OkjtP Ulag Star anfo Wan? I

^ ■" ~ ' Forms close promptly at 5 P. M. each Thursday _ _

A. LEON EWIN\. VAGER CAPE MAY CITY, NEW JERSEY SATURDAY, MAY 21, 1921 SSkSES&^m pkr yia» 1 VOLUME *6 — XL ^ * 20 ' i -r^-~= — - 1 , ... . 1

GRAND JUk fN ACTION 1 RETURNS STARTLING BILLS % FREEHOLDERS. COUNTY OFFICIALS AND CONTRACTORS INDICTED—DELIVERS STRONG PRESENTMENT TO THE COURT— RECOMMENDS A SMALL BOARD FOR THE FUTURE AND RECOVERS OF MONEYS OBTAINED FROM THE COUNTY. »

Forty-three indictments were pre- j sented Tuesday afternoon by the 1 grand jury of Cape May County, N- ( J,, against present and past mem- , hers of the board of freeholders, several bounty officers and 'contractor. ' The charges are for malfeasance ' in office, bribery and conspiracy to / defraud. They are the outgrowth of 1 an investigation by William J, Kraft ' and E. B. Bacon, appointed by Justice 1 Black to make the investigation. It is alleged that contracts for 1 roads deemed unnecessary were let • without advertising for bids, as required by law. These totaled about ; $750,000, and left the county almost ; without power to borrow any more cashThe men and firms indicated and the number of bills presented are John P. Fox, 17; John.R. Groves, 13, both of Ocean City; Theodore E. Debow, 12; James F. Eustace, 17, Sea Isle City; Floyd- Hewitt, 19; John W. Young, 16; North Wildwood. Otto p. Koeneke, 25; 'Augustus Hilton, 13. Craythorn & "Nickerson, 5, and each member of the firm as individuals on four counts, all of Wildwood. James McLinden, road supervisor, also mayor of N. Wildwood, 6 indictments. J. T. Bennett, dec'd, 1; all of Cape May City. -Hope W. Gandy, Tuckahoe, 39, four of these indictments being for receiving money under false pretenses. Charles B. Foster, South Seaville, 11; Joseph Camp, Middle Township, 19; Joseph P. Mackissic, Wildwpod Crest, 21; Learning M. Rice, /county engineer, North Wildwood, 7; Henry Rutherford, Cape WllUWOOU, I , neinj im.nvi.—i

May City, 14;. Arthur Wilson, road supervisor, Lower Township, 1; Sutton & Corson, 3; Henry W. Townaend, 2; Edward M. Sutton, 3, all ol Ocean City; E. Riley Mixner, Cape! May, 5; Charles Yorke, Cape May, , 4; William M. Cassidy and Walter M. Human, trading as Homan & , , 'Cassidy, Cape May, 2- . C Of Jhe forty three indictments, o three were given to Judge Eldredge jj by the acting prosecutor, William # .Newcorn, assistant attorney general, with the instructions that they be im- s pounded! that is put in the safe until * ^~\j»>future date. It is thought these ( . three ipdictmonts cover- the indict- ¥ ments of persons involved in the clcc- t tion of the- county collector some ef three years ago- s Judge Eldredge told the jury he ( knew these indictments were _ only d part of their work and that he pre- j sumed they would, continue as they ( Srml arranged. At this point County -j Prosecutor Cole told the coifrt he ( would notify those, indicted by mail < i to appear in court Thursday morning ( at 10:30 to offer Iheir pleas. | Many witnesses were heard Tuesday by the grand jury, all of them being officials of the various finan- J ciaf. iifstitutions of Cape May County. ( Costly Road Work _ ; The two Mile Beach road building i ' operation was r-.e of the engineering ^ feats that pit Cine May County tax- , payers on the alert. With practically no inhabitants ex- i cepting members of the life saving crew this- work seemed on the face of it, immature inasmuch as there was an impassable inlft on either end, yet according to Commissions Kraft and Bacon, the freeholders decided Sp spend $140,092 without advertising for bids. A contract was awarded to Cassedy and Hftman* of Cape May. % On July 19, 1919, the board adopted a resolution thatrtn view of the fact that it was difficult to fill in Turtle. Gut Inlet tfie contractors be" relieved from a contihuancfe^f their work un-< 1 Uer their contract. On August 5th, . the county engineer presented • plans and specifications for another change in the location and construction of said road! On August 19; 1919, the board adopted a resolu\jon that it -wqs impractical to complete the road across Turtle Gut inlet and tljat settlement be made with the contractors, and the minutdThf the board show thfit such settlement was mgde on September 16, . 1919. "Che sum of $95"j>?6 was paid to Cassedy & Homan) and the project was .virtually abandoned-

