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Frank J. Hartmann Jr. |
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Frank J. Hartmann Jr. |
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FRANK J. HARTMANN JR. was born in Camden NJ on November 3, 1898 to Frank J. Hartmann Sr. and his wife Anna. His father had emigrated to Camden from Germany around 1865. The Hartmann family lived in Cramer Hill on Cleveland Avenue near Griffee Avenue before the turn of the century. By 1920 Frank Hartmann Sr. had purchased a home at 740 State Street in North Camden. and had established a successful cigar business for many years. Trained as an electrician, Frank J. Hartmann Jr., like his father before him, took an active role in the affairs of city. He was elected to the City Commission in the May 1935 election, his win, however, was not certified until after a recount, where he won by seven votes. He took his place on the Commission on August 1, 1935, and was appointed Director of Public Works. Initially aligned with Mayor George Brunner and his New Deal Democrat organization, Frank J. Hartmann Jr. soon split with Brunner, and lost his bid for reelection to the City Commission a few years later. Frank Hartmann Jr.'s term in office was noted by his efforts to control expenditures and reduce spending at the Department of Public Works. This made him few friends in local political circles, as he let many politically connected workers go, and alienated certain powerful business interests. He was a staunch advocate of Camden building its own municipal electrical plant. Although Camden voters voted twice for this improvement, it did not come to pass. He supervised the beautification of Roosevelt Plaza in front of City Hall, and hired Daniel G. Deacon to tend to the extensive flower beds set up with help from the Works Progress Administration. Frank J. Hartmann Jr. returned to private business after leaving the City Commission. His son, Frank J. Hartmann III was killed in action while serving with the Army in France on July 18, 1944. Frank J. Hartmann Jr. moved from Camden to Haddon Heights in the 1950s. He spent his later years in Cape May NJ, where he died in June of 1987. Frank Hartmann Jr. was a member of Mozart Lodge No. 121, Free and Accepted Masons. He was elected to a one-year term as the lodge's Master in 1933. |
| Camden Courier-Post - February 10, 1933 |
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CITY
ADOPTS CUT BUDGET AFTER CLASH By
WALT BATEZEL The Camden City Commission yesterday approved the 1933 city budget after hearing and rejecting economy recommendations of several civic and labor organizations. Eight speakers representing five organizations urged budget reductions and protested the total of $3,353,124.60. Verbal clashes over opinions were frequent between Commissioner Harold W. Bennett, director of finance and revenue, and former Councilman Frederick von Nieda and Thomas B. Hall, representatives of the Congress of Civic Associations of New Jersey. Nearly
300 persons attended the hearing, in marked contrast to the 5000 who
marched on city hall last year to demand budget reductions. The hearing
lasted three hours. The departmental budget appropriations of
$3,353,124.60 with the local school appropriation of $1,250,000 and other
appropriations, totaling $960,060.55 to be added in the tax ordinance yet
to be adopted, will give the city a total expense of $5,563,185.15 for
1933. Tax Bill About Same The tax rate will not be known until the tax ordinance is adopted. After the hearing Commissioner Bennett declared that due to equalization of assessments, the bills of some taxpayers will be a few dollars higher than last year, and a few dollars lower in other cases. The commission, after approving the budget on a motion by Commissioner Bennett, adopted a resolution leasing WCAM to the Broadcast Advertising Company for $1000 per year and a percentage of all receipts over $24,000. All maintenance costs will be born by the company, of which Rudolph Preisendanz, Jr., is head. After
the budget was adopted Bennett declared the City Commission would take
into consideration an allegation of Frank J. Hartmann,
Jr., secretary
of the Civic Congress, that the $125,400 appropriation for street lighting was $26,450 higher than it should be
according to figures obtained by him concerning the city's .lighting
equipment. "If there has been an error the budget can be amended at
any time,"
Commissioner Bennett said. Commissioner
Clay W. Reesman, under whose department street lighting comes,
declared that figures in his office concerning street lighting were
different from those quoted by Hartmann. The figures he used,
Hartmann
said, were obtained by him from City Comptroller Sidney P. McCord. Von Nieda Case
Von Nieda was the first citizen to address the commission. Shifting papers in his hands, he faced the commissioners and said: "We have here $40,000 for your Recorder's Court in 1932, and $25,000 for 1933." Commissioner Bennett jumped to his feet. "Those
1932 figures," Bennett said, "were merely an estimate of the
receipts to be taken in, but that amount did not come in. This year we
anticipate only $25,000, which we consider a fair estimate." "That's
fine" said von Nieda, "but we have never had a chance to sit in
with you on these figures." "You
can sit in with us at any time," responded Bennett, "We're glad
to have you." "I
see here," said von Nieda, "that the transportation inspector is
paid from fees, but you show no fees and the inspector should be paid by
the Public Service. I also suggest that you turn Convention Hall over to
the poor. Now in dealing with Station WCAM, I see you show a profit for
the last three months of $1000, while in 1932, you show no records of
receipts, and we are just wondering.'. Worried by WCAM "Do you want that answered now?" asked Bennett. "WCAM has given myself and the other commissioners some concern during the past year. It is our duty to see that we receive as much income as possible. Different methods have been used in the radio station to make it pay during the past three months, and during this time that station has been in the black. We figure that in 1933 there will be no deficit in this station, and we look for a profit of more than $1000." "Now in this matter of eliminating deputy directors," von Nieda said. He was interrupted by Commissioner Reesman. "I'll
tell you," said Reesman, "about my deputy director Carlton Harris.
My deputy receives $1750 a year. He has charge of all labor in the
Department of Parks and Public Property. He is on the job every
morning at 7:00 AM, and often works until 10 p. m., with the labor outside."
"In
speaking of the assessors," von Nieda continued, "we
should have assessors who are not influenced by politicians or political
dictators." "You
know I won't stand for that," answered Bennett. "The
readjustment of ratables is only a small part 1 of the work we are doing.
Each property is assessed on a basic principal. Any
time you have a suggestion that will help us in our work we will
be glad to hear from you but I firmly believe that real state must be
relieved of its heavy tax burden by an income and sales tax, and this tax
must come sooner or later. Seeking Relief"As far as the city commissioners are concerned, we are studying it from day to day, in efforts to get out of the wilderness. "In
speaking of the purchasing department," von Nieda continued, "we
know what happened there last year. You fired your purchasing agent, and
if you had not fired him it probably would have afforded the public some
interesting reading about this purchasing department. "All
of my men are working overtime,' replied Bennett. "It is true the
purchasing agent is out and his work is being done by an assistant (William
Dilmore) at half his salary. We have got rid of as many people in
these departments as we can. I had to let one girl go in the purchasing
department and one girl in Controller McCord's department. One man went on
pension in the tax office and two were let out in efforts to balance the
budget. "In .one of my departments where there were three girls I had, to make a $900 cut by leaving one girl out. called the three girls into my office and told them that one had to go and asked them what their home responsibilities were. One had to take care of her family, including a 77-year-old aunt; another a family with a 66-year-old aunt, and the third was supporting three or four brothers with the help of another brother, who is a barber working for practically what tips he could get. "But I had to make a $900 cut. The girls asked me not to dismiss any of them, as they each would take a $300 cut in addition to cuts already applied. Another man took an extra $260 cut so that he would not be out of work. But I had the budget to take care of, and I am ready to challenge any city the size of Camden to show so nearly a balanced budget. Our plan is to pay as we go." "You
cite two or three instances," protested
von Nieda. "But I want
to show you scores of families which have no money and they are taxpayers.
You say you have cut to the bone, but you should cut through the bone.
This is no grandstand play by us. Maybe we can give you some help. Then,
too, the debt interest must be paid on this tragedy," he shouted,
pointing to walls of the commission chamber. "Maybe
you can tell me how to get rid of the bonds," suggested Bennett.
"You must remember this year we have cut $900,000 from the
budget." Offers
Recommendation Von Nieda said the Civic Congress recommended that work now being done by two city solicitors should be done by one, that when more policemen and firemen are needed "little fellows” be restored first wherever possible; that the city incinerating plant be closed; that the personnel of the city's two' sewage disposal plants be reduced; that the city's lighting bill be cut $40,000; that inspectors of lighting be abolished and their work done by policemen and the city's engineer's department. Personally he favored an income tax, he said, to relieve the I burden on real estate. "1
realize,” von Nieda said, "that the city commission has done a fair
job, but of the congress, with conservatively 15,000 members, think you
can do even better. Commissioner Frank B. Hanna, director of public works, interrupted von Nieda on the subject of the incinerating plant, which von Nieda declared could be abandoned because it did not burn garbage, but only rubbish. "Can
you see me at 9:00 AM tomorrow and go through my department with me?"
asked Hanna. “Any time," replied von Nieda. Warns of Tax Strike "However," von Nieda continued, "we are wondering what the figures in the right hand corner of the tax bill will be. Assessments may be lower and the tax rate higher, and that does not give a true picture. I fear the bills will be more for 1933 and for one am willing now to take the 1932 assessment on my home. "The
congress vigorously opposes this personality tax. You expect to tax the
homeowner for everything he has. I warn YOU gentlemen that if this tax is
imposed in Camden there will be a run on banks and building and loan
associations. If that happens homeowners and renters will leave this
unfortunate city. There will be a tax strike here, and so help me God, I'm
helping it!" Von Nieda was followed by William Hughes of 578
Mickle street, who spoke for
the Unemployed Council of New Jersey. Hughes
reiterated demands of the union for increased relief payments to
unemployed, urged a municipally-owned lighting plant,
operated at a profit, the same as the city's water department; a municipal
lodging house; use of hand labor instead of machinery in all city
contracts and the employment of labor to "tear down the slums in
Camden." Hartmann
was the next speaker. He read from a prepared statement which he declared
was an analysis a\of the city's 1932 lighting expenses, and which, he
said, could be lowered “had we used larger lamps.“ Reesman Contradicts After enumerating the individual costs of lamps of various candle power, and contending a change in the lamps would effect a saving this year, Hartmann charged the city has overpaid for electric energy in street lighting. Commissioner Reesman declared that figures used by Hartmann were in error and that therefore, his computations as to possible savings were wrong. He announced, however, he would study the situation to discover if there was any error in the budget concerning street lighting, as alleged by Hartmann. "The
Civic Congress is now circulating petitions for a referendum on a
municipal lighting plant," Hartmann said. "We now have 10,000 of
the required 11,000 signatures, and we do not intend to stop until we have
25,000. You commissioners can stop these petitions by adopting a
resolution declaring a referendum on the question." He
then asked that the work of the city electrical inspector be taken over by
the National Board of Fire Underwriters,
and that "when the next tax sale is held, all properties be
advertised, including banks, garages and to whomever the property
belongs." Commissioner
Bennett then arose and said: "I've used' discretion on that. There
are some who are paying as low as $5 per month, and I think these people
should be helped. We commissioners do not want to sell the home of anyone.
That is what we are trying to stop. We are in perfect agreement on
that." Debt
Moratorium Asked "How
about the Bridge Garage?" some one in the audience shouted. "The
Bridge Garage has just paid $1500," Bennett said, "and promises
to pay something every month. We are trying to make the tax bills lower by
getting in all the monies we can,
and where possible to take in delinquent payments no matter how small. Clarence Moullette, secretary of the Unemployed Union of New Jersey, then arose. He asked for a moratorium on the city debt service for five years, and urged the commission to adopt such a resolution memorializing the Legislature for that relief: He announced opposition to the personality tax. "We
are not questioning the actions of the commissioners, Moullette said.
“Spending less money will not help the situation. Commissioner Hanna.
told me if he had $51,000 additional in his department six closed garbage
trucks could purchased. This will help give work. By cutting down salaries
you decrease purchasing power. Work must be had. Eventually you will pay
in Hall
asked that Convention Hall be abandoned and the building used for
hospitalization work for the needy, and urged the city commission to
"meet in the evenings so that citizens will know and see what is
going on." He asked for abolition of the positions of plumbing,
building, sewer and heating inspectors. 'Close High Schools' "The commission should face conditions as they are," he said. "I speak for myself, and not the Civic Congress. I ask that the high schools be closed. I heartily approve closing of the Vocational School, but if choice was to be made between high schools and the Vocational School, I would say close the high schools. Before selling the home of anyone to meet impossible taxes, I say cut to the bone by getting rid of everything that is not absolutely necessary. "You
commissioners must be made to realize that increased taxation is what has
destroyed purchasing power in America. Meet this condition! Commissioner
Bennett challenged the statement of Hall that government costs were
responsible for conditions of today. "There
are numerous causes," Bennett said. "I
would rejoice in debating it with you or anyone you select," Hall
replied, "including United States senators, and convince them in 20
minutes." "I’ll
debate that with him," shouted Morris Stempa of
Audubon from the audience. Stempa later addressed the commission,
speaking for the Socialist party, and urged the moratorium advocated by
Moullette, also a Socialist. Eugene
Wasilewski, speaking for you the South Camden Civic Association, denounced
the commission for failing to call in civic association representatives in
their preparation of the Budget. Bennett
Gives Reply "You
called in the bankers, but not those others of us who also are interested
in city costs," Wasilewski said. "You tell us now there is a reduction in
assessments and then come along and wallop us with a higher tax rate. That
is not fair. You were elected to look after our interests and that you
have failed to do. You are making us eat red herring, and we want you to
eat red herring with us." The
last citizen to address the commission was Salvadore Guadelli, president
of the Citizens-Taxpayers' League. He made a general indictment of
conditions, ,and asked that the city commission "do not let
sectionalism creep into city affairs." Commissioner
Bennett then arose and addressed his fellow commissioners and the
audience. "All these things suggested here today have been considered," he said. "We five men came into office with the idea of serving the people. I know the business of financing the city is a. serious problem. We have endeavored to move the budget into that realm of 'pay-as-you-go! We appreciate everything presented here. Every taxpayer we look upon as an employer. "Looking
at it from every angle, this budget cannot be delayed any longer. You'll
find we were severe in preparing this budget; you'll find we were severe
last year. Last year we cut a half million. This year we cut $702,890.74,
and to that the board of education, we hope, will add a cut of $250,000.
