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Originally published in 1939
Some of this information may no longer be current and in that case is presented for historical interest only.
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2003
Both in population and in manufactures, the city ranks fourth in the
State. The most important single industry is the making of wire rope and
cables. Next in importance is the pottery industry. Several large cigar
manufacturers have established factories here in recent years.
Deepening of the Delaware River channel to 20 feet made Trenton a
port for seagoing vessels in 1932. The terminal is municipally operated.
As the State capital, Trenton has been the scene of important legal, as
well as political, controversies. Perhaps the most famous trial was that of
Charles Goodyear's suit against Horace Day for infringement of his patent on the rubber-vulcanizing process. Crowds gathered in March 1852 to
hear Daniel Webster, then Secretary of State, successfully argue the case for
Goodyear against Joseph Choate, another famous lawyer. Webster, reported the True American, "seems to be in ill health, although his massive brow is as bold and prominent as ever, and his large full eyes glow
with intellectual fire." Webster had written his son that he was heavily
in debt and welcomed the $10,000 fee. The audience was not disappointed when he summed up: "I believe that the man who sits at this
table, Charles Goodyear, is to go down to posterity in the history of the
arts of this country, in that great class of inventors at the head of which
stands Robert Fulton; in which class stand the names of Whitney, and of
Morse, and in which class will stand non port longo intervallo the humble
name of Charles Goodyear."
The strangest spectacle ever seen in the Statehouse was occupation of
the assembly chamber in the spring of 1936 by a delegation of unemployed, protesting the termination of State aid to the needy. The sit-down
strike, starting with 25 persons and growing rapidly, lasted nine days and
focused national interest on the capital. Seats and desks for legislators
were converted into dining tables, beds, and card tables; corridors and the
assembly chamber and gallery were jammed with strikers and curious onlookers. The legislature finally adjourned without taking any action except
to refer the matter to a moneyless board and the weary groups of jobless
marched quietly out of the Statehouse.
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