The bonded indebtedness of Cape May county on December 31, 1<M6, was subStantialljJ $525,000; on December 31, 1920, Mhis debt has increased to $1,413,637. In five years 1916 to 1920, inclusive), this indent- j edness increased approximately $900,- j of this amount substantially j $700,000 was dufing 1920. The -nor.- 1 'ey was largely used for or is to be! used in payment of the building of I roads, ,1 The commissioners condemned the( custom of freeholders nutting In , large bills for alleged days in the | sen-ice of the county. They said j these bills were in some instances so1 large that if the freeholders sewedthe number of days thejr alleged they j did very little else. i At nine o'dlock Wednesday morning the Grand Jury resumed its in- , vestigation" of the financial t ran sac- j lions by calling cashiers of Ranks' I and. trust companies who were not questioned Tuesday. The ringing of the duep-toned bell i on the Court Building'at Cape May Court House on Thursday held a new 1 meaning to all within "its sounds, for it heralded the first public ceremony . incident to the investigation of the Freeholders' Board, since the prescn- : tation of forty-six indictments on Tuesday of this week. The occasion was one of unusual - solemnity. Judge Eldredge presided. • Indictments were presented after which the presentment was made and was ordered to be read by the Clerk • of the Court. This presentment, couched in graphic language, was a ; vivid portrayal qf the findings em- , bodied in the indictments, arf<V was the result of days of examination and j study of conditio!® involved. |

PRESENTMENT ; s In the Court of Oyer and Terminer of the County of Cape J May. April Term, in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine ! Hundred and- Twenty-one. Cape . ( May County, to wit: t The Grand Inquest of the County of ^ May, upon their respective oaths and affirmations, those who afhaving first alleged themselves conscientiously schupulous of taking J an oath. PRESENT: ! ' That for several days, as the re-; suit of evidence produced before the 1 said Inquest during its deliberations, < resulting thus far iiPtfyi presentation the Court of forty-six indictments, find that language is inadequate I to properl.V express conditions as they exist and have existed within, the con- ' fines, of the County (luring the past several years. The administration of County affairs has been conducted in : disregard of the laws-enacted for the government of the Board of Chosen Freeholders, who are the trustees and custodians of the public funds for the inhabitants and taxpayers of the and the body politic Jo created by statute to administer and govern County affairs in accordance with the laws enacted by the legislature of the State of New Jersey. Open and flagrant vitiation of the law has been wilfully and corruptlypermitted; and extravagant program1 of jlublic improvements has been laid out and County moneys expended without due regard as to the necessity for the public improvements and the ability of the Coqnty_ to finance the same. Thousands of dollars of the County's money have been wastefully spent. which might have been saved to the taxpayers had an honest . effort beers made to have the work . performed, if necessary, by. honest, I competitive bidding. Work has been; approved of and contractors paid , therefor, which was not in accordance with the specifications, and in many., | instances the County has been robbed by collusion between the' contractor ' and the persorf or persons responsii hie for" the proper supervision of the work, of at least twenty-five per j cent, of the-amoutrt paid for the said public improvement or improvements. "«C_. Work was performed and paid for 1 without proper advertising for bids #nnd proposals, and in many iqatqncps without any nnthoigzatipn as far as • the records of~the Board of Chosen I Freeholders disclose, involving fhous- !■' ands and thousands of dollars, indi- . rating collusion between dishonest contractors and public officials, drnw- • ing the pay of the County, in whom i the inhabitants thereof had placed 5 their confidence, by creating and alj loting work to a coterie of contractors for the purpose of obtaining, on e the part of the public, officials, petty e graft, in violation- of their duty as s public servants. This iniquitous conditioners not of today, hut is the 'growth of a system 9 thai has grown Up in the manage- ( Continued on page 8)