That is a total cut of $952,890.74. Other cities in New Jersey show
nothing to compare with it. Budget Adopted
"I
hesitate in making more cuts. I speak from experience when I say I'm a
taxpayer. In the past two weeks I've been trying to raise money to pay
taxes. I want all of you to know we commissioners can sympathize. It is
not easy being at the head of a government in times like these. I hope
that municipalities will receive federal relief in payment of debt
service. There has been a tremendous cut in our budget, including the
board of education figures. I feel the commissioners are to be commended
for the work they've done this year. "If
we pass the budget we won't stop at that particular point, but will see
what else we can do all along the line. I feel the essential thing is to
pass the budget. I'm proud of the fact we came through 1932, and are
started in 1933 the same way, although I make no promise for the future. I
wish for a moratorium for interest on bonds. There are the bondholders on
one side and the taxpayers on the other, and the man out of work to be
considered. We
are in sympathy with the man out of work. I say let the federal or
government put some money into to the interest rate. We must pass this
budget this afternoon. Do not delay longer. This is not an arbitrary 10
stand on my part. I make a motion the budget now be passed." City
Clerk Frank S. Albright called the roll and all five commissioners voting
'unanimously. No demonstration followed passage
of the measure. *Eugene Wasilewski referred to in this story was Eugene Waleskiewicz, who was later known as Eugene Wales. |
| Camden Courier-Post - June 2, 1933 |
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PYNE
POYNT PLANS ALL-DAY 4TH PARTY Plans
for the thirty-third anniversary of the Pyne Poynt Athletic Association to
be observed with an all day program at Pyne Poynt
Park
July 4 were discussed last night at a meeting in the Pyne Poynt Social
Club, 929 North
Fifth Street. Among
the features tentatively planned are a children's parade at 9.30 a. m.,
under the supervision of Isaac Kyler; memorial service at 11
a.
m., under direction of William B.
Sullender;
sporting events for men, women and children to start at 1.30
p.
m., under direction of Alfred J. Ross, Jr.; outdoor motion pictures
starting at 9 p. m., under supervision of Robert J. Nelson and a dance in
charge of Samuel G. Dickinson, Jr., starting 11t 10.30
p.
m. Committee
chairmen chosen by Frank J.
Hartmann, Jr., president, are: Grounds, Foster Willis; program, Otto
E. Braun; police, Clifford Flennard; dancing, Samuel G. Dickinson,
Jr.; first aid, Dr. Joseph E. Nowrey and William Hughes; transportation, Samuel
J. Edwards; public speakers, William B.
Sullender;
motion pictures, Robert J. Nelson; decorations, Walter A. Reyno; sports,
Alfred J. Ross, Jr.; ways and means, Frank
J. Hartmann, Jr.; publicity, Walter S. Agin; parade marshal, Isaac
Kyler; refreshments, George Washington Ash; light, William Hilton, and
music, Frank Kelley. Children
of the Sheltering Arms Home, Home for Friendless Children and the
Detention Home will be guests of the association during the day. Samuel J.
Edwards will be in charge of their entertainment. The association will meet again next Thursday night. |
|
Camden Courier-Post - June 6, 1933 |
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Suit
to End Relief Secrecy Planned by Civic Congress; Irregularities Are
Charged Court
action to force the Camden County Emergency Relief Administration to
reveal its books for public inspection is planned by the Congress of Civic
Associations of South Jersey. This
was announced last night at a meeting of the North Camden Civic
Association in the headquarters of the Pyne Poynt Social Club, 939 North
Fifth street. Frank J.
Hartmann, Jr., secretary of both organizations,
disclosed the proposed step. Affidavits
charging irregularities in the relief administration are being gathered, Hartmann
asserted. Wayland
P. Cramer,
director of the county relief board and Captain Albert S. Howard, deputy
director, were charged with evading public inquiries. 'Fathers
Fired-Girls Hired' "They've
given us a grand run-around," Hartmann
said in relating his efforts in behalf of a destitute family. The
Congress of Civic Associations, headed by Fred
von Nieda, is determined to force inspection of the relief records by
applying for a court writ, Hartmann
said, Vince
Marinelli, member of the North Camden association and active in the
Civic Congress,
declared a number
of married men were discharged
from
positions
in the relief administration and single women engaged for their posts. Protest
Rally June 11 The
association agreed to
join
with the Unemployed Union of New Jersey in staging a public mass meeting
to protest against the relief board. The
meeting is scheduled for June 11, at the Convention
Hall. Clarence
E. Moullette, executive secretary of the unemployed group, addressed
last night's session, which two score persons attended. 'Only
8 In 25,600 Rejected'
Hartmann
declared that of Camden's'
117,000 persons, 25,600 are receiving emergency relief. The figure in the
county is comparable, he said. Quoting
Dr.
Arthur L. Stone,
who recently resigned as city director of emergency relief, Hartmann
asserted 6828 of the 11,400 city's colored are in the relief line. "In
all these cases the great Emergency
Relief Administration has found only eight this year that were not worthy
of receiving aid," Hartmann
said he was informed. "The
taxpayers are paying the bills and they have every right to know how the
money is being spent. "If
Director Cramer
and Captain Howard can be out of their office all day without anyone
knowing where they are I think there is ground for investigation," he
insisted. Cites
Backyard Fires Hartmann
reviewed the plight
of 11 families on State
Street who were forced to cook meals over a backyard
fire last Saturday after gas and electric service had been suspended for
non-payment of bills. Thirty-five children were affected. Hartmann
estimated that Public Service could produce electricity to supply the
apartment house for one month at a cost of $2. The charge is $22, he said.
Hartmann
described advantages of a municipal electric plant, for which more than
11,000 persons have signed
petitions circulated by the association and civic congress. He compared
this city's tax rate and assessments with those of Jacksonville, Fla., and
said the southern city earned $2,000,000 profit from its municipal light
and power plant in 1932. A
campaign to further sentiment in favor of the municipal plant idea is
being advanced daily, Hartmann
reported.
A staff of speakers is being enrolled. Dr.
Stone's Work Reviewed Moullette,
in appealing for support of the civic association for the mass meeting
next week, said that the resignation of Dr.
Stone
was a political
move, designed to create a position with pay for some Republican
organization favorite. "Dr.
Stone spent $25,000 for emergency
relief in Camden. "As
a result of the efforts of Dr.
Stone in his office as municipal relief
director there are children in more than 500 families who obtained milk
that was not given them before he took the position," Moullette
said. "The purpose of the mass meeting is to bring forcibly to the
attention of the authorities here and in the state that there is need for
an investigation of the Camden County
Emergency Relief Administration."
New
Fire Alarms Protested Joseph
Munger, of East Camden,
asked the association to protest against proposed expenditure of more than
$50,000 for a new tire alarm system
in Camden. He
charged that the project is needless, and said that transfer of the
present system from the old city hall to the new courthouse annex could be
made for $2500. "The
present system is sufficient for this city," Munger said. "The
cost of removing it to the new building would be less than what the city
might pay in interest for one year on $50,000." Hartmann
said that a new system in the fire department would require employment of
additional employees and thereby add more expense to the taxpayers. Mrs. Stephen Pfeil, William Coughlin and Miss Elsie Stein were named by Harry Walton, president, to a committee with instructions to ask Mayor Roy R. Stewart to move against alleged vandalism. They charged that young boys are destroying vacant properties throughout the city. |
| Camden Courier-Post - June 13, 1933 |
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NORTH CAMDEN GROUP HITS The New Jersey Taxpayers' Association was criticized last night at the weekly meeting of the North Camden Civic Association, held at the Pyne Poynt Social Club, 939 North
Fifth Street. "All during the meeting," Hartmann declared, "there was not a thing that came out for the benefit of the individual taxpayer. In my opinion the New Jersey Taxpayers' Association should be called the Corporation Taxpayers' Association. "They appear to be against the income tax, while anyone who has studied conditions of today can readily realize that to tax those with ability to pay, is the first and foremost factor. Another thing that struck me was the fact that Clinton L. Bardo, president of the taxpayers, actually apologized for the remarks of one speaker who outlined an effective method of obtaining results from governing groups. That method was a tax strike," Harry Walton, who presided at the civic meeting with less than 20 persons in attendance, supported Hartmann's report of the Trenton meeting, George I. Shaw, vice president of the civic organization, condemned the State Taxpayers' Association for voting for candidates who have per sistently refused to aid the public. Shaw also rapped the New Jersey Board of Public Utility Commissioners for "approving the consolidation of the Pennsylvania and Reading railroad lines in South Jersey." "This merger, which has been authorized in Washington, will result in loss of jobs to 3500 persons and eventually will make Camden a way station," Shaw declared. "The Public Utility Commissioners should be removed. They have not been working for the public welfare," Mrs. Stephen Pfeil and William Coughlin reported that Acting Chief of Police John W. Golden has promised to co-operate in a campaign to curb vandalism by boys. Property owners have been complaining about damage to vacant houses. The association and the Congress of Civic Associations will be represented tomorrow at a protest meeting against the Camden County Emergency Relief Administration. The meeting is to be held at the Convention Hall annex by the Unemployed Union of New Jersey. Plans for the July 4 celebration of the Pyne Poynt Athletic Association also were discussed at the meeting last night. The association will meet again next Thursday night. |
| Camden Courier-Post - June 20, 1933 |
|
FATAL COLLAPSE OF 2 HOUSES LAID TO
VANDALISM Declaring that vandalism may have been responsible for the
collapse of two house fronts which cost the life of a man on Carman
Street, near Seventh, yesterday, Mrs. Stephen Pfeil The association, which met at 939 North Fifth Street, recently charged that vandals have caused damage of $500,000 to vacant properties in the city. "We are going to organize public opinion as to the seriousness
of the vandalism problem," Mrs. Pfeil said. "Aside from the loss caused owners, vacant properties have been so destroyed Demands Punishment "We are going to ask that police apprehend these boys in an intensive campaign,. and we will insist that those found guilty be punished and their parents made responsible for the damage. Parents must be made responsible to break up this wanton destruction of property. We are aware that political interference may be encountered in such arrests, but we will vigorously insist that there be neither fish nor flesh in these arrests, but all punished commensurately with their deeds." Mrs. Pfeil is treasurer of the organization. Mrs. Elsie A. Stein
and William Coghlan, members of a committee appointed with Mrs. Pfeil to negotiate with police, cited various instances of Frank J. Hartmann, Jr., secretary, announced the Congress of Civic Associations was preparing a resolution to be sent to the public utility commission censuring that board for its action in allegedly "boosting electric voltages, keeping bus doors closed, approving underground high speed bridge rails in Camden, approving railroad consolidation and for "calling Public Service electric rates fair and just." Bridge Loan Rapped Julius Kretz reported that a committee of the association was
considering the sending of a questionnaire to all residents of Camden inquiring into their electric and gas charges and the Thomas B. Hall announced himself as opposed to the $10,000,000 R. F. C. loan sought by the Delaware River Joint Commission for bridge rails. "I doubt it the corporation would lend that money for the laying of two miles of rails which come to a dead end. I am opposed to an additional $10,000,000 capital investment in the bridge, which would serve to place still farther away lower bridge tolls. The service proposed is not convenient to any class of commuter, and I regard the whole scheme as one of tremendous waste and bereft of proper planning. I do not think the commission can lease rails without proper facilities to the traveling public, and this association will us every effort with federal authorities to present the inadequacy of this rail plan." . |
| Camden Courier-Post - June 23, 1933 |
|
PYNE POYNT PLANS JULY 4 PROGRAM Plans for the thirty-third Fourth of July celebration sponsored, by the Pyne Poynt Athletic Association were announced last night at a meeting of the association. The program will open at 6 a.m. with a salute and flag raising. A parade will start at 9.30 a. m., with bands, music wagon and fife and drum corps providing the music. Prizes of from $5 to $1 will be awarded for the best decorated float, bicycle, baby coach or express wagon in line. A memorial service will start at 11. a. m., with singing by school children. There will be a band concert in the afternoon as well as more than 20 athletic contests from 2.30 to 5 p.m. A singles tennis match for the North Camden championship will be started at 4.30 p.m. under direction of William Hutton. Prizes donated by Camden businessmen will be awarded for each event. Children from the city orphanages and the detention home will be the association's guests throughout the afternoon. Dancing will be provided from 8.30 to midnight and motion pictures from 9 to midnight. Prizes ranging from $6 to $1 will be awarded for the dancing. Cash prizes will be awarded for the best decorated homes of subscribers in the Tenth Ward. The awards will be $10, $5 and $2.50. Collections to cover cost of the celebration will be made today in a house-to-house canvass beginning at 7 p.m. Donors of 25 cents or more will be eligible for prizes awarded by merchants. Frank J. Hartmann is president of the association. |
| Camden Courier-Post - June 23, 1933 |
|
MOZART MASON LODGE PICNICS AT PINE HILL The Past Masters' Circle of Mozart Lodge of Masons held its annual outing yesterday at Pioneer's Grove, Pine Hill. The circle has been in existence 40 years. A banquet was served in the grove. Sports were a feature. Max Reihman, Jr., and Ferdinand Braun were quoits champions. The committee: included: Arthur A. I Holler, Otto E. Braun, Herman E. Hensgen and Reihman. Officers are: Charles Engel, president; Henry Hess, vice president; William Indicher, secretary, and William Sangtinette, treasurer. In attendance were: Mr. and Mrs.
George Bachman, Mr. and Mrs.
Rudolph Korthage, Mr. and, Mrs. William Bartelt, Sr., Mr. and Mrs. Ernest L. Bartelt, Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Baker, Mr. and Mrs.
Indicher, Mr. and Mrs. Holler, Mr. and Mrs. Reihman, Mr. and Mrs. Otto E.
Braun, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Braun, Rose Braun, Mrs. Frank X. Braun, Sarah Whitaker, Mr. and Mrs. Carl J. Rugart, Mr. and Mrs.
