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Timeline
of Ocean City's History -- 1905 through 1916
1905
1906 1907
1908 1909
1910 1911
1912 1913
1914 1915
1916
Editor’s
note: Fred Miller is a local historian, trustee of the
Ocean City Historical Museum, trustee of the Ocean City
Lifesaving Museum, and a member of the Ocean City Historic
Preservation Commission. Photos courtesy of Fred
Miller and the Ocean City Historical Museum.
The
following article first appeared in the special spring
edition of the 2003 Ocean City Sentinel --
By Fred Miller
OCEAN
CITY—Next year the spotlight will be shining brightly on
Ocean City’s past as this resort town celebrates the 125th
anniversary of its founding by the Lake family. The looking back has already begun—last year’s Spring
Edition looked at Ocean City’s first 25 years. Today we will
look at the city’s history from 1905 to 1916.
History shows that Ocean City is constantly changing to
meet the demands of the public so the resort can remain
“America’s Greatest Family Resort.”
1905—As
the year began, Councilman Harry Headley offered the following
advice to his constituents: “I think the greatest need of
Ocean City is for the people to look on the bright side of
things and say something good for the place in which they live.
A great many people, and our newspapers not excepted,
seem to take a delight in knocking our city.
“Instead of talking
about the good things, their mission appears to be to find
something wrong and then magnify it as much as possible.
“If a man builds a
house or attempts to make an improvement of any kind, there
seems to be a class of people ready to find fault and criticize
anything that would be of benefit to our city.
In my opinion, this is all wrong.
We should praise our city.
Say all the good things we can and thus encourage those
who spend money to make improvements and to give employment.
“You hear them
complaining of high taxes.
They say it will ruin the city.
Now, would it not do our city much more good if these
same people would say that Ocean City has the lowest tax rate
and the lowest valuation of any seashore place in the county,
excepting Cape May City, which has exactly the same rate, but a
higher valuation?
“Compare our $2.80
tax rate with Wildwood’s $3.75, if you will; then compare our
streets, our fire department and all of our public improvements
with any of them, and Ocean City leads them all.
“Wouldn’t it be a
greater benefit to our city if our newspapers and people would
publish these facts and comparisons, instead of spending most of
their time trying to dig up something to create a sensation and
lead the public to believe that Ocean City is going to the
dogs.”
On April 22, Mayor
Joseph G. Champion dedicated the new two-mile long
boardwalk saying, “In the individual lives of all of us,
events occur by which we mark our happiest milestones, events
which shed a light over all the years that follow.
Today we have reached a milestone in our municipal life,
marked by the most brilliant event which has ever taken place in
the history of the city.”
By August, the Municipal
Music Pavilion, on the Boardwalk at Moorlyn Terrace, was
finished and the site of daily free band concerts.
The pier extended 118 feet into the Atlantic Ocean,
“Thus giving the frequenter a cool breeze as he reads or looks
out upon the billowy deep.”
The
Moore Building, across the
boardwalk from the Music Pavilion, was the center of attraction
with its bowling alleys.
The Board of
Education—President Dr. B. T. Abbott, R. C. Robinson, R. H.
Stites, S. F. Sampson, A. J. Smith and James W. Lee—and City
Superintendent of Schools Professor James M. Stevens were
planning to build a new Ocean City High School.
1906—The
unveiling of a Revolutionary War cannon at the camp ground, Sixth
Street and Wesley Avenue, was the highlight of Ocean City’s
Fourth of July celebration.
The cannon was one of the twelve thrown overboard from
the British brigantine Delight, which went ashore on this island
on June 2, 1779.
On July 1st,
the Berkeley,
a modern four-story hotel, opened at 48th Street and
Wesley Avenue.
 Police Chief Samuel
B. Scull, under the authority of the State of New Jersey,
recorded all of the automobiles in Ocean City, together with the
names of the owners and the license numbers of the machines.
When he finished, there were 20 names on the list.
“SUNDAY’S CROWD
RECORD-BREAKER” was the headline over this article in the
August 23 issue of the Ocean City Sentinel: “It is conceded
that Ocean City’s crowd on Saturday and Sunday was the largest
in the history of this resort.
“The estimate is
made that the Reading brought in fully 18,000 people, and the
West Jersey at least 7,000 or 8,000.
