22S FIEST COUNTY PAEK SYSTEM 



along been to obstruct the transfer and thus, to all appear- 

 ances, serve the corporate interests desiring that object, the 

 action of the full board at the July meeting, in sustaining 

 the Koad Committee's recommendation, caused little sur- 

 prise. It was only another indication of the tenacious con- 

 trol the traction interests held over the proceedings of that 

 board. The ostensible reasons for the action then taken 

 were, as usual in such cases, specious and misleading. For 

 four years the position of the freeholders in not taking any 

 action favorable as to the parkways had been, that the 

 municipal authorities should act first; while, for all that 

 time, both in law and in fact, the entire control of, and 

 jurisdiction over those county avenues, with the exception 

 of very minor rights in the cross streets, were vested abso- 

 lutely in that board. What logic or justification, therefore, 

 could there be in the announced excuse for persistent inac- 

 tivity, that the local boards, holding only these insignificant 

 right, "must first make the transfer : Then, years after 

 East Orange had thus acted, in adding the farther excuse 

 that "it was not good policy on the part of the Board of 

 Freeholders at any time to relinquish control of a limited 

 section of a county avenue" — which was the additional 

 "reason" included in the report of this latter refusal of the 

 Park Board's request. 



The inconsistency of the other alleged reason, as to trans- 

 fer, "that such avenues shall be permanently maintained 

 in at least as good condition as heretofore," when the dis- 

 tinct object of the transfer was to improve them as park- 

 ways, is apparent. The Newark News of May 24, 1900, 

 editorially gave the gist of the matter in a few words in 

 commenting upon the hearing referred to, as follows : "It 

 is not difficult to discern corporation influences behind the 

 opposition to parkway development through the Oranges, 

 that was manifested at the hearing before the Board of 

 Freeholders' Eoad Committee on Monday." 



In December, 1900, there was introduced into the Orange 

 Common Council, for the third time, an avenues transfer 

 ordinance. This document was carefully drawn with the 