Charles Haub, Mr. and Mrs. Hensgen, Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Braun, |
| Camden Courier-Post - June 23, 1933 |
|
Cops, Nab 14 Nudists After Criticism for Vandalism, Bathing The Camden police were criticized yesterday at a meeting of the City Commission for relaxing their vigilance in halting damage by vandals in vacant properties which have caused total losses of $500,000 in the city. A committee representing the North Camden Civic Association appeared before the City Commission and urged an intensive campaign to halt destruction of unoccupied buildings. Among the committee's recommendations for the drive were greater activity by the police, co-operation by citizens with the police in reporting vandalism, appointment of special officers to watch the buildings and a general educational campaign in the city schools. Given Hot Clue Mayor Roy R. Stewart estimated that $500,000 damage had been done to vacant properties, and agreed to give full support to the drive to halt vandalism. With characteristic suddenness, Frank J. Hartmann, secretary of the civic association, arose in the meet ing and told the mayor that if policemen were sent immediately to Tenth and State Streets they would find young men engaged in tearing down an unoccupied factory. As another evidence of "police negligence," he said, young men and boys could be found bathing nude at that moment in Cooper River in that vicinity. Acting immediately, Mayor Stewart instructed Capt. John W. Golden, acting police chief, to send policemen to the neighborhood. 14 Nude Bathers Nabbed A few minutes later, 14 boys and young men, ranging, in age from 12 to 26, were arrested for bathing without clothes. All bathers over 14 were held in cash security of $10 and those under 14 were released in custody of their parents on charges of disorderly conduct. They are: Leslie Bayne, 26, of 503 Royden street; Harvey Howell, 16, of 529 Washington Street; John Grady; 19, of 578 Benson Street; Roscoe Davis, 15, of 253 North Eleventh Street; James Evans, 15, of 601 North Second Street; William Dempsey, 12, of 1030 Lawrence Street; Robert Farland, 13, of 1112 Federal Street; Roland Garber, 15, of 537 Birch street; Edgar Grundlock, 15, of' 318 North Tenth Street; Frank Garwood; 13; of 717 Bailey Street; Eugene Dodelin, 13, of 309 Cole Street; Ralph Skill, 13, of 512 North Seventh Street; Robert Rudd, 15, of 642 Linwood Street, and Richard Evans, 14 of 601 North Second Street. Miss Elsie Stein, a member of the committee, handed the mayor a letter from a woman who complained about young men bathing in Cooper River. The letter was turned over to Acting Chief Golden. "If the police performed the duties they are paid to perform, this vandalism could be stopped," Miss Stein said. Mrs. Stephen Pfeil, another committee member, told the mayor she realized the depleted condition of the police force and offered to aid in the educational campaign by talking against vandalism to children in the schools. Hartmann urged that politicians and public officeholders refrain from using their influence to obtain leniency for children guilty of damaging vacant houses. William Coghlan said he had complained to the police about the practice but had seen no results. Weed Cleanup Ordered Other members, of the committee presenting the protest were Vincent Martinelli and Leon Wojtkowiak, representing the South Camden Civic Association . The city commission adopted on final reading an ordinance requiring property owners to remove from the front of their properties and sidewalks weds and debris. A fine may be imposed as penalty for violation of the ordinance. A resolution was passed protesting an increase in power authorized by the federal government to Station WORC and WEPS, of Worcester, Mass. An increase to 1280 kilocycles and to 500 watts causes interference in broadcasting, from WCAM, the resolution pointed out. Assessors Reappointed Wilbur B. Ellis, Edward F. Peard and Thomas C. Wright were reappointed to the city board of assessors as of July 1. George H. Simpson, of 2725 Concord Avenue, was reappointed constable for three years in the Eleventh Ward. Another resolution was adopted by the commission clarifying to the federal government its position relative to responsibility as· to operation of WCAM. It was pointed out in the resolution that the mayor and city clerk had entered a supplemental agreement with the Broadcast Advertising Company, which leases the station from Camden. The government desired to establish that nothing be construed in the agreement which would relieve Camden from responsibility in operation of the station. Another measure adopted adjourns the city commission until July 13 for a hearing in proposed condemnation proceedings against properties at 332 and 334 Benson street, designated as fire hazards. |
| Camden Courier-Post - June 24, 1933 |
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Pancoast
Frees Nude Bathers, Scores Those Causing Arrest Fourteen
boys and young men arrested as nude bathers Thursday as the sequel to a
city commission meeting, were freed yesterday by Judge Garfield
Pancoast with the advice that they wear bathing suits when swimming. The
nude bathers were apprehended in Cooper river in the vicinity of Tenth and
Pearl streets after Frank J.
Hartmann, Jr., secretary of, the New Jersey Congress of Civic
Associations and of the North Camden Civic Association, complained at the
commission meeting Thursday that shocking conditions exist among the male
bathers' in the river, causing women in the neighborhood to protest. With two of the youthful
bathers excused because they had to attend the final classes of the term
in school, Police Judge Garfield
Pancoast suspended sentence on the
others at a hearing yesterday after advising them to wear bathing suits
when swimming again. The boys had been released in their own recognizance
after their arrest late Thursday by John Taylor, a policeman, who was sent
to the bathing spot by Acting Chief Golden.
Pancoast Sarcastic Taylor, under questioning of the court, testified that the nearest house to where the youths swam was a block away, and that while there were boathouses across the creek, he did not know whether they are occupied. The boys themselves testified that no women pass the "swimming hole," which, they said, is three blocks from State Street and almost two squares from Tenth street. After Taylor informed the court he did not know who made the complaint to Mayor Stewart, Pancoast said the complainant "is probably the same man who, at the age of these boys, did nothing in the Summer but read the New Testament." "He
probably is the same man who never went swimming when the temperature went
up to 92 degrees," the court commented, "and is probably the
same man who does not know that the cost to the taxpayers for every
arrest in the city averages $3.87." Appeals
to Boys "I have nothing to say to you boys, but appeal to you to take a bathing suit with you the next time you go swimming, because someone might be passing who does not like to see your nude figure." The
bathers: Leslie Bayne, 26, of 503 Royden
Street; Harvey Howell, 16, of 429 Washington
Street; John Grady, 19, of 578 Benson
Street; Roscoe Davis, 15, of
253 North Eleventh street; James Evans, 15, of 601 North Second Street;
William Dempsey, 12, of 1030 Lawrence Street; Albert MacFarland, 13, of
1112 Federal
Street; Roland Garber, 15, of 537 Birch
Street; Edgar Grundlock, 14, of 318 North Tenth Street; Frank Garwood,
13, of 717 Bailey
Street; Eugene Dodelin, 13, of 309 Cole
Street; Ralph Skill, 13, of 512 North
Seventh street; Robert Rudd, 15, of 642 Linwood
Street, and Richard
Evans, 14, of 601 North Second Street. Rudd and Garwood were the boys excused by Judge Pancoast from appearing in court so they would not lose credit for being absent from school. |
| Camden Courier-Post - June 25, 1933 |
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HARTMANN
DENIES HE COMPLAINED IN NUDE BATHERS CASE Mayor Roy R. Stewart made the complaint which led to the arrest of 14 nude male bathers in North Camden Thursday, Frank J. Hartmann declared Saturday. Hartmann so stated in a letter expressing resentment to an indirect reference made by Police Judge Garfield Pancoast against him as the complainant. Hartmann is secretary of the New Jersey Congress of Civic Associations and of the North Camden Civic Association. Pancoast, in releasing the defendants, mostly all boys, said the complainant was probably "the same man who read the New Testament during the ,Summer; never went swimming when the temperature went up to 92 degrees, and probably was the same man who did not know that the cost to the taxpayers for every arrest in the city averages $3.87." Hartmann told newspapermen that he construed Pancoast's remarks were directed at him, and stated that· he believed Pancoast had been misinformed as to who was the complainant in the arrest of the bather. Hartmann’s letter Pancoast follows: "In the press I read where some one is taken to task by you in your official capacity because of a com plaint of nude bathing in Cooper river on Thursday afternoon. "During a meeting of the Commissioners in City Hall, that day, it was clearly brought out that vandalism in Camden was a disease, running 1unchecked; that at that very moment vandals were practically tearing the Bernstein building [602 North 10th Street- PMC] apart, piece by piece, and that lawlessness was spreading along other lines; for instance even at that moment men and boys could be seen bathing in the nude," It was at this point that the mayor demanded to know where; it was the mayor who called the police out; it was the mayor who made the complaint, and I suppose it was the mayor to whom you referred. "Out of all fairness to the mayor I don't think that he believed me when he ordered the police out, because he knows it cost $3.87 for each arrest (even if you accuse me of not knowing) at a total of $54.78, and I know that he would not deliberately waste the taxpayers' money, because I am sure he knows that, nothing would be done to anybody caught violating the law. At this point I could say something that was brought out at that meeting regarding the influence of politics in obtaining leniency for those caught violating the law, but since I did not make those accusation's, I am going to let that pass. "Defending the mayor because he was visibly upset when the facts were stated, I suppose he thought of his own mother, sister, wife or daughter being subjected to alleged indecencies, I do not know the people who live in the vicinity where the arrests were made but they are just as human as they are anywhere else in the world and I can say for myself and perhaps for you that I do not appreciate such performances, on behalf of the women folks. Father and Son Class "Another thing, according to the press, the ages of the bathers were such as to be in the father and son classes. Few fathers parade around naked before their children, and never before other children, and out of all fairness to the parents of those children of those tender ages of whom you so carefully spoke, they were not aware of the fact that their children were in such company, assuming nothing else was being done except swimming. In your criticism you could have made that point just a little clearer. "I expect to attend the next commission meeting with the members of the Congress of Civic Associations, at which time we are going to find out if that is the co-operation that can be expected, namely, criticism. But I suppose I will be a lot better off at that. Just imagine what I would have heard if there were no bathers there, at all" "May I say that the real complaint was read at the North Camden Civic Association meeting Monday night, June 19, at which time the press, was present, took notes, but did not deem it of sufficient importance to even mention it. "In conclusion may I say I earnestly believe that with a proper system of education, protection, and correction, vandalism will be remedied, and that the opening of that expensive pool in Pyne Poynt Park, (costing the taxpayers a whole lot more than the $3.87) which is slowly disintegrating, will prevent the nude bathing of which the mayor recently complained.”. |
| Camden Courier-Post - June 26, 1933 |
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'Nude
Bathing" Allowed Here, Police Keep Out' A nudist bathing "colony" on the muddy banks of Cooper River! This is the latest plan of Lewis B. Simon, of Delaware township, who attracted attention three weeks ago when he established a petter's paradise on property owned by him in the township. At least that is the intention of Simon providing the plain does not encounter legal obstacles, it was announced last night by Frank J. Hartmann, Jr., secretary of the North Camden Civic Associaition, at a meeting of the association at 939 North Fifth Street. According to Hartmann, it is Simon's intention to purchase property along the creek in Camden and place a sign on it bearing the legend: "NUDE
BATHING ALLOWED HERE ... Hartmann declared it was not necessarily a mark of Simon's extreme liberality, so much as a "satirization of police." His announcement came as an echo of the arrest of 14 nude bathers, all boys and young men, by police on orders of Mayor Roy R. Stewart last Thursday after Hartmann had complained. All 14 were released the following day by Judge Garfield Pancoast, who scored those causing the arrests. "It Is Mr. Simon's attitude," Hartmann explained, "that if the city is going to allow nude bathing it may as well be legalized as much as possible. "We complained to the Mayor, who is director of public safety, about vandalism which has resulted in destruction of property valued at more than $500,000," Hartmann said. "Yet, there has not been one conviction for vandalism, and nude bathing is considered as more, important. The arrests of those boys were made more to embarrass me than in the interest of morals. "If police are sincere about any complaints I make, why hasn’t there been one arrest for vandalism? We have a wisecracking judge who compliments offenders, so I wonder if he will be so ready to sanction nude bathing now that Mr. Simon believes in finding some legalization for it?" Hartmann also protested against a rumored proposal to close the fire station [Engine Company 4- PMC] on Vine Street between Third and Fourth Streets. "That would be a very dangerous move for this section of the city," he said, "for if a train was shifting on the North Main Street tracks at the time of a fire, we would be left without protection because apparatus would be unable to get through from any other section of the city." George Shaw, vice president. also I protested against the removal, declaring that "the fire underwriters are not in favor of it." Both men also alleged that North Camden was without sufficient police protection. Officers were re-elected for the ensuing six months of the year. They are Harry F. Walton, president; Shaw, vice president; Mrs. Ida Pfeil, treasurer; Hartmann, recording secretary, and Miss Elsie Stein, financial secretary. |
| Camden Courier-Post - June 28, 1933 |
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NUDE
BATHING STORY HAD WRONG SPONSOR A nudist bathing resort may be established on Cooper river in North Camden, but Lewis B. Simon, Haddonfield tire dealer and Delaware Township farmer, doesn't intend to be its sponsor. Simon made that plain yesterday in answer to an interpretation by The Morning Post of remarks made Monday night by Frank J. Hartmann, Jr., at a meeting of the North Camden Civic Association. Hartmann, secretary of the association, emphatically denied that his remarks pointed to Simon, who recently created a Delaware Township petters' paradise and posted a sign announcing that police are unwelcome. "My remarks were misinterpreted by the reporter," Hartmann said, "when I remarked that a friend of mine planned to provide means whereby nude bathers could have immunity by his erection of sign similar to one in Delaware Township inviting petters to park their cars behind a sign without interference of police. "Since Mr. Simon erected the petters sign in Delaware Township, the reporter assumed that I must have meant Mr. Simon. I did not. I do not even know Mr. Simon. At present I cannot release, the name of my friend who is planning the nudist bathing beach, for he now has a lawyer working to discover if the plan he proposes would be likely to encounter legal obstacles." The Courier-Post Newspapers regret any embarrassment the story may have caused to Simon and Hartmann. Hartmann declares that the sign proposed by his friend would probably read: "NUDE
BATHING ALLOWED HERE ... His friend, he said, desired to find legalization for nude bathing since 14, boys arrested at Cooper river last week, were released by Police Judge Garfield Pancoast. Hartmann declared he is "not in favor of nude bathing when the actions of bathers are indecent," and that his friend planned the sign as a satire on city officials. |
| Camden Courier-Post - June 29, 1933 |
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Mothers