“The boardwalk on
Saturday evening was a mass of surging humanity. Most of the people were between Seventh and Ninth streets,
and the delay over the turning on of the electric lights, and
the non-appearance of the band until an unusually late hour,
made the walk near the city pavilion almost impassable.
“All the hotels
were crowded and many outside rooms were rented by the hotel
people in order to accommodate their guests.”
 State Senator Lewis
M. Cresse laid the corner-stone of the new Presbyterian Church, at Seventh and Wesley Avenue
on November 3.
The schoolhouse built
in 1882 on Central Avenue between 8th and 9th
streets was torn down and a new school was built on the same
site. While the new
school was being built, classes were held in the Music Pavilion,
the Bourse Building, Trower’s Hall, and Champion’s store.
1907—“THE
NEW TROLLEY LINE” was the title of the following editorial in
the Thursday, July 4 issue of the Ocean City Sentinel:
“The ‘new era,’ ‘the epoch-making event’ has
happened.
 “The new
trolley line across Great Egg Harbor Bay, by means of
which Ocean City is to have more frequent and quicker service to
Philadelphia, by way of Atlantic City, is now in active
operation, and the business interests of this resort rejoice.
“To the majority of
the residents of this city, there never was heard prettier music
than the ugly tooting of the whistle, Monday afternoon,
proclaiming the arrival in Ocean City of the first car over the
bridge across the bay.
The first Night in
Venice was held on Monday evening, August 12. The 14th Street lifeguards, Daniel Krauss and
Alfred R. Smith, rowed their lifeboat in the parade, and they
were loudly applauded by the folks along the parade route.
1908—Ocean
City promoted itself as follows: “The Ideal Summer Resort;
bathing safe and unsurpassed; finest beach on the coast; the
home of the family man; many churches; no saloons; spacious
boardwalk; free band concerts during the season; great fishing
in ocean and bay; the delight of yachtsman; numerous trains to
and from Philadelphia on three railways.”
The following is from
an advertisement paid for by the Ocean City Gardens Company and
was under a drawing of the north end of the resort: “A balloon
view, showing the relative position and natural advantages of
Ocean City Gardens, with a general plan of streets, the
Ocean Boulevard around the entire North Point of the Island and
the Lagoon on the bay side.
Note the commanding location of Ocean City Gardens—the
beautiful outlook on all sides—the best of transportation by
rail and boat.
“Ocean City Gardens
has been planned to combine all of the best features in a home
by the sea.”
The success of the
boat parade was reported in the August 13th issue of
the Ocean City Sentinel: “Before a crowd that numbered at
least ten thousand, and amid the blaze of myriad of lights, the
two squadrons of the carnival parade passed in review before the
yacht club headquarters last night, and then a beautiful display
of fireworks and the great bonfire brought to a conclusion the
second successful ‘Night in Venice.’”
The only incident
worth reporting happened at Smith’s wharf, where a gentleman,
in attempting to board one of the boats, slipped and fell into
the bay. The
article reported “He was promptly fished out by Lifeguard
Flowers, with no worse results than a wet suit of clothes.”
 Mayor Lewis M. Cresse
was determined to preserve the Sabbath day in Ocean City.
A front page article in the August 20th issue
of the Ocean City Sentinel reported, “When two men opened
their places of business on the Boardwalk for the sale of soft
drinks, post cards,and similar articles, Sunday morning, he
promptly got busy and personally notified the owners of these
booths to cease business.”
The headline on the
front page of the August 27th issue of the Ocean City
Sentinel foretold the future of the resort: “FUTURE OF OCEAN
CITY DESTINED TO BE GREAT.”
1909—Dedication
services of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, on the
corner of 8th Street and Central Avenue, were held on
Sunday, July 4th.
The bridge, located
at 34th Street, which was built in 1883, was widened
in October.The July 29th issue of the Sentinel
reported, “The widening of this road will be greatly
appreciated by drivers of teams and automobiles. It is something that has been needed for a long time."
Police Chief Samuel
B. Scull reminded the owners of automobiles that, “It is
required by law that such machines shall be run in a way that
will not endanger the lives of pedestrians, and also that the
horn be wounded when the auto is approaching a street
crossing.”
“IMMENSE CROWDS SAW
CITY’S ‘NIGHT IN VENICE’” was the headline in the August
19th Sentinel. A
smaller headline read, “Bay Front Was a Mass of Illumination
and Presented Handsome Scene.”