PERSONAL I MENTION INTERESTING PERSONAL PARA- £ GRAPHS OF THE COMING AND GOING OF CAPE MAY VISITORS AND RESIDENTS. Mr. and Mrs. Charles P- Eldredge, fl have opened their summer residence € . on Broadway? [ Spencer J. Steinmetz, of Boston, a , Mass., was a visitor here on Wed- t : nesday of Inst week. Mr. Steinmetx' . | impression of the improvements of j i lcape May were very- gratifying. j . | Mrs. Elizabeth H. Mecray and ( daughter, Mrs- Bockius have return5 ! ed to Cape May after spending the : rj winter at Woodbridge, N. J. 1 Miss Mary Hughes of Newark, is » looking after her property interests ( li Harry "Johns, of Philadelphia, has > 3 1 opened" his North Street cottage for ; 1 1 the season, . . jl Frank Mende is occupying nis first , Avenue cottage. , . 1 1 C. Earl Hughes has moved M family to Bradford, Pa., after Spending a year at this resort. . Alexander Whilldin, Jr., formerly . ! interested in Cape May Point, was looking over old landmarks the first " ' of the week. • . s 1 Mrs. Letitia Browrn and daughter, t of Philadelphia, are spending a month at their cottage on KearneyAvenue. ' • Mrs. .StoeVer, of BhiladOl|i phia, was at Tier cottage. 26 Guer- .. ney Street this week. J. Mrs. C: Elfreth, of .Philadelphia, l has opened her summer home at 4i .. Jackson Street. . Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Marry of .! Atlantic City, are visiting relatives „ here over, the week-end. , John T. McDonald of South Or,1 ange, N. J., has purchased 1023 i Maryland Avehue iflnl will make it „ his' summer residence. 5 Miss Sai-ah K. Hughes is enjoying t a few weeks at Amsterdam. N. Y. , Frank P. Viguers. of Philadelphia, J has purchased 228 Windsor Avenue .. and will take up his summer restlu dence there this month, j . Mechahics. nie busy refitting the interior of the "rank Black property recently damaged By fire. w«.. T ' ,nn„> th#. recently iiuiuukvu ■>> ■

i Miss Johnson will spend the summer with her father here. I Miss Catherine Bellanev has returned home after spending two weeks in Washington with friends, j Dr. and Mro. Clarence S. Eldredget j, i of -Phllijdelphia, will open their ?ot- il Broadway and Third Avenue- • -West Cape May, on the twenty-third v oV May. William J. McMullen has opened t his summer cottage on Congress s i P.lnce. . , ' ' Mr. and Mrs> John. Cadwakler have r 1 purchased the Fenner property on r ' Corgie Street. i I Mr. and Mrs. William Clausen, of I Philadelphia, were recent visitors ( here. During their trip they sold ! ■ their property- to J. P. McGrelis. of 1 Cape May Point. c ' A., h. Tafel has purchased the John 1 { Benezet property on Columbia Ave. t and will -make it his. summer home. i Mrs. C. Y. Sink of this ci'v with 1 , Mrs. Y. L. Sink and son, of Camden, i X. J-, are -spending the week-end in : ■ | Washington. D. ^ COUNTY PURCHASING' AGENT ■ 1 Samuel F. Eldredge, Esq., has been i appointed purchasing agent for Cape ' May County. 1 ! " Clarence S. Scull, of Ocoan City, ' was appointed auditor for the county- ! NOTICE OF MEETINGS J . The Daughters' of Veterans mqet ' the second and' Fourth Tuesday evenI ' ings of every month in the G. A. R. ' Post Room i>n Franklin Street. - USED TIRBa. FOR SALE i A few used tires, size 4x32 for sale t i at low pricesk ' LEHMAN BROS. i Decatur Street, near Washington „i . , CAPE MAY. N. J. d1" " V MONTHLY MEETING il ' — r THE CdpB MAY COUNTY - CHAMBER TVF COMMERCE WILL eflOLD ITS .REGULAR MONTHLY r MEETING AT AVALON. THURSd DAY', MAY 26TH. 1921. MEMI- BERS AND THOSE INTERESTED IN THE WELFARE OF THE r COUNTY SHOULD BE IN ATTENls DANCE. s MILLINERY n New Sport Miliinerv in' the , popular materials rand shades for the summer season- •'] . Hats For All Occasions ® I LOrmfRTWLLMAN 209 Perry' Street " J. S. GARRISON 's Repairing ol Watches, Jewelry, Optical ,f Goods and Phonographs m Old Gold, Silver and P T Diamonds Bought