Hysterical In Boy Vandal Trial Hysterics among three mothers, one of whom fainted, as their young sons were held for court yesterday inspired another attack on Police Judge Garfield Pancoast by Frank J. Hartmann, Jr., secretary of the North Camden Civic Association. The three women shouted frantically as their sons, each 15, were led from the court to be taken to the Juvenile Detention Home on charges of incorrigibility. They had been accused of' vandalism in North Camden. It was brought out, however, that Hartmann did not make the complaints against the boys, who will be detained until the next session of juvenile court is held by Judge Samuel M. Shay. Hartmann in a statement last night disclosed that a threat had been made against him by the father of one of the boys who allegedly declared he "had a gun and was going to use it." Led from the courtroom after screaming and after one had fainted, the women cried so bitterly in the corridor that court attendants ordered them to leave. The episode was one of the most turbulent in the history of the Camden police court, according to veteran attendants. So great was the turmoil there was question whether Pancoast would not have to recess other hearings. Pancoast remained adamant in his decision despite the shrill protests of' the mothers; the plea of one of the boys, who begged for release with arms outstretched, and of the complainant, who urged leniency. Criticizes Hartmann Pancoast criticized Hartmann for "condemning him for showing leniency in such cases, yet never making formal complaint himself against youthful vandals in a specific case. Pancoast added that he "was compelled to act as he did because of the facts in the case and general complaints against vandalism in North Camden and other parts of the city. The boys are: Lester Jamison, of 326 North Second Street; Frank Smith, of 521 Elm Street, and Henry Egerton, 15, of 212 Bailey Street. Complaint against the youths was made by G.T. Moore, of 313 State Street, who charged that he had found the boys destroying a property at the northeast corner of Third and State Streets. Value $25,000, Now 25 cents "That property once was worth about $25,000," Moore testified, "Today it could be bought for 25 cents because of vandalism." The youths admitted they had been on the premises, but denied they had caused any damage. The court then directed that a disorderly conduct charge against them be changed to incorrigibility, the complaint for which was signed by Moore. Moore testified that the defendants and other boys had been warned to keep off the property, but they would cross the street and ridicule him. He urged leniency, however, when the court revealed that the boys would be sent to the detention home. He said he did not want to see the, youths placed in confinement and their reputations blemished . Calls
Him Liar "I can't be lenient in his case," Pancoast replied. "I've been charged by Mr. Hartmann, of the North Camden Civic Association, with taking care of criminals and politicians who come to this court, and that is a lie. Also there has been a great deal of publicity about vandalism in North Camden, columns and columns of it, yet Hartmann has never made a single formal complaint against any boy in my court. As a citizen, if he knows such things are going on, it is his duty, as well as that of other citizens, to make a complaint to us. "This occurrence by these boys is undoubtedly a part of the vandalism going on in North Camden and I'm going to send these boys to the detention home," Moore again pleaded for leniency for the boys, but Pancoast said he had no other alternative than to .sentence them under the circumstances. The arrests on complaint of Moore were made by Gus Reihm and Wilbur Prentiss, motorcycle policemen. Civic Clubs Protest Apprehension of youthful vandals has been urged repeatedly by the North Camden Civic Association officers, including Hartmann, who said recently that damage by the vandals in the city has reached more than $500,000 and the city officials and police have “done little or nothing about it. Hartmann and other officers of the association appeared before the city commission last week, urging prompt remedial measures by the city officials, and charging that too much leniency is shown in such cases. Mayor Stewart replied that the city had taken steps to eliminate the evil and was doing, all that could be done to end it. North Camden Civic Association officers, including Hartmann, who said recently that damage by the vandals in the city has reached more than $500,000 and the city officials and police have done little or nothing about it. , Hartmann and other officers of the association appeared before the city commission last week, urging prompt remedial measures by the city officials, and charging that too much leniency is shown in such cases. Mayor Stewart replied that the city had taken steps to eliminate the evil and was doing, all that could be done to end it. The civic association’s officers protested nevertheless that this was not so, and that the police could minimize the damage if they were on the job. Hartmann, in company with Frederick von Nieda, president of the Congress of Civic Associations, to which the North Camden association is allied, and George I. Shaw, vice president of the uptown group, conferred with Captain Arthur Colsey, at police headquarters. Captain Colsey promised further co-operation of the police in stamping out the practice of wrecking vacant dwellings and invited all citizen to report such instances to the police. Hartmann's
Reply In replying to Pancoast's criticism Hartmann said: "I learned from the father of one of the boys committed to jail by Judge Pancoast that the three boys could not be released unless I gave the word. This parent was quite alarmed, and I am told made threats against me. He declared that he had a gun and was going to use it. I can appreciate this man's feelings, because I understand that when he returned he found his wife in a terribly excited condition, an because of the fact that their son was arrested for playing tag with some chums. But I can't go to the detention home and order release of the boys. That's impossible. Only the judge can do that. "The attitude of Judge Pancoast in criticizing me indirectly as the complainant not only is uncalled for but is the direct cause of this threat, as well as the distracted state of the boy's mother. "Judge Pancoast is trying to throw a cloud over the real state of affairs in Camden. "As a member of the North Camden Civic Association I have helped to point out conditions here that have existed for a long time without the police taking any notice of them, conditions which should not have been tolerated and which have caused considerable expense to property owners. "This needless expense could have been prevented by the police and Judge Pancoast, in a quiet, yet determined manner. 'Children
Victims of Anger' "Simply because we have criticized him and the police is not reason for Judge Pancoast to vent his anger at us upon innocent children, such as he has done in this particular case. "He states that because we have complained it is necessary for him to hold the three young boys for court. "On top of this he said that we never made any complaints. "The latter is true, for we have not accused any child and do not intend to do so. It is the job of the police department to stop the wave of vandalism, not our task. "Judge Pancoast's attempt to blame me in this situation is ridiculous. As I look at it he seems to be trying to evade the real issues. 'Reprimand
Sufficient' "He made a disgraceful example of three boys, to whom a reprimand would have been sufficient had they; been brought before him for merely playing tag, but if they were accused of vandalism then I think his action in committing them to the detention home was justified. But, since the charge against them was changed from vandalism to incorrigibility it. is apparent that there is some doubt in the judge's mind. "Even with this reasonable doubt I cannot reconcile a case with the disposition of two others, immediately prior to the hearing of the three boys. I understand that two defendants on charges of stealing pipe from a vacant dwelling were dismissed. "The difference in these two instances, certainly does not give evidence of Judge Pancoast's sincerity in dealing with vandalism, or convince me that he is co-operating with the mayor in correcting the evils of which the Citizens and taxpayers have rightfully complained.. |
| Camden Courier-Post - June 29, 1933 |
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Fire
Station Closes Soon; Mayor Denies Safety Menace Closing of the fire station housing Engine Company No. 4 at Fourth and Vine streets is now under way and will be completed within a few days. This was announced yesterday by Mayor Roy R. Stewart, who declared the decision to eliminate the station was reached upon recommendation of the National Board of Fire Underwriters. He also stated a thorough survey revealed closing of the station would not impair the efficiency of the fire department. Frank J. Hartmann, Jr., secretary of the North Camden Civic Association, protested abandonment of the station as a dangerous move at a meeting of the association Monday night. Hartmann asserted that. if a train was shifting on the north Main street tracks at the time of a fire, a section of North Camden would be without protection because apparatus would be unable to get through from any other part of the city. Taking issue with Hartmann, the mayor declared that "it stands to reason" that if the tracks were blocked and No. 6 Engine Company at Front and Linden streets could not cross them to reach a fire, then the fire headquarters company at Fifth and Arch streets could battle the blaze. Protection Provided "Certainly the city would not abandon any fire station if any section would be endangered thereby," the mayor said. "The Board of Fire Underwriters and the city went into a thorough survey of all factors connected with elimination of the station. It was found that No. 4 station could be closed and its personnel of about a dozen men redistributed among other stations without lowering the fire department's efficiency. "It stands to reason the city would not let any part of the city be un protected. Engine Company No. 6 will answer all alarms and calls which formerly went to No. 4 company, and if No. 6 company cannot, then surely the company at fire headquarters, Fifth and Arch streets, could reach the fire in the event the tracks may be blocked at intersection. "I might add also that there is very little shifting of trains along north Main Street compared with a few years ago. However, should there be shifting and a fire on the other side of the tracks, where there may be a fire, what is to prevent the firemen of Engine Company No. 6 from using another intersection a block or so away to cross the railroad intersection? Seldom is a line of freight cars tied up for a long series of blocks in that. neighborhood. And should there be and there is a fire on either side of the tracks, the freight cars could be moved from the intersection speedily. The railroad would net leave many cars tied up without having an engine available on the spot to move them in an emergency." Boxes
Rearranged The mayor said the closing of No. 6 station should be completed in a few days following the rearrangement of call boxes and other details. The mayor added that elimination of No. 6 was decided upon. instead of the closing of No. 6 house, because No. 6 is a more modern house and its equipment could not be placed in No. 4 house unless the latter's doors were replaced with wider doors and there were other changes at a cost at several hundred dollars. The mayor added that consideration also was given to the fact that more industries are in the area served by No. 6 company and it would be advisable to retain that station, therefore, because of its proximity to them. "We considered the change from all angles,'" the mayor said, "with a view to economy without affecting efficiency and proficiency. We made careful survey of reports of tires in the respective districts and the proximity of the area which the two houses served to the headquarters at Fifth and Arch streets. Motors
Speed Up Runs "In the days at horse-drawn fire apparatus, there was the need for many fire stations, but in recent years, with motor equipment, a fire in any part of the city can be reached in comparatively short time, regardless of the location of the station. With all things considered, therefore, the city certainly has taken no step which would endanger any section of the community in the event of fire." The mayor said closing of the Fourth and Vine streets station is another step in the city's program to consolidate fire department activities, without lowering efficiency and as a means of retaining low insurance rates despite lower manpower. The program also includes establishment of a firemen's training school, with drill tower, at Tenth and Morgan streets; the abandonment of one or more other stations upon recommendation of the underwriters, and the removal of the electrical bureau from the old to the new city hall. The mayor said the personnel of the fire department numbers 172, as against 211 in 1931, when he became director of public safety. He stated the changes being effected will offset the reduction in personnel and enable retention of the best fire-fighting efficiency. |
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| CAMDEN COURIER-POST - FEBRUARY 5, 1936 |
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Hartmann
Names Dr. Baker Public Works Staff Physician The
State Civil Service Commission has
been requested to authorize appointment of a staff physician for the
Camden City department of public works at an annual salary of $1500, and
Dr. Maurice E. Baker has been named to the post on an ad interim
appointment by Commissioner Frank
J. Hartmann, Jr.
Dr. Baker, a Democrat, was a candidate for city commissioner last May on the
New Deal-Non Partisan ticket, which elected Hartmann and Commissioners Mary
W. Kobus
and George E. Brunner. Hartmann
said last night that Dr. Baker has been acting as staff physician for the
past four days and has made 12 examinations. Some
of these, Hartmann
said, were
for city employees with frostbitten toes, fingers and ears, who are
claiming compensation, and one was of a woman who slipped and fell
on a sidewalk. "Dr. Baker, of course, is not getting paid a salary now,"
Hartmann
said,
"but we hope he can be placed on a salary as a money-saving movement.
"Heretofore
the physicians examining city workmen on compensation claims have charged
the city $10 for each
examination. "I
expect Dr. Baker
to make 600 to
700 calls a year, most of them examinations, and thus get the work, done
for $2 in each case. "I
expect also to save money on
compensation claims by having Dr. Baker
make examinations of any new men
hired, so that we may be sure they are in good physical condition. As it
is a man could receive an injury somewhere else, go to
work for the city and then claim compensation for the injury by pretending
it happened on the city job. "Dr.
Baker's examinations of the present employees will lead to compensation
claim savings also, as we will be in position to make some of these men
take steps to protect themselves and the city, where remedial action
seems necessary." Hartmann said all members of the city commission except Mayor Frederick von Nieda have endorsed the employment of a staff physician. "I haven't had a chance to talk to the mayor about it yet," Hartmann said. City Solicitor E. G. C. Bleakly also has approved the move as offering a chance to save money, Hartmann said. |
| CAMDEN COURIER-POST - FEBRUARY 14, 1936 |
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COMMISSION KILLS
CIRCULAR ORDINANCE The
ordinance approved on first reading January 29 amending the present law
regulating the distribution of circulars was voted down by the· city
commission on second reading yesterday, after a public hearing. Public
hearings scheduled on five other ordinances were postponed. These
included three refunding measures, one amending present laws designed to
stop littering the streets, and the other extending the closing time for
barber shops. Opposition
to the circular ordinance, which would have restricted the size of
such advertising matter to 6 by 4 inches and required a
permit and tax fur distribution, was voiced by merchants and
representatives of the Socialist and Communist parties. The
hearing was a noisy one, with sporadic outbursts from the audience
causing Mayor Frederick von
Nieda to rap for order frequently. Grocers
Protest A.
David Epstein, attorney representing the South Jersey Grocers
Association, with a membership of 200 independent grocers, was vigorous
in his opposition to the amendment. He argued that circulars provide the
only means for members to advertise their wares and said the proposed
size hardly meets their requirements. Present circulars are 12-1/2
by 19 inches in size, and
have been used over a period of years, Epstein said. The lawyer also
objected to levying a tax, pointing out that each distributor is forced
to take out a $6 license now. Commissioner
Harold W. Bennett said
many justifiable complaints had been received declaring porches, steps
and yards were littered with circulars and other advertising matter. He
said such papers should be attached securely to doors or handed in. Commissioner
Mary W.
Kobus
said she saw no need for the proposed amendment, declaring the existing
law requires distributors to place circulars on a doorknob with a rubber
band.