Folks in town were
noticing the new
penny. One
of the ways America was commemorating the 100th
anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth was with a new penny
with Lincoln’s face on it. The new penny replaced the Indian head penny.
Lewis M. Cresse was
re-elected mayor on November 2.
 1910--Postmaster
Edward M. Sutton and his force moved into their new Post Office
on 8th Street between Asbury and Central avenues.
Mayor Lewis M. Cresse
appointed Alfred R. Smith as captain of the lifeguards.
The previous captain, 65-year-old Joseph P. Krauss, was
named Superintendent of the Lifeboats.
James M. Stevens,
Ocean City’s Superintendent of Schools, announced on September
15th, “The public schools of this city reopened
Monday morning for the fall and winter session with a
record-breaking enrollment of 404.”
He went on to say, “The most perfect order prevailed in
the school rooms Monday morning, reflecting credit both upon
teachers and pupils.”
On Sunday, October 9,
sixteen horses were burned to death in a stable fire on Haven
Avenue near 7th Street.
When the firemen arrived they found they could do nothing
with the stable, so they confined their work to saving the
adjoining buildings.
A sanatorium called
Scotch Hall opened on the corner of 5th Street and
Wesley Avenue.
1911—The
city councilmen were: President John Marts, H. F. Stanton, George O. Adams,
Charles B. Rider, William M. Ranck, and Frank D. Newberry.
The Ocean City Title
and Trust Company moved into their new building, on the
southwest corner of 8th Street and Asbury Avenue,
across 8th Street from the First National Bank of
Ocean City. The
officers of the trust company were: President Lewis M. Cresse,
First Vice President Henry D. Moore, and Second Vice President
Leslie S. Ludlam.
The commencement
exercises of the Ocean City High School took place on Friday,
June 9th. There were six graduates: George Norcom,
William Hancock, Eugene S. Miller, Edward Cotton, Missea Inez
Corson and Esther Carhart.
An advertisement,
including an artist’s rendering, encouraged people to buy
property between 16th and 18th streets
near the bay. “The
Bayous form a veritable American
Venice, unique, picturesque and attractive home sites,
having water and boulevard frontage, being offered by the Ocean
City Bayous Company at about one-half of actual value.
The innovation embraces two spacious protected bayous or
harbors, opening into the bay and joined at the land side by a
water way, surmounted by an elevated concrete bridge of ornate
design. Each lot
fronts upon the broad, smooth, graveled boulevards, skirted by
shade trees and grass plots, which encircle the bayous, and each
lot has a frontage on the bayous, with a 30-foot water privilege
for floats, etc. The
engineering plans and landscape architecture include every
advanced idea that makes for beauty, comfort, health and
convenience. Full particulars are obtainable from Harvey Y. Lake,
Treasurer of the Ocean City Bayous Company, having offices at
838 Asbury Avenue and the Boardwalk at Moorlyn Terrace.”
“BIG CROWD HEARS
SPEECH BY GOVERNOR WILSON” was the headline in the October 5th
issue of the Sentinel. The
article began, “The
Hippodrome Building, on the Boardwalk, was filled
Thursday evening when Governor Wilson was present and addressed
the assemblage, in which there were many women.” 
“A NEW EPOCH IN
OCEAN CITY” was the title of the editorial written by James E.
Lake printed in the October 14th issue of the Ocean
City Ledger: “Tuesday, October 10, 1911, will long be
remembered as the beginning of a new ear in Ocean City
Government.
“The Commission
Form of Government, the new Democratic principle of
self-government, that has taken deep root in several states, had
its real beginning in Ocean City when the citizens selected and
elected from among their fellow citizens, without regard to
class or party affiliations three of our best men to manage the
city government for the next four years.
“The day was
perfect. The city
seemed almost like a holiday, not a squabble from morn till
night. Not an
evidence of vote-buying or any other unwholesome political
trick. For weeks
the Ledger has taken the utmost interest in getting everything
before the people, and when the polls closed with one of largest
votes ever cast at a municipal election, we surely felt a spirit
of true Americanism that we never quite enjoyed before.”
The Ocean City Board
of Commissioners met on October 17th and organized by
naming Harry
Headley as mayor and president.
His official title was commissioner of public safety and
public affairs. R. Howard Thorn was chosen commissioner of revenue and
finance, and John Marts was made commissioner of streets and
public improvements and parks and public property.
