The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1886-10-24
THE FIGHT IN THE FIRST.
A Skin" Enrolment 60 Knock Out
Assembly lyman Seymour.

So Skin " Enrolment TO Knock Out
Assemblyman Seymour.
The men who are running the Republic
can machine in the fist District have sue
ceeded in getting affairs there badly mixed
up. 1t being strong Republican district,
the nomination is considered equivalent to
an election. and consequently there is great
strife to carry the primary. The primaries
in the Republican districts few years ago
became SO notorious for fraud that the
County General Committee adopted rules
for the organization of District Assoeia-
tons. In the First District, all the Repub-
lican voters of the First District were to be
enrolled and a meeting was then to be
called and an organization effected. This
was supposed to be DONE and the meeting
called elected officers and adopted consti-
tuition and bylaws The rules of the Gen
sral Committee and the law governing the
association required that no one should vote
at any primary unless he had previously
been enrolled. The constitution also de-
clares that no person shall be enrolled
within two weeks before the time of holding
primary. At the primary this fall to elect
delegates to the State, Congressional and
County Conventions. no registry was used,
but everyone was allowed to vote without
regard to the fact whether he had been
enrolled or not When it came to arrang-
ing for the Assembly primary new rule
was adopted. There were several gentle
men in the district who were very ambi-
tious to occupy a seat in the Legislature
and to enable them to crafty their aspira-
tons it was necessary to crowd the present
Assemblyman out of the nomination to
which he was clearly entitled by party
usage.
Thereupon an advertisement was inserted
in a paper calling meeting of the First
District Association. At the appointed
time about sixty persons met together. A
large portion of those present had never
been enrolled as members of the First
District Association, and several did not
reside in the district No roll was called,
and every one present in the room was
allowed to vote on all questions.
The constitution and bylaws of the First
District Association provided that no
change or alteration should be made with
out the proposed amendment being first
submitted at one meeting and then laid
over until the next meeting before any &C.
ten could be taken. Notwithstanding this,
the chairman of the County Committee,
being member of the District Association,
presented new constitution and bylaws,
and with the assistance of one of the aspi-
rants for the Assembly nomination, who
was also a member of the County Commit
tee, succeeded in having vote declared in
faver of the new constitution, notwith-
standing they both we'll knew the meeting
and proceedings were entirely irregular and
in violation of the law governing the asso-
citation. The cut-and-dried programme was
further carried out by fixing the date of the
primary just on the eve of election, and
ordering a personal enrolment of those
who should be allowed to vote. The
whole thing was gotten up and run for the
purpose of knocking out Mr.. Seymour.
These matters having been arranged to the
satisfaction of the ring, the meeting adj
Journed. The enrolment then began and
was continued until last Thursday night,
allowing but three days to intervene be-
tween the enrolment, and the day of the
primary, although the constitution Of the
county committee provides that no person
shall be enrolled within two weeks before
the tim s of holding primaries. About
nine hundred names have been enrolled,
and if all are Republicans it would leave in
the district about seven hundred Republi-
cans whose names have been left off the
regigtry. The number left off is much
greater, because an examination of the
registry shows an enrolment of the names
of persons not residing in the district, who
cannot be found and who are dead. After
this showing let the Republicans stop
shouting about horseshoe politics and bal
lot-box stufing. The whole thing is a fine
exhibit of the way affairs are managed by
the ring politicians of the First District.
Some of Mr.. Seymour's friends advise him
to pay no attention to the primary, and
declare. himself candidat. regardless of
anything the primary may do.
The primary is to be held tomorrow
afternoon, and from present appearances
it will be one of the most exciting contests
of the season. Whether there will be suf-
ficient time before the election to work off
the bad blood which has been engendered
remains to be seen. All we can say is keep
the pot boiling
An -.11n.