Irving
Levinsky, Broadway
merchant, said he would favor the ordinance if the size was increased
to 12 by 22 inches. Theatre
Manager Speaks A
chorus of boos caused Mayor
von Nieda to demand order. Levinsky said he agreed that
"newspaper circulars," or thick, bulky ones, should be
outlawed. This
drew an objection from Joseph Murdock, local theatre manager, who defended
multiple page circulars issued by him, in advertising motion pictures. Commissioner
Frank J. Hartmann,
original sponsor of the ordinance, then moved that it be tabled. Charles
S. Danenhower, Camden and South Jersey organizer for the Communist party,
objected that the measure should be killed outright "in the interest
of the working classes." Hartmann
called for action on the ordinance, and it was voted down by unanimous
vote. When the refunding ordinances were laid over for the third time, Bennett said quickly action was necessary, and asked that the mayor be authorized to call a meeting before the next regularly scheduled session, to handle the matter. |
| CAMDEN COURIER-POST - FEBRUARY 19, 1936 |
|
HOFFMAN
OPPOSES FOOD ORDER RETURN Governor Hoffman is opposed to the return to food orders for New Jersey relief clients, he revealed yesterday in a telegram to Commissioner Frank J. Hartmann, Jr. The
governor's wire was in answer to the action of the city commission
adopting a resolution Monday opposing the return of relief clients to the
system of food orders A
crisis of relief financing is at Commissioner
Hartmann presented "Have
your telegram. I, too, am Commissioner
Hartmann said he The resolution adopted unanimously, follows: "Be
it resolved that the Camden City Commission go on record as opposing the
return of relief clients to the old system of food orders "Be
it further resolved that a copy of
this resolution be forwarded to |
|
Camden Courier-Post * February 20, 1936 |
Says
Moullette Is Wrong Again
To the Editor: Sir-
In answer to my good friend Clarence
E. Moullette whose letter appeared in the Mail Bag January 30, May I ask you,
Clarence, since when
have the people chosen George Brunner to be the state leader from to
Camden county -that is the Democratic leader? You know as well as I that the county committeemen and women of the city, and I don't know how many from the county, voted for Brunner. You are wrong when you say the people had chosen Brunner. The
people won't be able to chose Brunner until 1937. I still say David Baird
is laughing up his sleeve. Don't
try to kid me.
Clarence, you know that there are two factions at the
present time. The way you praise George Brunner, it's a wonder you don't
take out petitions and run George Brunner for President of the United
States. How
long have you been a Democrat,
Clarence? Did Frank
J. Hartmann, Jr., give you a job,
Clarence? You know that Brunner and Hartmann
are building up a political machine. Again you are wrong. I am not trying
to lead the voters astray. I
do not know it all as you claim, but I have been fooled enough. I am not
interested in running either with the Democratic or the Republican Party,
I agree with your statement on having a Labor party. You say George
Brunner knows that we are lacking a Labor Party. Well you are right, but I
don't read where George Brunner has quit the Democratic Party to form a
Labor Party. I
don't know who asked you to answer "Just Wondering," and
"One Who Knows," but it appears to me that those two articles
must have upset someone's apple cart, I hope that you are telling the
truth when you say that it is a split that will heal to everyone's
advantage, HARRY
W. BEACH |
| Camden Courier-Post * February 21, 1936 |
|
CALLS THE CONGRESSMAN To the Editor: Sir-Will you kindly find space in the columns of the Mail Bag for the attached letter: To my fellow delegates and Congressmen: Being rather lazy and reluctant to write all the delegates and congressmen of the Congress of Civic Associations and having this valuable medium whereby one letter will reach all as well as giving the publicity we always strove for in the days of the congress, it is my desire to reminisce with you of those good days when our congress was feared by every politician. For one, I am sorry that there exists no longer the congress. I sure did enjoy hearing you, Frank, and you, Clarence, as well as the rest of us, on the commission floor "bawling out" our city fathers. We'd have to arrange that a little different now, for it would be awkward for you, Frank, to get down from the commissioner's chair to the floor to raise the devil with the other commissioners because they made the taxes go up. Clarence could not very well attend the meetings to criticize the city government, at least so long as he is on city's time. But be that as it may, perhaps it can be arranged through another congress, where we could make all the plans for our bi-monthly show at every commission meeting. LEON
S. WOJTKOWIAK |
| Camden Courier-Post - February 21, 1936 |
|
Hartmann Defended To
the Editor: Sir-Will
you please print the following article in your Mail Bag. Now, my fellow
citizens, where IS your howling and crying over the moneys spent by the
city not being used for anything productive? Folks like to talk about
others, but never a good word for those who deserve it. Mr. Hartmann
has treated WPA workers like
men, and they responded like men. I am one of them. I worked all day
February 13 in the snow and storm and have not heard any grumbling from
any of my buddies. Did the public ever stop crying the blues long enough
to realize that I got $76 per month from relief? Of course I have a family
and my wife never was satisfied, like lots of others, to take all and give
nothing. Now I get $60 a month and we (my family) are happy again. Why?
Be- cause I can at least make an effort to earn what I get. It's mine and
I keep my kids dressed warmly and they go to the movies every Saturday
afternoon. I feel 100 percent better than living on E.R.A. I have two very
close friends on E.R.A. who laugh at me for working on W.P.A., but when
they need a few pennies they look me up. Due to Mr. Hartmann we were kept
on our jobs instead of being laid off. His efforts put us on the snowy
streets. I've lived in this town for 38 years, my mother 57 years and my
dad 68 years and all of us say the same thing. God give us some more Hartmanns
and Kobuses
instead of David ? regime. That's all, folks, your street Improvements
to date have cost you taxpayers practically nothing. Just a word to W.P.A.
workers: Layoff of Kelly, he is a good man when you understand him. HERBERT
BARD |
| Camden Courier-Post - February 24, 1936 |
|
ANNIVERSARY
HELD More
than 60 members of the Pyne Poynt Athletic Club joined celebrating the
club's twenty-fifth anniversary at a banquet and entertainment Saturday
night at the organization's headquarters 939 North Fifth street. The
group was entertained by John Devlin, "Irish Ambassador," and
engaged in a Monte Carlo contest under direction of George Townsend of
Collingswood. Three of the members now living at Washington, D. C.,
journeyed back to the club from the national capital. They are William
Brandt, R. George Rheinbold and William Begg. Among
other out-of-town members attending were Arthur Messler, Westwood; Harry
Edginton, Milford, Del.; William Cann and Howard Hurlock, both of
Wilmington, Del., and AIfred Heap, Haddonfield, one of the organizers. Harry
F. Walton, first president, was toastmaster. Albert Ross, Jr., house
director was in charge of banquet preparations. Officers of the club are
Edward H. Winters, president; Alexander Kahnweiler, vice president;
Hamilton |
| CAMDEN COURIER-POST - FEBRUARY 28, 1936 |
|
Rulers
Defer Naming City's
Finance Adviser During Bitter Session By W. OLIVER KINCANNON Camden
City Commission failed again yesterday to settle the question: Who will
be Camden's financial adviser? A
meeting called to settle the point yesterday was adjourned until 2 p. m. today over the
violent protest of Commissioner Harold W. Bennett, director of revenue and finance.
Among
the surprises of the meeting was the statement by Commissioner Frank J.
Hartmann, Jr.,
that Commissioner Harold W. Bennett, director of revenue and finance, and
Mayor Frederick von Nieda
agreed Tuesday to abandon Chapter 60 as the basis for refunding the city's
indebtedness and making the 1936 budget. Bennett Makes Denial Bennett
denied this vehemently, but Hartmann, after the meeting, said: I
don't
care how
much he
denies
it. He and the mayor agreed to yield on that point. Mr.
Bennett is not
going to get away with telling me one thing in a private conference and
saying another for purposes of appealing to the public." Hartmann's
charge attracted unusual attention due to the fact Bennett
has held out
from the first mention of refunding of Chapter 60 -a rigid and stringent
law requiring the city to maintain a cash basis of pay-as-you-go
operations, under strict state supervision, for a minimum of 20 years. Hartmann
said Bennett
and von Nieda
agreed to "go along" on the less stringent provisions of Chapter
77, bolstered by local assurances that would give bondholders virtually
the same guarantees they would receive under Chapter 60, but without
invoking upon the city the strict and long-term regulation by state
authorities. Another
Applicant
Commissioner
George E. Brunner asked for yesterday's adjournment on the ground that
another man or agency, whom the commissioners had not interviewed, desired
to present a proposal to the commissioners yesterday afternoon. Bennett
objected that noon Tuesday was the deadline set for applications and said
they are closed as far as he is concerned. He took the position it would
be unethical to consider any more applications for the job, and delivered
this ultimatum:
"I
refuse to accept any responsibility for any further delay in making
Camden's 1936
budget and refunding plan. Let's settle
it now." Nevertheless,
the other four commissioners interviewed the new applicant at 5 p. m. and
may consult another today. The
new seeker of the post of official fiscal adviser is George S. Burgess,
president of the State Service Bureau, which publishes the Legislative
Index for New Jersey and the New Jersey Municipal Reporter, and also
supplies a municipal financial information service to hundreds of
officials, including, Burgess said, the state auditor, Walter R. Darby. Burgess
is credited with devising and placing in operation the municipal
accounting system in Massachusetts and with setting up the system of
accounting by which the War Department settled war contracts, and
represented the War Department in litigation involving numerous problems
of accounting, Opposes
Chapter 80
Burgess
is revealed as opposed to Chapter 60 for most municipalities. He is quoted
in one of his own publications as saying: "The
Barbour bill (Chapter 50, 1934)
is an ideal conception for sound
municipal financing, but few places can operate under it until their tax
collections increase decidedly. The earning power of the people in a large
number of municipalities is far short of such a possibility." He
listed as the municipal finance advisory board of his concern the
following men: William
H. Albright, New Jersey State Treasurer, as chairman of the board, Senator
John C. Barbour (sponsor of Chapter 60), of Passaic county, president of
the State Senate, Raymond M. Greer, Comptroller of Jersey City and member
of a New York firm of accountants, Arthur N. Pierson, treasurer of Union
county, Samuel S. Kenworthy, executive secretary of the New Jersey State
League of Municipalities. Promises
Price Today
Burgess
did not submit a price on his services but told the commissioners he will
submit one by 1 p.m.
today or before that time. He
informed the commissioners his firm is serving four municipalities in New
Jersey as financial adviser now and said his experience covers many
similar services to Massachusetts’ cities. Burgess
also said he understands budget-making and financial practices on a big
scale, partly through serving after the World War as consulting auditor
for the War Department, reporting directly to General Herbert M. Lord,
then director of finances for the War Department and subsequently director
of the budget for the United States. It
was indicated by the commissioners another man may be interviewed today on
an application to be adviser for the city. The
interview with Burgess followed a hectic meeting in which numerous charges
were hurled and the commissioners teetered on the brink of revealing
confidences that have been kept hidden behind closed portals for the past
few days. Bennett
Assailed
Among
them was a charge by Hartmann
that Bennett
has done nothing to carry out the commission's instructions
to contact bondholders and attempt to obtain reductions in interest
rates on city bonds. Bennett
denied this angrily and asked:
• "How
do you
think I got the interest down? (On tax revenue notes) By sitting back and
laughing?" Bennett
argued that the city's budget must be passed by the commission by March 9
and that any further delay past yesterday would jeopardize the city's
standing and bring about a state of "chaos." Bennett
also denied he has ever favored employment of a financial adviser, though
he told a gathering of commissioners, freeholders, bond dealers and
attorneys Monday that he thought the city's differences could best be
settled by an adviser. He
declined to follow the suggestion of L. Arnold Frye, of Hawkins, Delafield
and Longfellow, counsel for the city on bond matters. Frye
Asks Peace
Frye
urged the commissioners to settle their differences and agree upon a plan
among themselves. Hartmann
also brought out an intimation that "the city was to be divided up by
the bondholders," and this brought another hot denial from
Bennett. Commissioner
Mary
W. Kobus
revealed that in considering applications for fiscal adviser, the
commission also has considered having the man with the plan do the actual
work of placing the bonds, a function that normally would fall under
Bennett's jurisdiction. Bennett
insisted his department is capable of handling the financial affairs of
the city and would have them composed by now if it had been allowed a free
rein. Another
surprise resulted when Thomas J. Fox, who said he is "a small
taxpayer" and lives at 608 Royden Street,
urged the commission to hold up all refunding for ten days and promised it
could be settled then on a plan he is working out. Fox
said he is retired and told reporters he and two other men are working out
a refunding plan for the city that will prevent a tax increase and will
enable the city to pay all interest. He added: "I'm
the most important one." The entire debate resulted from a motion to
adjourn, made by Brunner. Everything that preceded this motion had been
passed unanimously. Applicants
who appeared Tuesday to ask for the city adviser's post were Melbourne F.
Middleton, former commissioner; Leon C. Guest, Camden investment
securities broker; Thomas R. Lill, New York technical adviser of
governmental administration and finance, and J. P. Ramsey, who represented
Norman S. Tabor, New York specialist in municipal finances. Dr.
Frank Parker, University of Pennsylvania finance professor and nationally
known as an economist, and Thomas Christensen, former Atlantic county
accountant, were unable to appear. Tabor,
now doing similar work in Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, would be unable to
appear personally before Monday, the commission was advised by Ramsey, but
the latter's bid was confirmed by his superior over long-distance
telephone. Lill,
who has had a wide, international experience in technical finance work, is
now adviser to the Atlantic City bondholders' committee. The
four applicants on Tuesday briefly sketched a review of their past
activities in similar work, told of their plans for Camden, and the
compensation they would require for the work. Guest,
the first to be heard, described himself as a Camden native who has
handled many Camden bonds in the past. Middleton,
who followed, said his plan for Camden was substantially the same as the
program he submitted October 2, 1935, when he applied for the position of
financial adviser. The city's first director of revenue and finance under
commission form of government, Middleton
is now engaged in the bond
business in Philadelphia. Ramsey
described the Tabor company as the only one of its kind in the United
States. It has refinanced more than 100 cities, 40 in New Jersey, and
works with 164 bond dealers. Ramsey submitted a long list of bank and
insurance company executives as references. Lill
said he began his finance career in 1911. In 1918 he was director of the
Mexican Refinancing Commission, representing President Carranza in
international negotiations until Carranza's assassination. After that, Lill served the Republic of Colombia as technical adviser for five years; Chile for two, Yucatan for two, and has worked in cities all over the United States and in Canada. He was chosen by the Atlantic City bond-holders' committee 2½ years ago, still serving as technical adviser for that group, he said. |
| CAMDEN COURIER-POST - AUGUST 1, 1936 | ||
| Hartmann Seeks Way to Improve Realty on Wilson Blvd. | ||
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| CAMDEN COURIER-POST - AUGUST 1, 1936 | |
| HARTMANN
RECORDS RESULTS OF YEAR AS COMMISSIONER Department of Public Works on Business Basis, Cash Saved, He Says CITES PARK EXTENSIONS |
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Camden Courier-Post August 5, 1936 |
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Raymond Dobbs - E.G.C.
