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opinion

Herald & Lantern 3 |une 81

The State We're In

Tradition, Constitution Standing in Way Of Money Interests

by David F. Moore One cannot help but be awestruck by the insolence of an industry which, when confronted by a constitutional impediment. merely leans back and says. "Okay. boys, let’s rhan|?e the Constitution! " I’m referring, of course, to the Atlantic City casino industry That’s the group which seems most likely to gain from such a constitutional amendment to change our riparian laws to a form that would be in its own best interests, and would spell many millions of dollars lost to the people of the state It’s this way: Since colonial times, coastal lands now or formerly washed by the mean high tide have been held in trust for the people of tyew Jersey by the states, which means all of us This concept came to New Jersey directly from English law. which considered these riparian lands the property of the crown, because they were of great public value for the preservation of natural resburces and for navigation purposes THE CONSTITUTION SAYS THAT riparian lands can be sold only by the state and only if it is in the public interest to do so, and the resulting money is dedicated to the state's School Fund. Scientific mapping of New Jersey's shoreline has been under way for more than a decade, in keeping with Supreme Court and legislative orders. This mapping has already uncovered important development on land which belongs to the state, because of past illegal filling in of tidal lands and subsequent development thereon Before the state can convey rights to riparian lands, the transaction must be approved by the Tidelands Resource Council Let me note plainly, right here, that I happen to be the chairman of that body, and thus have more than passing interest in the way things get done. For various reasons, the most obvious beneficiaries of the proposed constitutional amendment happen to be Atlantic City gambling casino interests, either to clarify present or future ownerships of their locations, or to make it easier for them to promote development of shore area housing near Atlantic City, so as to free the city of many of its current occupants who are in the way of casino activities'.

viewpoint

THE CONCURRENT AMENDMENT WAS introduced on May i in the Senate by Senator Steven P. Perskie and in the Assembly by Assemblyman William L. Gormley, both of Atlantic County. On May 14 the Senate Judicilry Committee, of which Perskie is chairman, cleared the concurrent resolution for a vote. The same day brought similar action by the committee’s counterpart in the Assembly, of which Gormley is a member. When the Legislature reconvenes on June 8, the decks will be cleared for voting in both houses. The Assembly resolution has nearly enough co-sponsors to achieve a simple voting majority; hdwever, it takes a two-

thirds majority to pass in this case. And what would this amendment do? It would specify that lands which have not been flowed by the tide for the past 40 years would not be deemed riparian land. In other words, any land that got filled in illegally 40 or more years ago can escape the terms of riparian law and be available for developmental fun and games without payment to the public. ANOTHER IMPORTANT IMPACT of this proposed amendment would be to effectively complicate the current mapping process that is identifying state riparian holdings. That’s because we can tell whether land has been filled, but it would often be virtually impossible to determine whether it was more or less than 40 years ago or where all the tidelands boundaries were, "except in places like Atlantic City. y In short, whether these resolutions pass the legislature and our vote next November or not, somebody will have to do the required mapping to prove ownership before those lands in question can have clear title. When this column is published, the concurrent resolutions will 4till be awaiting votes in both houses of the Legislature, with the required public hearing scheduled for June 5 at 10 a.m. in the Assembly Chambers of the State House in Trenton. If it clears those hurdles, we can all look for an unprecedented lot of cash being spent for advertising and public relations activities to convince the public that it really needs to upend the orderly process of coastal delineation, to say nothing of the taxpayers’ own vested interests in keeping the state from missing out on its prescribed revenues. David Moore i* executive director o/ the N.J. Conservation Foundation, headquartered in Morristown.

tetters te the edlter

By Jane Ann Cunningham

Lower Wages and Relaxed Laws Would Mean More Jobs for Young

Every year at this time, thousands of high school and college students converge on the shore looking for summer jobs It’s really a hit or miss ertdeavor. as they trudge from business to business. As far as I know, there is no igency. (aside from Unemployment) which matches job seekers with jobs. Unfortunately, a large percentage of eager, ambitious and capable youngsters will have great difficulty finding work because of state laws instituted to protect them— Child Labor laws, and minimum wage. Businessmen know that officials from the state take motel rooms for the summer and spend their time making sure the laws are enforced. Many businessmen have been fined for infractions. ’Children’ under 18 must have working papers, cannot work after certain hours and must not work more than a certain number of hours a week. MANY SUMMER EMPLOYERS decide that the red tape, working out satisfactory schedules, and possibilities of being/ined just isn’t worth it, and hire only those over 18. There is also the minimum wage. If the wage must be the same, it is only good economics to hire the best you can. College students usually have worked at other jobs, need less direction and are more capable There should be some relaxation of the Child Labor Laws Certainly, those under 18 shouldn't be allowed to work in hazardous fields or with potentially dangerous machinery. Most summer shore jobs are in safe fields. While the number of hours worked and the lateness allowed are relevant considerations during the school year, they make little sense in the summer. 16 to 18-year-olds can roam the streets and boardwalks after 10. but can’t work. If they want to work extra hours to earn money, perhaps for college, they can’t. Perhaps