LAFAYETTE t1 HOTEL SOLD — — x c R.- D.-1AJDY, OF ATLANTIC CITY, ADDS ANOTHER TO HIS CHAIN OF FINE HOTELS— IM-PROVEMENTS-TO BE RUSHED. Dr. R. D. Ludy, a prominefit hotel owner of Atlaikic City, has purchas- t ed through James B. Taylor and Sin, j the*Li^ayette Hotel, of Cape May, 1 and will open that famous hostelry ( this season. 1 Dr. Ludy is the owner of -the El- i The Reading and the Osbornh hotels at Atlantic City and ip ac- I quiring the Lafayette he has added 1 a valuaMe linf in thatNfine chain of i hotels. Every effort is ^eing made to rush ' alterations and to put the Lafayette ■ into immaculate condition for the approaching season. The Lafayette ranks among the • fine- "hotels along the Jersey coast , and has been known to the shore-go-ing public for many years and has' caterdd to the highest class patronage since its 'erection. The late Cdldnel John Tracy owned and operated the Lafayette for thirty-one years. Situated oil one of the finest cor- j ners 'along the beach front with a delightful seaview from every room and with the beach but a stone's throw . away from the spacious Colonial | porches, the Lafayette is' one of Cape i : May's assets t"hat will hold the high i class of visitors which have made) Cape May famous for a century- 1 Among the improvements added this! , year are "new sanitary arrangements, j I handsomely fitted bath rooms oiv-r every floor. WILL VISIT OCEAN CITY I

PROGRESSIVE LEAGUE WILI VISIT OCEAN CITY BUSINESS - 1 MEN'S LEAGUE ON MONDAY - EVENING NEXT— Oh Monday evening the Progressive League held its first meeting in . itj> new quarter's on- the Convention 1 Hall Pier, a large gathering of the ' live-wire business men of Cape May ; were present. President Leonard H. Davis called I the meeting to order promptly on the stroke of eight o'clock, after the l'eading of the minutes of the last meeting by Secretary Settle, ' the meeting was thrown open for the reports (if the .various committees. The Publicity Committee; Messrs. Joseph " Cox, Albert' K. Hand and Edgar P. Stites, Jr., reported that they had collected from the business men of the city • three hundred' -.and fifty dollars for t)ie road signs. Mr. Stites said that the signs would be in place along" the roads leading into the. city by Decoration Day, and Mr. . Cox - said that 'lie would personally sec that the signs- were placed in Maryland all the way to Baltimore and also fr, the (District of Columbia as far as ' Wash- . "ington. . Application' will be made for membership In the -County Chamber of 'Coirlmerce at its next meeting. • Manager Scott of Congress Hall was present and was called on by President Davis for a speech. An invitation was received, ijml ^accepted from the Ocean City P.usiness Men's v Association to visit that body next Monday night. The members will ' travel to Ocean City In the busses that are now running in -the' citv. leaving the Reading Depot at 6:25 sharp- Come on members, lets cveryi body, go, and show that we are alive at fcapc May. ' . _ NOT-IMPLICATED Freeholder Irvin H. Eldredge, who took Jils seat on the first of the year is in no way implicated in, the recent Freehold scandals. Mr.- Eldredge'sM name appeared in the Philadelphia - " papers as. among those indicted, - this was an error arid gross injustice. FIVE HUNDRED PARTY' ? Mrs. Leslie Balsbury*, of Wet. ?■ Cape May entertained at- Five Hundred on Monday evening in honor of Miss Elizabeth Hanley. of Philadelphia. . Those' present were: Miss" Catherine Needles, Mr. and -Mrs.- Howard Barnett; Miss Elizabeth Hanley, Mrs. Jean Stetzer, Messrs. Poiter Lucas, George Little and Thomas Kelly; INFANT DIES James Horhan, infant son of Mr. 1 and Mrs. Walter- Homan died on Saturday last and was buried Monday, May ' 16th. _ t - : Dancing on Convention Hall in Cox's City Pier Theatre, Saturday Evening May 28 and Memorial Day Evening. *