Bleakly - Dr. David Helm - Frank
J. Hartmann Jr. Frederick von Nieda - Charles L. Humes |
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| CAMDEN COURIER-POST - JANUARY 14, 1938 |
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| CAMDEN COURIER-POST - JANUARY 18, 1938 | ||
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George E. Brunner |
| CAMDEN COURIER-POST - JANUARY 27, 1938 | |
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| CAMDEN COURIER-POST - February 1, 1938 |
| UNDERPASS
SOUGHT FOR CRAMER HILL Peril to Children Crossing Tracks Discussed by Legislative Forum Possibility of amending existing statutes providing state aid for elimination or grade crossings to permit financing, an underpass in Cramer Hill was suggested by City Commissioner Hartmann to State Senator Burling and Assemblymen Lawrence H, Ellis and Millard E. Allen at the weekly legislative forum. Hartmann, attending the session on other matters, was asked by the legislators to join a discussion started by Clarence Dunkleberger of the Eleventh Ward. Dunkleberger pointed out no streets cross the railroad tracks between River road and Westfield Avenue, between Twenty-seventh and Thirty-sixth streets. He said parochial and high school students cross the tracks at great danger, and suggested some way be found to compel the railroad to provide an underpass at Thirty-first street, Thirty-second Street, Lois or Beideman avenue. Burling said that matter was one for the city's legal department to pursue. Hartmann was called in, and said three solicitors have given opinions that the railroad cannot be forced to act. He also said such an underpass would cost $400,000, not $40,000, the figure named by Dunkleberger. "We are unable to get state aid be cause there is no crossing there to eliminate," Hartmann said. "If the law could be changed to cover such situations, we might be able to work out something. Certainly an under pass is needed there." Dr. Ethan A. Lang, Eleventh ward physician, has been seeking for a long time to have something done about the situation, but has been stymied by the high cost. |
| CAMDEN COURIER-POST - February 1, 1938 |
| LIGHT
PLANT BILL SUBMITTED TO PWA Federal Aides Asked to study Burling Measure for Camden Utility City Commissioner Hartmann yesterday sent State Senator Burling's bill to enable Camden to borrow money for construction of a light plant to Dr. Clark Foreman, PWA counsel in Washington, for his perusal. Immediately upon return of the measure Hartmann and Burling will confer and make any changes that may be suggested by the Federal official before the Senator introduces the bill. The plan of procedure was out lined Saturday, when Hartmann appeared before the county legislative delegation at its weekly session. Burling introduced the bill last, year but was unsuccessful in getting it out of committee, although a companion measure, sponsored by former Assemblyman Bartholomew A. Sheehan, passed the House. Mrs. Ida Pfeil, active in North Camden civic affairs, appeared before the lawmakers to press her point for a legislative embargo on the present discretion given. municipalities in the matter of charging interest on tax delinquencies. Mrs. Pfeil contends taxation is "impoverishing the people." She said municipalities should be restricted from charging more than 1½ or 2 percent. Senator Burling and Assemblyman Lawrence H. Ellis pointed out that owners of properties on a large scale would defer payment of taxes if the interest rate is less than the interest they pay on borrowed money. Burling said the bill already has been introduced in the Senate- S-10- to set a maximum of 4 percent interest on one-year delinquencies and 6 percent after the first year. The present law sets a limit of 8 percent. |
| Camden Courier-Post - February 1, 1938 |
|
CITY
REVENUES RISE $1,268,771.83 IN 1937 OVER PREVIOUS YEAR By A. CHARLES COROTIS Camden City collected $1,268,771.83 more in current and delinquent taxes and miscellaneous revenues in 1937 than in 1936, it was revealed in an official report prepared by Comptroller Sidney P. McCord arid released yesterday by Mayor George E. Brunner. Current tax collections increased from $3,951,300.99 to $4,153,493.71, a gain of $202,192.72, while receipts from tax title liens more than doubled as a result of the intensive liquidation campaign carried on by the department of revenue and finance through its certificate bureau, headed by Isadore H. Hermann. Whereas revenue from liens amounted to only $229,027.99 in 1936, last years' collections from this source totaled $482,562.68. Delinquent tax collections were $14,667.23 and under 1936, due mainly to the improvement in current collections in 1936 as compared with prior years, which left less taxes outstanding at the end of the year of levy. Cross-Receipts Levy Is Windfall Contributing virtually half the record-breaking revenue increase was the windfall from gross-receipts taxes. Against an anticipated $322,648.31 and 1936 receipts of $107,265.09, the city actually got $728,068.15. In addition it collected $284,939.46 in franchise taxes, compared with $185,008 for 1936. These two gains followed the decision by the Court of Errors and Appeals holding State Tax Commissioner J. H. Thayer Martin without authority to disregard municipal assessments of utilities personal property and substitute his own figures, derived from its "unit-capacity-production" yardstick. The largest advances in miscellaneous revenues, exclusive of these two sources, came from miscellaneous interest and costs. which jumped $79,558.83, and surplus from the water bureau, which jumped $65,999.21. The water bureau, operated under Commissioner Frank J. Hartmann, turned over to the city treasury $253,804.24 as against a 1936 total of $187,805.03. Water collections, aggregated $619,451.12, made up of $325,984.92 in current fiat rates, $206,431.53 in current meter, $52,213.36 in one-year delinquent flat-rates, $19,625.37 in one-year meters and $15,195.95 in miscellaneous revenue. Other Sources Swell Revenue The 1936 total was $570,919.01, broken down into $281,861.27, current flat; $198,972.68, current meter; $72,156.91 delinquent fiat and $17,928.15 miscellaneous. Other sources of revenue which showed increases over 1936 were bank stock taxes, city clerk's office, city property, District Court, building bureau, treasurer's office, cemeteries, municipal markets and Convention Hall. Accounts that decreased were the highway bureau, department of public safety, Recorder's Court, electrical bureau, health bureau, plumbing inspectors, radio station WCAM, South Jersey Port Commission and assessments. Budget Estimates Far Exceeded The Port Commission, which for years had returned only $50,000 of the $190,000 which the City annually appropriates to it, and from which Mayor Brunner received $66,750 in 1936, dropped back to $56,750 last year. Actual receipts exceeded budget estimates of miscellaneous revenues last year by $694,003,06, of which surplus $405,419.84 came from gross receipts taxes while franchise taxes contributed $99,939.46. In 1936 the receipts were $108,062,27 above anticipations, marking the first time in many years that a deficit did not exist. A favorite trick of previous administrations was to inflate miscellaneous revenue estimates beyond all reasonable expectations to hold down tax levies and rates.. |
| CAMDEN COURIER-POST - February 3, 1938 |
| HARTMANN
RE-NAMES LIGHTING INSPECTOR Williams Appointed to Re port on Relocating Lamps; Ruler Again Raps P.S. Appointment of John W. Williams, Twelfth ward Republican, as a city street lighting inspector has been announced by Commissioner Frank J. Hartmann. Williams, who will be compensated on a per diem basis of $4, formerly held a similar position but when the economy salary cuts were established he was employed on it six-months basis and later the post was vacated. Hartmann said he appointed Williams primarily because a closer inspection of city street lights is important. He said Williams is familiar with all street light locations and is in a position to make adequate reports to him. Hartmann ordered Williams to inspect all street lighting and make recommendations as to locations where there is inadequate lighting and in sections where lighting can be distributed to serve the largest area without the added expense of new street lights. Several times the commissioner has complained many street lights are of varying heights, improperly located in need of relocations. "The city of Camden is no worse off in the matter of street lighting than most other cities," Hartmann asserted. "Every city at some time has had to curtail street lighting budgets. "If the cost of street lighting in cities served by Public Service Electric and Gas Company was not exorbitant, Camden and other New Jersey cities could be far better lighted. These excessive rates make it necessary to reduce lighting costs to keep the city tax rate down." r yesterday sent State Senator Burling's bill to enable Camden to borrow money for construction of a light plant to Dr. Clark Foreman, PWA counsel in Washington, for his perusal. |
|
Camden Courier-Post - February 4, 1938 |
|
DEMOLITION
BANNED If TAXES ARE OWED Permits for demolition of houses or buildings will be refused to owners unless all taxes and. other municipal liens are paid in full, Commissioner Frank J. Hartmann, director of public works, has announced. In announcing a new department policy, Hartmann said he intended to rigidly enforce the order. As a result of the ruling the city treasury was enriched $740 yesterday when owners of two dilapidated houses at Seventeenth and Federal Streets paid that sum in order to obtain a permit for demolition of the property. The City Commission last week approved an ordinance empowering Hartmann to proceed with the work of property demolition when any property is declared unsafe and a menace to life or limb or where a property becomes a fire menace. Many owners of property have proceeded with demolition work and it was later found taxes and other liens were unpaid," Hartmann said. "This practice will not be tolerated in the future. "I have instructed my secretary, William J. Palladino, who is in charge of the building bureau, that no permits for property demolition shall be issued until it is determined if taxes and other liens are paid. "In the case of the two Federal Street houses we found the amount owing to the city was $740. A permit for demolition of the property was withheld. By this action the city received a substantial sum of money." Hartmann said he is making a survey of all properties in the city to determine the number that are unsafe and dangerous. Inspectors of the building bureau will furnish him with a list of such dangerous property with the amounts in each case of taxes, water rents and other liens unpaid. "The city will be able not only to get rid of dilapidated, unsafe and untenantable properties but will at the same time collect a substantial sum of money during the year when these liens are paid," Hartmann declared. He estimated more than 500 pieces of property either should be rebuilt and made safe or should be razed. |
|
Camden Courier-Post - February 4, 1938 |
|
3
MEN AND 6 GIRLS PASS CLERK TESTS Three Camden men were certified for two positions in the Department of Public Works yesterday after passing examinations conducted by the Civil Service Commission. All qualified as senior clerk-stenographers. At the same time, six of 11 young women who took tests to supplement the existing eligibility list of female senior clerk-stenographers received passing grades. Three of the six now work for the city, and one is employed by the Camden County Park Commission. The list is for possible employment in Camden city. The three men certified are David A. Baxter, 907 North Fifth Street, first with a mark of 78.40; Stephen Bielicki, 1031 Kaighn Avenue, second with 75.85, and Joseph F. Markley, Jr., 465 Carteret Street, third with 70.30. Baxter and Bielicki now are employed in the department as temporary senior clerk-stenographers. Their certification will permit Commissioner Frank. J. Hartmann to make, the appointments permanent if he chooses. Markley also is eligible." Bessie F. Griffith, 820 Line Street, received the highest grade among the six who passed the test for female employees, with 77.70. Helen H. Lodge, 125 North Third street, was second with 77.55, she is a daughter of former Assemblyman Henry Lodge, of Audubon. Marie L. Hartmann, now working in the tax sales office of the Department of Revenue and Finance, received a mark of 71.05. She lives at 3126 Atlanta Road. Victoria McCurdy, 1211 Haddon Avenue, employed in the tax lien bureau of the same department, followed with 70.70. Marie A. Paris, 1426 Haddon Avenue, secretary to John H. Osler, Jr., park commission engineer; qualified with a mark of 70.50, while Marie B. Carr, 1409 Princess Avenue, secretary to the City Board, of Assessors, received 70.25. The salary minimum for both male and female senior clerk-stenographers is $1380, and the maximum is $1680. |
|
Camden Courier-Post - February 5, 1938 |
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HARTMANN
URGES DIME ROUND TRIP TO PHILA. ON SPAN LINE A 10 cent round trip high-speed line fare between Camden and Eighth and Market streets, Philadelphia, and the establishment of a modern bus terminal in Roosevelt Plaza is favored by Commissioner Frank J. Hartmann: Hartmann said the low fare terminal would produce these results: The reduced train fare would increase high-speed line riding and save thousands of regular Camden and suburban riders between $20 and $30 yearly in transportation costs. Receipts from operation of the high-speed line would be increased and losses reduced. Bus operating companies using the proposed terminal would save additional thousands of dollars now paid in high bridge tolls and profits would be increased. Camden merchants would enjoy more prosperity through, increased sales and greater numbers of buyers. Commissioner Hartmann made his statement to a committee representing the Broadway Businessmen's Association at a conference in his office when the proposed bus terminal was discussed. The committee, headed by James V. Moran, vice president of the Hurley Stores, conferred with Hartmann to get his views on a proposed bus terminal. A movement to arouse interest in the terminal was recently inaugurated by businessmen. "I do not propose to be a part of any plan that will make the city of Camden a financial Santa Claus to resuscitate a $10,000,000 half-dead goldfish called the high-speed line," Hartmann told the committee. "While I favor erection of a bus terminal, if one is to be built in Roosevelt Plaza then I will insist that it be a structure comparable to the architecture of the $10,000,000 noble experiment we call the new City Hall. "Neither will I approve a terminal with pup tent shelters, hot dog stands and waiting sheds that will make the present beautiful plaza look like a shacktown neighborhood." Hartmann said a modern terminal would cost at least $400,000. He pointed out that the present new bridge loll booths at the bridge entrance were built at a cost of about $90,000. "If a modern bus terminal is decided upon”, Hartmann continued, "then Public Service, the Bridge Commission and all other bus operating companies should pay the costs of building the terminal and the city should receive some revenue for the land acquired for a terminal. "The fare, from Camden to. Eighth and Market streets should be five cents in each direction instead of the present 10 cent fare with free transfers. With such a fare rate regular riders will save from $20 to $30 annually. ''If P.R.T. and the Bridge Commissioners want to save the high-speed line they should agree to reduce the fare and, encourage more riding. A reduced fare and a modern bus terminal would cause people to flock into the terminal and the high-speed line service would be increased instead of curtailed. The commissioner said a passenger survey of the high-speed line will show that the majority of Camden and suburban riders travel as far as the Eighth street station in Philadelphia and usually walk the rest of the distance. Previous efforts to settle the question of establishing a bus terminal proved futile. Last May the Broadway Businessmen's Association went on record as favoring a terminal in the plaza at the City Hall. The question as to whether bus companies operating through Camden could be compelled to use the terminal in interstate operation has never been decided. At yesterday's conference Charles H. Heritage, president of the association, asked Hartmann if the city legal department had ever given an opinion. Hartmann said he will ask for an opinion from City Solicitor Firmin Michel. Others who attended the conference as members of the association's committee were Morris Futernick, Samuel Auerbach, Irving Levinsky and Simon Abramson. |
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Camden Courier-Post - February 5, 1938 |
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3