there would be less senseless vandalism if youngsters were busy in productive endeavors. THE CONGRESS IS NOW studying the possibility of a sub minimum wage for teenagers, although most doubt it will be passed. There is no question in my mind that a subminimum wage would result in more jobs for younger teenagers. As a rule, younger workers aren’t as valuable in most jobs as older ones, requiring more supervision, more direction and being less skillfull. It would be economically advantageous to businessmen to hire more workers if some could be paid less than the present minimum wage. Human nature being what rt is. some employers would hire only the younger workers. If there were only some way to ensure that the sub-minimum employees could only be additions to the regular staff, more youngers could be gainfully employed. Jane Ann Cunningham of Avalon is former publisher of the Herald.

redder s iorum

Why Can’t They Clean Out Ditch? by Elmer Doyle I am writing in regard to a ditch alongside of my property. I have talked to the superintendent of the Mosquito Commission to no avail. Also had Freeholder Evans here before election last October. He promised to get the needed equipment for ditches like this one. But like all politicians, after election they forget. 1 had Mr. Evans here again last week. I asked him about his promises, and got the same old answer, "Did I say that?" He knows the problem here and so does Judy Hansen, superintendent of the Mosquito Commission. There is a pond at the far end of the ditch which is nothing but a mosquito breeder. The ditch is loaded with branches and leaves and the pipes are blocked. MRS. HANSEN SAID SHE will have a man rake it once a month. Believe me, eight men couldn’t correct this in a day. The fall of the ditch is wrong. She knows this as well as I do. You ask her to spray with the helicopter which they have every year, but nothing happens. I guess that is only for VIP purposes. The helicopter is on the Mosquito Commission’s property right now. Now is the time to spray, not when mosquitoes are out of hand. Right now they would carry you away. What are they paid for? I believe it is to serve the entire county, wthey can’t do the job, let them quit. Elmer Doyle is a resident of Sutton Lane, Eldora.

Using vs. Abusing the Law

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LANTERN

CoU Sprint. 1

In imposing a curfew on all residents, adults as well as juveniles, living in the housing units of the Cape May City Housing Authority, the authority Board of Commissioners appear to be resorting to unconstitutional means to resolve a problem. Cape May City has a law on the local books setting an 11 p.m. curfew for youngsters under 16; for those under 18; it's 1 a.m. There is, of course, no municipal curfew for adults — persons over 18. Yet the Housing Authority Commissioners have seen fit to impose an 11 o’clock curfew for everyone, regardless of age, living in Lafayette, Osborne and Broad St. Courts. WHILE THE COMMISSIONERS’ intentions may have been good — to cut down on vandalism. breaking and enterings, purse snat-’ chings and obnoxious loitering — its attempt to achieve those ends are not. There are sufficient laws and local ordinances to deal with what’s been occurring on Housing Authority property. If, for example, someone’s making too much noise late at night, you simply notify the authorities and have them do their duty. According to published reports, Cape May City fathers have hired 17 extra summer policemen this season. If authorities cannot handle law and order problems by doubling the police force, the whole town’s in trouble — not just the section administered by the Housing Authority.

IN DOING THE STORY on the Housing Authority curfew, we learned that most of the problems in the project area are supposedly caused by outside people, from another community. We were also informed that’s there’s nothing illegal about the Housing Authority going door to door placing fliers in the residents’ individual mail boxes because "the mail boxes are owned by the Authority." It is our opinion that the Housing Authority in Cape May is overstepping its bounds unnecessarily. The Constitutional rights of citizens — regardless of where they live and whether or not they pay taxes — must not be abridged except in the most exceptional cases (riots and wartime come to mind). THE FLIERS STUCK in the mail boxes of project residents read, in part: "The police have been informed of this decision (curfew) and anyone caught loitering after 11 p.m. will be in serious trouble that could lead to the eviction of the family or families involved." That to us, sounds like police state tactics which should be far removed from a seaside community like Victorian Cape May. There are sufficient laws on the books to adequately deal with the problems. Someone—city fathers or, perhaps, the county prosecutor — better set the Cape May City Housing Authority straight before it’s too late! —The Herald