1912—The
Thursday, January 18th issue of the Sentinel report
on the cold weather: “Not in thirteen years has the weather
here been so cold as it was early Saturday morning, when the
thermometer registered one and two degrees below zero.
It was said to be even colder than this around the Ocean
City Motor Boat Club’s headquarters on the bay at Fifteenth
street. Thirteen years ago, Chief of Police Scull says, thermometers
here registered four degree below.
The bay was frozen over during the recent cold snap.”
On May 23rd,
Chris S. Hand announced that he had named his new pier and
auditorium at 9th and the Boardwalk the “Pier
Mousquetaire.” The
new pier was built against the south side of the old Young’s
Pier. The
theater’s seating capacity was 3,000 people.
The
Breakers, Ocean City’s first Boardwalk hotel, opened on
Saturday, June 29th.
“REID MAKES
FINE FLIGHT OVER AND AROUND CITY” was the headline in
the August 8th issue of the Sentinel.
Under a smaller headline, “On His Trip From Stone
Harbor He Carried Great Amount of Mail,” the article reported,
“More than 500 pieces of mail were carried here from Stone
Harbor by Mr. Reid in his flying machine Monday afternoon. He made the trip up with a head wind in 29 minutes, and
thousands saw him make a graceful circle out over the ocean and
land on the beach just below Hand’s Pier.”
 The Ocean
City Yacht Club formally opened their new clubhouse in
the Gardens on August 24th.
They held an open regatta that drew many boats from other
seashore resorts and thousands of visitors who expressed the
greatest admiration for the new clubhouse and its surroundings.
Former Mayor Joseph
G. Champion and his wife had a delightful sightseeing auto trip
to New York. One of
their stops was at Sing Sing Prison where officials gave him a
unique experience—they let him sit in their electric chair.
A.J. Smith, president
of the Board of Education, announced on October 7th
work would soon begin on a new school building.
It will be built on the east side of Wesley
Avenue between 4th and 5th streets.
He reported, “The building will have two stories and a
basement, and be modern in every detail.
It will have eight rooms for the children, and rooms for
the teachers and principal.”
On November 5th,
Americans went to the polls to elect a president. They had four choices: President William H. Taft, Republican;
former President Theodore Roosevelt, Progressive; New Jersey
Governor Woodrow Wilson, Democrat; and Eugene V. Debs,
Socialist. Wilson
won by a landslide, but he did not win in Ocean City.
Roosevelt won here with 381 votes.
Wilson placed second with 185 votes, and Taft received
144 votes.
1913—The
biggest political story of the year was the effort to have Mayor
Harry Headley recalled as one of the city commissioners.
He quickly responded to the allegations saying they were
all lies and “The parties circulating the petitions and their
friends are either disappointed office seekers or violators of
the law that have been brought to justice by me.”
Citizens believed him and he remained in office.
 Ocean City was
featured in the July 2nd issue of the Philadelphia
Evening Times. The
following, from the article, paints a nice picture of the
resort: “The wide, substantial boardwalk is one of the
resort’s greatest attractions.
It runs from the Ocean City Gardens to Twenty-third
street, with frequent
cozy pavilions, in which one may sit and watch the
promenaders or look out upon the sunkissed billows.
“Trolley cars run
from one end of the resort to the other, covering the distance
along the ocean front.
“The streets in the
resort and the roads
to the vicinity are among the best in the state.
They are appreciated by owners of automobiles and driving
teams, who are in Ocean City in large numbers from early in the
spring until late in the autumn, and long spins over the smooth
highways are greatly enjoyed by them. 
“Many auto owners
take frequent runs from Philadelphia to this city.
“From Ocean City
there are good roads leading to various resorts in Cape May and
Atlantic counties, and the automobile bridge now being
constructed to Somers Point gives this resort a short route to
Philadelphia—shorter, in fact, than the run to Atlantic City.
“The hotel
accommodations are varied and unexcelled.
The rates run from $8 per week upward.
The hotels and boarding houses are all located within a
comparatively short distance of the boardwalk and beach, are
easy access to the railroad stations.”
Hand’s
Pier Theater was filled
Friday evening, August 29, when “Cinderella and the Little
Glass Slipper” was given under the direction of Professor
Ellwood Carpenter for the benefit of the Ocean City Motor Boat
Club.
The following firemen
were sworn into office by Mayor Headley on September 29th:
Company No. 1—William Lake, Daniel Sampson and George O.