LANES OF TRAFFIC URGED ON BROADWAY The widening of Broadway through Camden and Gloucester and the establishment of three traffic lanes is advocated by S. Herbert Taylor, acting ·county engineer; in a plan submitted to Frank Berckman, chair man of the road committee of the Camden County Board of Freeholders. Taylor favors the widening of the city’s principal business street to 46 feet to permit the laying out of the three traffic lanes, to be 10 feet, eight inches wide, to be flanked by seven foot parking lanes. He suggests pedestrian safety islands at intersections. Taylor proposes the state take over the street in Camden as it already has done in Gloucester and pay for the improvement. He further proposes the state take over River Avenue in Camden, which becomes River Road in Pennsauken Township. Hartmann Opposes Plan, His plan is opposed by City Commissioner Frank J. Hartmann, Jr., director of public works, who has charge of Camden streets. Taylor says the widening of the street will decrease traffic hazards and Hartmann is of the opinion it will make Broadway a speedway and increase accidents. At present the roadway varies from 33 to 40 feet in width, but both cities have 66-foot rights of way, Taylor said. Uniform widening to 46 feet would permit 10 feet on each side for pavements, without the necessity of acquiring new rights of way, he added, asserting only encroachments on the existing municipal rights would have to be removed. Taylor recommends that application be made to the State Highway Commission for motor, vehicle license and gas tax funds to defray the entire cost of the proposed improvement. Urges State Operation Further, the engineer insists that Broadway, along with River road, in Camden should be taken over by the Commission and maintained by that agency. The, state already operates Broadway in Gloucester, but has been lax on maintaining it, Taylor said in criticizing the condition of the street there. He cited sharp drops at the gutters which make driving or parking along the sides hazardous. This condition would be eliminated in his plan. Elaborating upon his contention that the state should take over Broadway and River Road, Taylor points out both are inter-county highways, and that for nine months in the year: Broadway carries as much traffic as the White Horse Pike, and River Road as much as Black Horse Pike. Taylor estimates motorists .using Broadway in Camden pay $54,000 annually to the state in motor vehicle and gas taxes, with no return to the city. Fifteen persons were injured fatally in motor accidents on Broadway last year, eight in Camden and seven in Gloucester, the engineer pointed out. He said the artery has the heaviest pedestrian death rate in the county in emphasizing, the need for improvements, particularly pedestrian islands. Offers Protection Plan In this connection Taylor has designed a· unique island, which he feels provides complete protection for pedestrians. He has submitted a detailed plan to Berckman for his consideration. "Broadway and River Road should be State highways, right into the heart of Camden City to the Delaware River Bridge," argues Taylor, who was assistant to Beale M. Schmucker until the latter's death. "Both of these routes are arterial, inter-county routes. In neither case is there an alternate state route that can be taken, without traveling a much longer distance. "The State did not solve the arterial highway problem of this, area when it constructed the Crescent and Admiral Wilson Boulevards. "Take the case of Broadway, for instance, to go to Westville and points south and southwest from the bridge, the Admiral Wilson-Crescent route is two miles or 40 percent longer than the straight line of Broadway. That most people prefer the direct route is shown by the fact that the heavy traffic of the Camden end continues right down through Gloucester City to the county line. The State has accepted the responsibility of Broadway through Gloucester City, although it has allowed the roadway there to remain in a terrible unsafe condition. If it is a State highway there why should it not continue as a State highway through Camden? "A 1935 traffic survey showed Broadway carrying 9000 to 12,000 cars daily. These figures should be increased 10 to 18 percent because motor travel bas increased 18 percent generally, since 1935. "This traffic means that the users of Broadway, while on Broadway, are paying approximately $10,000 per mile per year in gas tax. Since motor vehicle fees produce almost as much revenue as gas tax, we may assume an annual contribution per mile of $20,000. Thus for the 2.7 miles of Broadway in Camden, they pay to the State $54,000 a year and yet none of this money can be made available for the improvement of the route they use. "That this route is sorely in need of improvement is shown by the death toll on it, the worst of any route through Camden city. Fifteen persons, most of them pedestrians, were killed on the five-mile stretch through Camden and Gloucester last year. Would Double Capacity "A slightly widened highway would double its capacity and also make room for "pedestrian" islands. This widening could be done within the present right of way and still leave 10 feet each side for sidewalks. "Crosswalks could be flood-lighted from the pedestrian islands. A study should be made to determine if progressive timing of traffic signals can be installed to expedite traffic and control speeds. These factors incorporated into the design of a new Broadway would, I am sure, prevent most of these fatalities. "Broadway has and is producing more than enough revenue to make these improvements. What has been said of Broadway is true also of River Road, although in a less degree. The state should admit its responsibility and take both of these routes over. Taylor said Broadway’s capacity now is 1000 cars per hour. With three lanes instead of two, as at present, the route could accommodate 2000 cars hourly, he contends. Room for 3 Lanes "Broadway is 40 feet wide in Camden," the engineer explains. Seven feet is enough for a parking lane on each side. That would leave 26 feet. Add six feet to that and you have three good wide lanes, each eight inches wider than the 10-feet width accepted as normal; Safety engineers are favoring wider lanes, however, and with all the truck and bus traffic on Broadway, I would recommend 10 feet, 8 inches. This could be accomplished by moving the curbs back three feet on each side. "In Gloucester the width varies from 83 to 40 feet, although actually it is not even that wide, due to the dangerously high crown. The drop at both sides is so sheer it is difficult for vehicles to go near the curbs. "The maximum drop from the center of the road to the gutters is 15 inches. By all the rules of highway construction, no drop should be greater than six inches. Personally I wouldn't build with more than a four-inch drop. That's enough for drainage. Taylor denies that three-lane highways are more dangerous than two lanes. Defends Plan as Safe "It is true you have a common passing lane," the engineer said. "But with only two lanes you must go into opposing traffic to pass a vehicle. With three lanes you go into a neutral zone. For the same amount of traffic, a three-lane highway is far safer than a two-lane one. "I cannot see the wisdom of widening Broadway in Camden at this time," Hartmann said last night, "Camden police officials should do as they did in New York City by putting into effect regulations to prohibit parking of all cars and trucks on Broadway. "It is the all-day and double parking that contributes to many of the accidents that occur on Broadway. If the street is converted into a boulevard most motorists will use it for a speedway and thereby create more traffic hazards and increase accidents." The commissioner said he is of the opinion that merchants and property owners on Broadway would be opposed to Taylor's plan If it would cost the city a huge sum of money, which would be reflected in a higher tax rate. "Broadway was widened in the section below Cherry Street many years' ago," Hartmann added. "The sidewalks were cut down to a little more than a double pathway. Property owners were supposed to set back their building fronts some three feet, to give additional sidewalk space. But a few property owners have met this requirement. "If the State of New Jersey had a quarter of a million dollars to give Camden a boulevard the money should be spent to widen South Seventh Street over the former Pennsylvania railroad right-of-way. That street is ideal for a boulevard to relieve the heavy traffic on Broadway," Hartmann continued. Favors Seventh Street Hartmann said the better plan would be to proceed with the paving of South Seventh Street, with the widening of Haddon Avenue to follow as a second project. He suggested a boulevard south of Kaighn Avenue to link Seventh Street with Broadway. "Camden, taxpayers are paying their limit in taxes and they cannot be asked to pay more for a Broadway boulevard or a high-speed thorofare anywhere else in the city. If any of the city streets are to be widened as feeders for the Crescent or Admiral Wilson Boulevards than the state should pay the bill and not the taxpayers;" he said. Several months ago the Ninth Ward Democratic Association approved a resolution to build a boulevard in the present semi-abandoned South Seventh Street railroad right-of-way. No action followed the proposal, when a survey showed a majority of property owners and persons renting homes and buildings along the street voiced their opposition to the proposed boulevard project.. |
| Camden Courier-Post - February 7, 1938 | |
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Camden Courier-Post - February 8, 1938 |
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Camden Courier-Post - February 8, 1938 |
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$8,000,000
FUND SOUGHT FOR HOUSING A Federal grant of $8,000,000 for slum clearance and two municipal low-cost housing units will be sought by the city of Camden when the State Legislature approves pending bills providing enabling legislation. This was made known yesterday by Commissioner Frank J. Hartmann, director of public works, who also announced he will present an ordinance at Thursday's meeting of the City Commission setting up a Camden Municipal Housing Authority. The ordinance, Hartmann explained, will conform with requirements in one of the Assembly bills. Members of the authority, who will be known as Housing Commissioners, will be named by the City Commission. Present members of the Camden Municipal Low-cost Housing Committee are Charles F. Hollopeter, chairman; Dr. M. F. Wheatland, William H. White, Horace R. Dixon, secretary, and John Green, president of the United Marine and Shipbuilders' Union of America. "Camden needs two more low-cost housing units to provide modern, sanitary and adequate housing for its working people," Hartmann said. "Unless present plans are changed the proposed housing authority will seek a grant of $8,000,000 from the U. S. Housing Authority". "As soon as the legislature passes the enabling legislation the city through this committee will be in a position to go to Washington, present our plans, and make formal request for Federal money. Hartmann said that neither he nor the members of the housing committee will divulge any contemplated locations of the two proposed projects. "This committee has studied housing needs from all angles. Neither politics, race or creed will enter into negotiations in connection with the projects." |
Camden Courier-Post - February 8, 1938 |
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BURLING
CONFERS WITH HARTMANN ON LIGHT PLANT BILL A conference on Camden's proposed legislative light plant bill was held yesterday by State Senator Albert E. Burling, Commissioner Frank J. Hartmann and his assistant, Walter S. Anderson. The session was held in Burling's private office. Neither Burling nor Hartmann would disclose if they had decided on any action to introduced a bill to provide enabling legislation to obtain Federal PW A funds for the proposed municipal electric light plant, for which voters of the city twice cast a majority vote. "The conference was held at the request of Commissioner Hartmann,” Burling said. "We discussed possible legislation which may be favorably acted on by the Legislature. "It was agreed that our plans not be discussed or made known for the present and not until the matter can be more thoroughly analyzed and discussed." Commissioner Hartmann was reluctant to discuss the conference. "Out of courtesy to Senator Burling I do not desire to discuss the matter," Hartmann said. Anderson appeared before Burling and the Camden county Assembly delegation at the weekly forum Saturday with suggested revisions in previous bills, after contacting Dr. Clark Forman, of the PWA legal staff in Washington. Today's conference was the outgrowth of that discussion. City Clerk Clay W. Reesman, of Camden, asked the Legislators to amend the election law to defer certification of polling places until Fall in years when primaries are held in September. Cites Election Law Reesman pointed out that Article 8, paragraph 87, calls for municipal clerks to send polling place lists to county boards of election before March 1, and directs the county boards to certify them ·back by April 15. "That was all right when primary elections were held in May each year," Reesman said. "But now they are held in September except in Presidential years, and the dates should be changed to August 1 and September 1 except in Presidential years. As it now stands, changes are made all Summer after the list is certified, until the original list be comes unrecognizable." Clarence Dunkleberger, of the Eleventh Ward, reappeared to ask that a way be found to provide an underpass for school children who cross the railroad tracks between Cramer Hill and the Westfield Avenue section. There are no crossings between Twenty-seventh and Thirty-sixth streets. Asks About Trade Mark Dunkleberger said it is his understanding that an existing law requires railroad companies to provide crossings at every other block, but if this is not so, he asked that a bill be introduced to compel railroads to provide crossings every half mile in second-class cities. Charles Dieck, of Philadelphia, representing non-residents in business in New Jersey, appeared to ask questions concerning the Foran trademark bill which, it is estimated by its sponsor, would provide $10,000,000 this year to help finance relief. Dieck said he had been unable to obtain a copy of the bill, which was introduced in the upper house last Monday. "I have been to the Courier-Post and the bills are not available," Dieck said. . "You come down to my house and I'll show you the bill," put in Assemblyman Millard E. Allen, of Laurel Springs, who wants all employees of the publication "led to the guillotine. " . "How can you show him the bill?" asked Assemblyman Rocco Palese, "when they haven't been printed yet?" Maybe He Has Got It "I got my bills yesterday” Allen insisted. "Was that bill among them?" inquired Burling. "I haven't been able to get one yet." "I think it was, but I'm not positive," admitted Allen. "At least I have some information on it." "I don't think you have the bill," Assemblyman Lawrence H. Ellis said. "I was told in Trenton they haven't been printed yet." "Well, I said I'm not positive," Allen declared. Shortly afterward he left the session. The legislators voted to dispense with the regular weekly meeting next Saturday, because' it is Lincoln's birthday. They will be resumed February 19. |
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Camden Courier-Post - February 9, 1938 |
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Is
