Job Against Jamaica

New York, 1895

GEORGE WALLACE MEDDLING WITH BILLS BEFORE THE LEGISLATURE.

Making Alterations in Bills to Please Himself and Boss Young's and Keeping the Supervisors in Ignorance — Messrs. Koehler and Everitt Made a Lucky Discovery — General Albany News.

(Special Correspondence of the Farmer.)

ALBANY, March 14.

Supervisors Koehler and Everitt of Queens county have been here looking after the bills relating to their bailiwick. It was a fortunate thing that they came here. George Wallace, who says he is counsel to the board of Supervisors of Queens county, has been here several times, and he seems to have taken upon himself the responsibility of making amendments to bills and keeping the fact a secret from the Supervisors. Boss Youngs has also had a hand in the business. The twain evidently want legislation to go their way instead of the way the Supervisors and the people want it. Keeping the Supervisors in ignorance of these things looks bad.

The Supervisors put Mr. Wallace in a bad position by denying that he had any authority to represent them at Albany at all. The board had not given him any such power, and the position of counsel to the board gives him no authority to go junketing to Albany at the people's expense.

Supervisor Everitt made the interesting discovery that Counselor Wallace had prepared a bill as a substitute for the bill amending the county road act, which the board of Supervisors had indorsed. This was an outrageous assumption of power. If Wallace's bill were passed, Jamaica would be in the position of having to share the burdens of the county road system without receiving corresponding benefit. Supervisor Everitt was very indignant. It looks like a job to hurt Jamaica and he needs to find out what right George Wallace has to tinker with bills the board has approved.

The assessors bill has been favorably reported by the committee on Internal Affairs, and the prospect is that if it is followed up it will become a law.

The county road act is still in committee of the senate and unless the Board of Supervisors push it, the chance of its becoming a law are very slight, mainly through the interference and folly of George Wallace.

The Senate passed Senator Childs' bill exempting real property from taxation belonging to the exempt Fireman's association of Long Island City.

The Assembly passed Senator Childs' bill extending for 30 years the charter of the Glen Cove Mutual Insurance company.

Mr. Vacheron has presented a bill appropriating $15,000 for the state agricultural experiment station on Long Island for the ensuing year.

Assemblyman Fairchild's bill to permit Flushing to raise money by tax for hospital purposes has passed both houses and gone to the governor.

Mr. Higbie's bill to authorize the village of Greenport to buy the works of the Greenport water company is on the governor's table and will undoubtedly receive executive approval.

The Raines ballot reform bill, so-called, which has the approval of Boss Platt and embodies his valuable views on the subject of ballot reform, will undoubtedly be passed in substantially the form in which it was introduced. One feature of this bill which has been little commented upon, but which should be brought to the attertion of all citizens, and especially those in rural localities, is that it proposes to do away altogether with personal rural registration. It is a notorious fact that prior to the enactment of the present rural registration system, the Republican politicians of the strongly Republican counties in Northern, Eastern and Southern New York winked at it if they did not openly encourage acts of colonization of voters from Canada, Vermont and Pennsylvania. It is quite evident that no ballot reform is desired by the present Republican majority that will interfere with the somewhat peculiar notions of ballot reform that have been in vogue in darkest St. Lawrence, Jefferson, Essex, Washington, and other strongly Republican counties, or interfere with the rolling up of good old-fashioned Republican majorities, somewhat regardless of the legality of the votes making up those majorities.

Assemblyman Higbie's bill to prevent the operation of a surface railroad on the south road in Islip and Babylon is on third reading calendar. The road is one of the handsomest drives on the south shore, and property owners desire to preserve it.

Mr. Higbie's bill to reconstruct the sea wall on the old beach road from East Marion to Orient, has struck a snag in the senate. The bill provides for the repair of the wall by the state at an expense of $15,000.

The Senate passed Mr. Madden's bill to release to Long Island City the state's interest in certain property at Ravenswood which was left by Anton Polack, who died intestate and without heirs.

Mr. Fairbrother has introduced a bill providing for the punishment of violators of the Whitestone village ordinances.

In the senate the bill to divide the state into new judicial departments, and which has caused so much debate was reported favorably. As amended it divides the state into four judicial departments, the first department to consist of the county of New York, the second department to consist of the counties embraced within the present second judicial district, Richmond, Suffolk, Queens, Kings, Westchester, Orange, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess.

Assemblyman Husted, son of his father, wants to erect signboards at public expense. He has a bill on the order of second reading which amends the highway law by providing that:

"Upon the written application of five resident taxpayers of any town or twenty resident taxpayers of the county in which any such town is located to the commissioners of highways, requesting the erection of one or more guide-boards at the intersection of highways in such town, the commissioner of highways shall cause to be erected at the intersections mentioned in such application such guide-boards indicating the direction, distances and names of the towns, villages or cities to or through which such intersecting highways run. Such application shall designate the highway intersections at which such guide-boards are requested to be erected and may contain suggestions as to the inscriptions and devices to be placed upon such boards. The cost of the erection and maintenance of such boards shall be a town charge."

It may be that the rural communities of the state are desirous to see arbitrarily vested in the hands of five taxpayers so considerable power as this would be to increase the annual tax budget. If they are not, now is the time to say so.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, March 15, 1895, p. 1.