Adams; Reliance Company No. 2—Harry Smith, George C. Murphy
and S. B. Swan; Liberty Company No. 3—Warren Smith, Harvey
Morey and Somers C. Young.
The dedication of the
Wesley
Avenue Grade School took place on September 19.
The ceremonies were led by City Superintendent of Schools
James M. Stevens and the following members of the Board of
Education: President Augustus J. Smith, Vice President M. W.
Adams, Richard B. Stites, Alfred W. Powell, and Spencer B. Swan.
Mayor Harry Headley
presented an American flag to Spencer B. Swan and the flag was
raised to the top of the new flagpole.
The children then recited the pledge of allegiance to the
flag. They said,
“I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the Republic for which
it stands, one Nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for
all.”
The men of the U.S.
Life Saving Service began looking for ships in distress from
their newly built tower on the north end of the boardwalk.
1914—The
first issue of the Ocean City High School students’ monthly
publication “The Billows” was published in late March.
The day before
Easter, April 11th, two historic events happened: the
Ocean City Automobile Bridge Company opened
the roadway and four bridges connecting Ocean City and
Somers Point; and the cornerstone of City Hall was laid by Mayor
Harry Headley.
The bridge toll was
25 cents for an automobile and driver; 5 cents for each
additional passenger.
May 15th
was another historic day for Ocean City.
A new bridge at 34th Street, which replaced
the original bridge to the mainland built in 1883, was
officially opened. The
ceremonies were led by Cape May County Freeholders John P. Fox
and R. W. Edwards.
The Ocean City Public
Library opened in the Bourse Building and Miss Maud M. Floulds
was the city’s first librarian.
On August 10th,
people in Ocean City were shocked and saddened to hear of the
death of Lewis M. Cresse at the age of 46.
He was the first from this city to be elected to the New
Jersey General Assembly. He
was later elected state senator and mayor of Ocean City.
On September 9th,
Booker T. Washington, the most influential African-American in
the country, was in Ocean City.
He spoke to large crowds at the Hotel Comfort and the
First Methodist Episcopal Church.
The September 12th
issue of the Ocean City Ledger summarized the summer under this
front-page headline: “A Banner Season For Ocean City.”
The article began, “Notwithstanding the cry of hard
times, which many attribute to tinkering with the tariff,
followed by the upset condition caused by the European war,
Ocean City has undoubtedly had its banner season this summer.”
Special mention of
the fact that no drownings occurred was made by Mayor Headley:
“Captain Al Smith’s life guards have clearly demonstrated
their efficiency by effecting over seventy rescues in the surf,
a wonderful record indeed, when one pauses to think of the
thousands that bathe everyday.”
This year, the Ford
Motor Company greatly improved its assembly-line operation by
employing a chain to pull each chassis along.
1915—The
newly built
City Hall was opened for inspection on New Year’s Day.
Mayor Harry Headley, Commissioners R. Howard Thorn,
Robert Fisher and other city officials acted as guides. The new
building was the subject of an editorial in the January 2nd
issue of the Ocean City Ledger: “The new City Hall has called
forth the applause of the visitors’ during its entire building
and we are sure it will stand as a memorial to the builders, the
City Fathers, and all concerned, for many years to come.
While it may seen like an expensive luxury for so young a
city, yet on the principle that ‘what is worth doing at all is
worth doing well,’ we are sure the results will prove the
wisdom of such an expense.
We feel sure the city has made no mistake in putting up a
building in harmony with our schools, churches, banks and our
private homes. Such a city hall on our central streets will appeal to
business men and to capitalists, so that in the coming summer
thousands of investors and visitors will feel the power of such
a beautiful and convenient structure in the heart of our already
solid city. It is
surely an indication that we are a strong, growing, united,
stirring people. A
city whose taxables are fast approaching $10,000,000 figures can
and must have up-to-date buildings.
We surely have a City Hall of which the city is justly
proud. We are sure
much credit must be given to Mayor Headley and the other
Commissioners.”
Five months after
Mayor Headley and Commissioners Thorn and Firsher moved into
City Hall, they were all voted out of office.
“CITY ADMINSTRATION DEFEATED AT THE POLLS” was the
headline of the front page of the May 13th issue of
the Ocean City Sentinel. “The
present City Commissions—Mayor Headley and Directors Thorn and
Fisher—were defeated for re-election at the polls on Tuesday.
