two other plans for bringing the
combined city to function are to be
tried. One is the introduction of a
bill In the next legislature to Dust the
present city officials and give the new
city a charter and name at the
same time. The other, the most re-
cent, is to ask for a charter for the
city without giving 1t name, and to
leave the selection Of a name to the
voter at the first municipal election.
But whether the Supreme Court or
ders the councilmen to find name.
or whether some other means is
tried, there are now 10000 persons in
New Jersey who do not know where
they live.
469 Miles of Best Paving.
With the completion of this years
construction program the twenty
routes comprising the state highway
eystem will have 469 miles of the
highest type Of modern highway paw
ing. The present commission, func-
tioning about a year and half, will
have added 229 miles of concrete sur
facing to the total, including eighty
seven miles under contract when the
board took office.
Exclusive OF bridges, the commits
sion contracted for about seventy-one
miles of concrete in 1928, costing $5,-
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