Zat So? May we not at this time proffer a suggestion to Mayor Brunner, Eddie Kelleher and the other party sachems that should be a sure-fire plan to make Camden county safe for Democracy? We advise that the Democrats gather a fund of $4000, the money to be expended in giving testimonial dinners to Republican leaders, near-leaders and persons who figure themselves to be both. Engage tables enough to accommodate about 350 persons. Invite representatives of all the various G. O. P. factions in the county, give a half dozen tickets to boisterous Democrats, so that the latter can sit back in their seats and enjoy the subsequent dogfight on a full stomach. This idea that I am advancing to register about 5000 more Democrats in the county and paralyze the remnants of the once-powerful county G.O.P., was born when I attended the recent testimonial dinner to Louis Bantivoglio, freeholder from the Fifth ward. Naturally my attendance was purely in a professional capacity. Speeches were made by divers and sundry spokesmen, the high-light being the sales talk for Bantivoglio and Baird by David Baird, Jr. The latter waxed wrathfully but warily in castigating the "half-breeds," as he once sarcastically termed the Republicans of the ilk and stature and political. leanings of Commissioner Mary W. Kobus. Rarely, too, have we ever attended a banquet, either in the capacity of guest or reporter that ever awakened so many echoes of the past as did the dinner to the Fifth ward freeholder. MRS. KOBUS ELECTED LOUIS First came the information from friends of Commissioner Kobus that she was responsible for the election of Bantivoglio from the Fifth ward as freeholder. In view of the fact that Squire Baird seemed to feel that the freeholder's election was a personal triumph; this appeared strange to yours truly. We moseyed about, however, and discovered that whether the squire likes it or not Mary W. Kobus and her minions did elect Bantivoglio. The leaders of the Kobus faction who put, the thing across were headed by a woman named Madeline Salvatore and a gentleman named "Bucky" Branch. Bantivoglio was elected by something less than 40 votes, These votes could easily have been given to his opponent but there were strategic reasons why the Kobus faction didn't want a Democrat chosen from the Fifth ward. So Branch, who is a policeman, I believe, and who was not working on election day, it being his regular day off, went into his precinct and put over the votes that elected Bantivoglio . And Mr. "Bucky" Branch, I have been informed, has been so sore at the fact that he did elect Louis Bantivoglio that he moans and cries and berates himself ever since the trick was turned .. Politicos who told me the story about the Kobus support for Bantivoglio gave a rather sensible reason for the step that was taken by the anti-Baird folk. The New Dealers among the Republicans sensed that the division between the Republicans and Democrats in the 1938 Board of Freeholders was going: to be exceedingly close. Too close, in fact, to take any chances. So it was decided to support Bantivoglio in the Fifth ward, because he was a regular Baird Republican and couldn't be won to the coalition, The reasoning of the Kobusitees was clear and correct. Had Bantivoglio been beaten by a Democrat, the board would have been divided equally, The Democrats would then have been able to deal with an individual rather than a faction, One vote would have given either side control. Thus by putting Bantivoglio across the Kobus faction made it imperative for the Democrats to deal with that clique; in fact Brunner and his minions had to do that little thing. In view of this analysis I'm con tent to believe that the Kobus claim that the New Dealers elected Louis Bantivoglio is absolutely okay. LADY " COPPER" NOT TRADE PARTY Now don't get the information askew. Mrs. Kobus had no official or personal hand in this matter. It was the keen thought of some of her lieutenants, whose judgment appears to have been excellent, that fashioned this plan and executed it. Meanwhile numerous politicos have been jibing Baird's statement that he would "rather have one Louis Bantivoglio than 1000 ingrates.". These political seers and soothsayers declared that such a declaration proved that its author was all wet in his political judgment and short sighted in his political history. These politicos ambushed Mackay the other day, crammed him. into a corner and told him that if it "hadn't been for Bantivoglio Baird would have control of the city commission today." These chuckling anti-Bairdites not only bearded me in my den, but dared me to disprove their statements by taking a look at the record. A stranger to politics in Camden, I didn't know the import of this statement until I squinted at the ward returns for the 1935 city commission election. There in black and white is the proof that Baird lost the city commission fight because of the Bantivoglio-Leo Rea alliance in the Fifth ward. Just to take a look at the record again and to refresh jaded memories, the regular Baird slate received the following votes in the Fifth ward: Bennett, 1016; Leonard, 1001; Lummis, 962; Rhone, 963; von Nieda, 1081. The New Deal ticket, then supported by the Messrs. Bantivoglio and Rea, polled these votes;· Baker, 1032; Brunner, 1022; Hartmann, 1001; Kobus, 1024, and Reesman, 930. We would call your attention particularly to the Leonard-Hartmann vote. Louis and Leo supported candidates Brunner, Kobus and Hartmann, of the New Deal. Leonard and Hartmann polled exactly the same vote, 1001. And the recount revealed Hartmann a winner by SEVEN votes, the box score showing Hartmann, 17,338, and Leonard, 17,331. And the Fifth ward turned the trick, for it would have been easy for Louis and Leo to have given Hartmann the same vote that Reesman received, or 71 less, and elected Leonard. There would have been no recount then. Which scrutiny of the returns would seem to show that Bantivoglio as a friend of the squire proved his valor and vigilance in the cause by seating a New Deal commissioner and owing his seat in the Board of Freeholders to the Kobus clan. In connection with this fund which the Democrats should raise to give testimonial dinners to G.O.P. leaders et cetera we might suggest that on each occasion they have, David Baird Jr., named for a new office. In order, that my friend, Florence Baker, can show her loyalty and friendship to the Old Guard Field Marshal by asking his election to the said office. This suggestion to, the Messrs. Brunner, Kelleher and the others is made tax-free, and no charge for usage. If that scheme doesn't make Camden county safe for Democracy, nothing will. |
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Camden Courier-Post - February 9, 1938 |
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BAIRD
AIDES HELD SEEKING CITY RULE David Baird Jr., and his allies have already arranged their slate for the next city commission election and are laying plans to recapture the city government of Camden. Democrats should know of this movement and prepare to thwart the proposed plans at once. This warning was given by County Prosecutor Samuel P. Orlando last night, at a testimonial dinner in the Hof Brau at which three Ninth Ward Democrats were feted, and at which 500 were present. The trio honored comprised Mrs. Mary Ellen Soistmann, state committee woman; Oscar Moore, freeholder, and John J. Crean, assistant city solicitor and county committeeman. While the three guests were feted and presented with wrist watches and other tokens, the affair took on a love feast aspect for the three New Deal commissioners arid all shades and leanings of Democratic leadership. Mayor George E. Brunner was toastmaster and took occasion to poke fun at the G.O.P. and its tribulations over the county headquarters. Brunner Jests at G.O.P. "I have just received word," said the Mayor with due solemnity, "that the Republican county committee of whom I, read today was having trouble over their headquarters, have finally solved their troubles tonight.” "I understand they are giving up their present location and. have just been presented by the Bell Telephone Company with a booth, and are now looking for another tenant to whom the committee can sublet half the space." Orlando's warning came after he congratulated the special guests, He said: "I have every reason to believe that Dave Baird and the rest of the Republican chieftains are already laying their plans to capture the city commission. They are working to the end with their own slate, so that they can take from the people of Camden the good government which they have received far some time. "We Democrats do not want to take this warning lightly, we want to remember that Baird and his chieftains are already working toward capturing the government of Camden, and this is something that .we want to prevent at all hazards." Orlando also congratulated the gathering as an indication of the growth of the party, and the faith that the people of Camden come to have in the Democratic party and in its principles." The prosecutor also prophesied greater honors in the future for the triumvirate who were the guests of the occasion. Disclaims Harmony Rift Mrs. Emma E. Hyland, postmaster and long a figure in Ninth Ward affairs declared she resented any newspaper stories that hinted that there was the slightest rift in the Democratic party. She told of the trouble the Democrats in the Ninth Ward, which, she declared, had never elected a Democratic freeholder until Oscar Moore was chosen. Mrs. Hyland told of detectives shadowing her home during election, and of 'the struggles' that she and Moore had known together in fighting for the party in that bailiwick. "I want to say" continued the postmaster, "that we must all be impressed by the spirit of harmony that this gathering means has come to pass. "I don't want you, and I will not myself believe all you read in the newspapers declaring we are fighting among· ourselves, for if there is anything like that in progress, I don't know anything about it and I don't believe you do, either." County Treasurer Edward J. Kelleher, hailed as "The Father of the Democratic Party in Camden County" contrasted the spectacle before him with the harmony dinner which he and others sponsored years ago. “We sold 150 tickets," he said, "and gave away 150 more, and when the sponsors reached the hall at 7 p.m., the hour of the dinner, there wasn't a single other person on hand. Later the hall was filled, and it held 200 guests. 200 to attend a Democratic harmony dinner that embraced all of Camden county." Officials Laud Guests Mrs. Bertha Shippen Irving, postmaster of Haddonfield; Police Judge Gene R. Mariano and others also congratulated the guests. Mayor Brunner introduced Commissioner Frank J. Hartmann by calling attention to the cleanup campaign now under Hartmann auspices. "Just as Hartmann is making Camden a cleaner city in which to live," said the Mayor, "so has Commissioner Kobus made the city clean from crime. The streets are clean, the city is clean, and this has only been made possible by the efforts of the three commissioners who have worked in harmony, and who are going to continue to work in harmony." Crean, Moore and Mrs. Soistmann spoke their thanks to those present for the banquet, the gifts and the sentiments expressed. |
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Camden Courier-Post - February 9, 1938 |
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HONORS
ARRANGED FOR LODGE LEADER Charles Siegel, Supreme Tall Cedar of the United States, and his official Camden Forest No.5, staff will be honored at a dinner and at the second annual charity ball of the Tall Cedars of Lebanon, at the Walt Whitman Hotel Saturday night. Among the guests will be City Commissioner Frederick von Nieda and Mrs. von Nieda; City Commissioner Frank J. Hartmann and Mrs. Hartmann, Surrogate F. B. Hanna and Mrs. Hanna, Sheriff Joseph Van Meter and Mrs. Van Meter, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Pearson, Mr. and, Mrs. August Romelle, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Hicks, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Cook, Mr. and Mrs. James Knox, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Brown. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Forsythe, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Giffins, Mr. and Mrs. William Del Baugh, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Reeves, Mr. and Mrs. William E. Strouse, Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Peters, William G. Rohrer, Miss Flora Tulk, Mr. and Mrs. George Murray, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Dahl, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Ireton, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Mattison, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Burgess, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Miles, Lieutenant Albert Eckenroth and Mrs. Eckenroth. Music will be furnished by the Famous Sonny James Orchestra. |
Camden Courier-Post - February 9, 1938 |
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Camden Courier-Post - February 9, 1938 |
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‘Is There a Doctor in the House?' To the Editor: Sir-If anyone would take the time to watch the children going to and from school across the railroad each day, they would be thoroughly convinced as to the grave necessity of an underpass. It is not very pleasant to contemplate what may happen to some one or more of these children if the cars which they climb over and some crawl under were suddenly moved by a shifting engine, while they were upon or under these cars. The miracle of miracles is that (l hope I am correct) none of these children has been killed or maimed while crossing or recrossing the railroad: But let us not wait for a horrible example to set us in motion to fill the need of an underpass. Mr. Hartmann tells us to construct an underpass it would cost about $400,000. Now although I am not an expert in the art of underpass construction I don't believe it is necessary to go to such a great expense, especially for us ordinary Cramer Hillers. We only want a plain but substantial underpass. It does not have to possess beautiful tile walks nor ornate entrances and terraced approaches. Just plain! No doubt most everyone has heard the request, "Is there a doctor in the house?" Well, here Is a new one, "Is there an underpass constructor around?" If so let's hear his views on $400,000 underpasses. Hoping this will arouse all you Cramer Hill folks to the. support of a just need, I am H.
W. BROWN |
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Camden Courier-Post - February 10, 1938 |
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Public's
Quick Aid in Cleanup Vindicates Hartmann's First Results Appeal This is the fourth in a series of articles showing how co-operation by Camden citizens in ash and garbage collection can save money for the city. By DAN BOONE Camden citizens really want to do their part in keeping the streets clean. That has been proved to the satisfaction of' Commissioner Frank J. Hartmann, director of public works, as a result of his campaign of educating the people to co-operate in the city's refuse removal program., "I've never heard more favorable comment than I have as a result of our appeal to the householders to put out their ashes, garbage and rubbish in proper containers," Hartmann said. "I made an inspection trip yesterday throughout the city and found that most of the citizens were most willing to aid our collection by keeping their ashes, garbage and rubbish separate and tying neatly in bundles the refuse which is too big for containers. "Many residents told me how much better the streets looked and how much it aided them to keep their pavements clean when their neighbors co-operated with the department." Hartmann said the stickers placed on containers in which the refuse was improperly prepared for collection, notifying the householder of this fact had appealed to most citizens. , "Persons whose containers were not placarded appeared to take great pride in that fact and it was noticeable that baskets and boxes which bore these notices were quickly removed from the curbs after being emptied by citizens- who did not want their neighbors to know that they had not done their bit to keep the city clean." But there is one phase of the collection which has not improved, and Hartmann is determined to remedy that immediately. "We are going to stop scavengers anti junk men from littering the streets with refuse which they strew about after digging through containers for some bits which they may want," the commissioner declared. "It often happens that the refuse will be placed at the curb in proper manner by the householder. And then along comes a scavenger who upsets the boxes or baskets, wades through the contents for whatever he may be seeking and leaves the remainder scattered all over. Must Take All or None "I am giving notice now that any, one who wants to take any of the contents of the rubbish containers must remove all the contents. If they want any of the bundles, they can't untie them and take what they want, hut they must take it all away. Then, after they have re moved the contents, they want to get rid of whatever may not be useful to them, they must take it to the city incinerator." Hartmann pointed out ·that all the refuse truck drivers are special officers and he has instructed them to take the name and address of any scavengers seen littering the streets. He said he believed disorderly charges could be placed against those who disturb the refuse. "I am even considering the possibility that scavengers be licensed. I don't know whether the city would do that, but I believe it would be possible to require a permit to be attached to all junk carts. But. at any rate, we are going to see that the work of the housekeepers in doing their part is not cancelled by the careless and sloppy actions of scavengers." |
| CAMDEN COURIER-POST - JUNE 9, 1938 | ||
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Camden Courier-Post - June 1, 1939 |
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MAGIN
PROMOTES 3, REHIRES 3, FIRES 4 Three dismissals, three promotions and four reinstatements and two new hirings were announced yesterday by City Commissioner Henry Magin, director of public works. Dismissed were Eugeni Gatti, 208 Washington street; Guilio Marcozzi, 321 Line Street, and George Pollard, 336 Stevens street, all temporary laborers at $4 a day. James Carr, 1409 Princess avenue, a laborer on asphalt repairs at $6 a day, is reclassified as general foreman of the department, effective today, at $2100 a year, subject to Civil Service promotional examination. John Dziekanski, 1414 Mt. Ephraim avenue, a laborer in the building bureau at $6 a day, is reclassified as architectural draftsman at $2100, also subject to examination. Oscar Moore, 543 Washington street, Ninth Ward freeholder, will receive $6 instead of $5 a day as a temporary laborer. Reinstated were Lawrence Abbott, 910 South Third Street, a brother of Frank Abbott, deputy to Mayor Brunner, as a temporary laborer at $5 a day; Anthony Carrier, 416 Benson Street, a temporary laborer at $4 a day; James Jackson, 1117 Lawrence street, and Otis Still, 261 North Eleventh street. All were discharged by Frank J. Hartmann, Magin's predecessor. |