MOST SUCCESSFUL ANNUAL COUNTY SCHOOL DAY. MEET

MAY HIGH SCHOOL CAR- E R1ED OFF THE HONORS AY LI PUBLIC SCHOOLS ATHLETIC CARNIVAL. HELD LAST SATUR- B DAY. -r • c Probably the most successful of the eight annual county public " public schools athletic meets was u, held" at the County Fair Grounds, Cape May Court House, Saturday, jj14th, 1921, fcoth morning and afternoonSiiver cups contributed by T. C. GoslinxQompany," of Wildwood, for the highest score in field and track events in bot)» elementary and high schools, were awarded to Cape May. . must be .won three times before i they become the property of the winner. The high school folk dance particii pated in by teams from Cape May, v. ; Middle Township and Wildwood high schools resulted in a tie of the > Cape May artrl^Vliddle Township • tean* and the award of a trophy to • each. I The elementary, and vocational schoois oefcupied the morning, hours, ■ the officials and program for which • folio*,-: I General Committee — W. L. El- ' J dredge, Ethel R. Bloodgood,_ Sec., I Dorothy Young. : j Officers and Judges for Elemer.i tary events: 5 1 Starter — Herman* Gu'.icfc. • j Timer — Edna V. Batter.. < s! Scorer — Boys, M Mabel Sell a lib. >| Scorer — Girls. El-:e V. Harpy. >1 Arnouneer — Earl E. Witmer. I Folk Dance Judge- -Miss Myra T. IWa-', Physical Tra: il. g Department j of '.ronton Schools and E. E.-Unger, I physical training tep'-hcr Ocean City. r Judges — Fields Events, Gills — ' I Ethel Bloodgood, Dnro'hv V. Young. v t Judge ' Field Events. Boys — W. L. '

Ross W. Rohn, Frank Judges Track Events, Girls — Etbal , 1 Dorothy V. Young. Judges Track Events, -Boys — Frank Camp, George Kimble, Roy Watson. Field and Track Events No field or track event was called unless three schools were entered. 1. Flag Salute and Singing of Star Spangled Banner. 2. Mass Drill by all scfiools.Boys Under 13 Years 1. 50-Yard Dash. 2. Running Broad Jump. 3. 75-Yard Dash. . _ , >' 4. Running High Jump. /*" — - 5. Baseball Throw. 6. Standing Broad Jump. 7. Relay Race, 440 yards, 4 boye* Boys Over 13 Years 1. 75' Yard Dash, v- 2. Running Broad Jump. 3. 220- Yard Dash.4. Running High Jump. v 5. Baseball Throw. 6. Standing Broad Jump. 7. Shot-put, 8-pound Shot Entries for Girls— js'o Age limit Grade Schools 1. 50-Yard Dash. 2. Baseball Throw. 3. ' Basketball Throw. 4. Standing Broad Jnmp. 5. Shuttle Relay, 8 girls, 30 yards. Folk Dance Seveflth and Eighth Grade— Cap® May Court House, Wildwood and Cape MayVocational School 75-Yard Dash. 220-Yard Dash. Standing Broad Jump. Running Broad Jump. Running High Jump. v." Shot Put. Baseball Throw. The'results were as follows: /(Continue^ on page five)

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