By David Dayton McKean
The first legislative investigation of the Hague administration
in Hudson County also was made during Edwards' term.
A senate committee, of which William B. Mackay of Bergen
County was chairman, took a look into affairs under the new
leadership. The committee did not go as deep as the Case
Committee was later to do, but they found a number of
curious items, some of which are mentioned elsewhere in this
book, and they turned in a report of approximately eight
thousand words – which was filed. They found, among
other things, that four policemen in Jersey City were paid
eight thousand dollars merely for singing in a police quartet.
As all committees have done, they denounced the
administration of elections in Jersey City; somewhat tritely they
called the election of November, 1920, `a saturnalia of
crime,' and charged that `the election law was violated with
impunity.' (New York Times, May 8, 1981.)
While the air was full of the dust raised by his attacks on
the prohibitionists, Edwards ousted all the members of the
highway commission and appointed his own men. He quietly
began the long process of the appointment of Hague men to
boards, commissions, and courts, and – equally important
– to the office of the attorney general and to the county
prosecutorships. This practice, with occasional misunderstandings
and interruptions, continued in Silzer's administration
and in the three terms of Harry Moore, and not only
gave the organization control of important administrative
agencies of the state government but, more significantly,
protected it from attack through the courts. Most of the
appointees, incidentally, made regular contributions to the
exchequer of the state organizaton.
This Web version, edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2003
| Next |
| Main Menu |
|
|
|
|
Journal Square Package Shipping and Mailbox rentals
Global Mail accepts drop offs for all carriers. If the package is completely ready there is no charge. Passport photos and copies, too!
 |
| Featured Link |
Text Link Online Advertising Program
A text Link is your business name and a Link to Your Site in bold red text on one Line and a description of your services on the next. The GET NJ network serves thousands of visitors each day!
GRAVE ROBBER Jersey City Computer Repair
297 Griffith Street, Jersey City, NJ - In the Heights just off of Kennedy Blvd. - Very close to Journal Square and Union City, just five minutes away from Hoboken, Downtown Jersey City, Newport, and the Waterfront -
 |
|
|
|
|
|