They went before the people on their records and the
voters rejected them in favor of Joseph G. Champion, a former
mayor, George O. Adams, a former councilman, both Republicans,
and William H. Campbell, a Democrat.”
“The Greatest
Cottage Seaside Resort in America” was the city’s slogan
this year. 
On January 28, the
U.S. Coast Guard was created by an Act of Congress by combining
the Life Saving Service and the Revenue Cutter Service.
The three local stations at 4th Street, 36th
Street and 58th Street soon had new signs on their
buildings.
Chris Hand’s Ocean
Pier at Ninth Street and the Boardwalk was sold to Albert
Fogg.He reported the pier would be remodeled and enlarged by
Memorial Day.
The OCHS boys’
baseball team beat Pleasantville 12-0 on May 15th.
“W.C.T.U.
PRESENTS CITY WITH HANDSOME FOUNTAIN” was the headline
in the June 3rd Sentinel.
“Memorial Day of this year was a memorable occasion for
the members of the Ocean City Women’s Christian Temperance
Union, marking, as it did, the presentation of the union’s
pretty granite drinking fountain to the city.”
Mayor Champion expressed the hope that the fountain would
remain for years as a monument to the W.C.T.U.
Nearly 600 teachers
were present at the opening assembly of the Ocean City State
Summer School on Monday, June 28th.
Dr. Calvin N. Kendall, the State Commissioner of
Education, addressed the teachers who were enrolled in the six
week school.
Circus posters around
town caught the eye of young and old.
The famous Al F. Wheeler two-ring circus was coming to
the Ocean City Show Grounds, located between Simpson and
Pleasure avenues, for two shows on Saturday, July 31st.Activities
got under way at noon with a big parade lead by a huge camel,
Rajah, the King of the Desert.
The first show, which began at 2 o’clock, featured
acrobats, aerialists, animal acts, clowns and Dare Devil Dalton.
People gasped as Dalton rode down a 100-foot ladder on a
buggy wheel.
 The Baby
Parade, held on Saturday, September 4th, was
called “a complete success in point of turnout and the
uniqueness of many of the costumes of the little ones.
Lee and Stanley Heist were winners
dressed as Ocean City life guards.
The city’s first fishing
pier was built at 14th Street by the Ocean
City Fishing Club. The
Club bragged it had reached its full membership of 300 and those
desiring to become members would be put on a waiting list.
“The Ocean City
Gardens—One of the most desirable seashore situation in the
world” was the caption of a photo in the October 30th
issue of the Ledger. The
picture, looking up Battersea Road, was taken from the upper
veranda of the Ocean City Yacht Club.
Republican Mark Lake,
of this city, was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly on
November 2.
1916—Ocean
City advertised itself under the new slogan: “The Greatest
Family Resort In America.”
The ad included the following information: “Seven miles
of ocean front and eight miles of inland waterway and bay
affords unexcelled bathing, fishing, sailing and motoring;
absolutely free from saloons and all kindred evils; good hotels;
cottages to rent; reached by both Pennsylvania and Philadelphia
& Reading railroads, and Shore Fast Line electric.”
One of the most
notorious series of shark attacks in United States waters
occurred in New Jersey during a 12-day period of July.
During
the period, four bathers were killed by sharks while swimming
off North Jersey beaches.
The newspaper and magazines all carried shark attack
articles, which set off a tidal wave of shark hysteria along the
New Jersey coast. Ocean
City’s Mayor Joseph G. Champion issued a statement protesting
against the publication of stories, which he declared “caused
the public to believe the New Jersey seacoast
is infested with sharks, whereas there are no more than
any other summer. The
statement ended saying, “The business of the resort has been
hurt without cause by the shark scare.”
Local policemen
delivered the following letter to the commissioners on November
6: “We, the undersigned, members of the police force of Ocean
City, do most respectfully petition your honorable body for an
increase in our monthly wages.
“In view of the
high cost of living and clothing required to maintain our
families, the long hours of service we are on duty each day,
irrespective of the weather, we think it is no more than justice
to ourselves and families that are depending on us for their
daily bread that our wages should be increased.
“Trusting you will
favorably consider this request, we in duty bound will ever
pray.” The letter
was signed by Chief Samuel B. Scull, H. W. Hildreth, George
Sack, Frank Schock, Howard T. Johnson, George E. Seaman and H.
M. Newkirk.
To
be continued in 2004
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