New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-05-14
TIE sAxTON BILL VETOED.
GOV. HILL STATES IN DETAIL HIS oBJEo-
TIoNS TO THE BALLOT REFORM
MEASURE.
APPROVING ONLY ONE FEATURE OF 1.-THE
CRY FOR AN OFFICIAL BALLOT HAS pho'
cEEDEp MOSTLY FROM DocTR1NAIHEs'-

Urging THE LINsoN SUBSTITUTE
rHr TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNE
.,, NJ N -C7oyernor HIPS veto of Mr. Sax
toms BaIlot-RefoIm bill could not De saiu 70 10 u
,xpactad but still II was received oy the Assembly
soncht with profound regret ana WIN oeep lho'snS
non Mr.. saxton when the message had been read
ovsd that jt should be laid the table, and then,
trrn,nr IN friend said Let the people decide who
a. n ne ,.vht about that bnl-tbe Legislature or the
covernor I am confident that they Will say that
The legislature in its action to prevent bribery at
the poIls and to secure purity Of elections otherwise
sbould have been sustained by the Governor
The veto message at tho outset recognizes the
gravity of the present election abuses and gracefully
a,ides to the saxton bill stupendous blunder'
Tho present need1 the Governor continues care.
ful elaboration keen scrutiny. and mutual readiness
and desire to give and receive the sharpest ana
severest criticism The first step in discussion
undertaken with ouch disposition Is to discover tho
points OF agreement This proceed to DO" ms
only leading feature Of the saxton BILL however, which
he ends himself able 10 approve Is the system OF
priyate booths or compartments, through which each
elector must pass on his way TO the bauot-boS'
Then he proceeds to attack the system OF an eA'
eusyoIy official ballot which he believes to DO In
herently defective, vicious and unconstitutional nc
quotes at length from his annual message 70 lho
present Legislature to show that he Is In tsVor Oh
tho compartment system, and not opposed 10 inc %"
uermcnt of an official ballot, printed at puohc eA'
pensc provided the ballot is not prohoitoiy anu Is
substantially OF the character as the pahoS nv"
prescribed. The Governor then proceeds 10 cons'uer
in detail the two features Of the bill that arc 3D.
tectonabe TO him: ,,-,..,
ballot shall under ordinary be voted hecon
the requirement that each ticket Shall contain th
Of all the candidates OF all the parties anc par'o vi
and irresponsible combinations prcoendihg 70 Oo P''
who choose TO certify that they have made noha"'
n nplv
6c,a ballot printed at public expense as against inc
sap,o kind of ballot 10 be furnished by parties anu
candidates, he says;
Flrz that an officially printed ballot will enable impe-
curious men 20 become candidates without being compelled
to expenses Of printing their cKets seeonu A'
by thus doing away the ony campaign expenses "ch
are absolutely necessary the excuse for eySlnG campaign
assessments UPON candidates Will be reduced
These two PURPOSES the Governor holds. can De
as con,nletely satisfied under tho system OF an or
,lon., oeortaI ballot rs under that Of exclusive
o,,ionnl ballot: and he thinks that the importance
Of relieving candidates from the expenses OF print
inc their tcHcts has been greatly exaggerated Inc
CRY for an Official ballot he adds. in passins mas
proceeded mostly from doct1tnaircs whose theores
ere beautiful ard serene, but who have no eyes for
oa.ts and taactlca experience The Governor sees,
IN the provisions Of the SaXtOH BILL that the Official
bsllots cannot be delivered 10 the inspectors untl
the inspectors arc present at the polls, ana must Oe
delivered bebrc the olls open, probable source
Of scrcus dcla:s, and sa.S;
No noljtcal rarity would dare take the risk OF such
as,,vs hut each party would be practically compelled 30
preare and distribute IN every election district tuu
supply OF this facsimile unonoia! ballots At iN Own
pypcuse BIu in doing each party would be eonpced
Ia rrut fac-drlc ballots containing not only the names
a, a. o,rr rasdsar. tut also the Of oil the other
candidates Of all other partes as required upon inc
onlc,al ballotl The expense to candidates OF printing
their tickets would be more than doubled oy the on'ia
ballot system of this bill.
Tl,a only pth
eusyey Official ballot that II viii promote the secrecy
al tbv ballot and will make Il more difficult iof inc So
uygr to know whether his man has voted As nc as
believe In actual practice this system WIZ WIN
just the opposite result
Then the Governor vigorously attacks the provision
of the bin requiring that the ballot shall be marEea
with the ini lials Of the election officers VINO oe'er
It to the vDter This years plan of marking the
initials stub he thinks as pad as last years plan
OF marking them on tho ballot itself
Each eleetcr would average OF from three 10
six times as mny ballots he would be entitled TO deposit
Il is true the bill requires that all ballots not Voea
shall be dely Brei back the inspectors and that no
baot shA be removed the polling place. But II Is
yeyy evident with all this multitude and confusion OF
tickets IN that It would be very easy Tor an
elec,or under claim having dropped lost ticket or
BY other methods smuGgle from the polling place
complete ret OF tickets marked with tbs proper initials
o, the election official. Armei with this ore set oil
tickets which votebu-er can mark and deliver 70
yo,cr who can the aud return another
ia
certainty can be carried during the balance OF the day
The most serious practical obie,ion TO the sFcI-
xive Official ballot the Governor then says sun re-
mains 10 lie con sdered' This objection IS TO the Drovs
ion that the official ballot must nc completed eight DAYS
before the elcc ton; and the message Gays thG The
practical result OF the provision would inevitably be
that the death resignation OF candidate at any
time during the period Of eight days before an election
would defeat his party for that Office because the
great of the people will not take the trouble
to write or paste in q name,
Then the Governor arrives ct his last oo1eohGn
20 the frst feature. which objection he calls
the most serious Of all He ailrms that the
The possibility Of any ballot whatever IS made 70 de.
pend upon previous nominations duly certified by the
bodies making Ire same If no nominations ane made. no
onioIal ballots, and consequently fac-simile unofficial
ballots b prepared. and election he held for
bill allows other ballots to be voted The right Of
suffrage existence OF elections both made abso
tuely dependent upon previous nominations II such
nominations should b. made, all the people OF the Stat
would be dsao chisd 1t IL not enough 10 that such
an event is not likely to happen. bin which makes
the right depend upon irresponsible voluntary
bodies. thereby making the Acknowledgement Of all Tho
people possible IS equally unconstitutional whether such
event be probable not
The message divides into several parts the secon'
Of the features Of the bill that Objectionable
Mr.. Hin says the Governor with fine scOrn;
There Ia method allowed for distinguishing upon u
ballot under party heading the regular from tho boltln
nominees the genuine from tho spurious Add " Ties
unlimited 'pary" candidates the candidates wh
may be nominaosd by the combinations OF "hfdes AM
"nye hundreds" not Ginning % represent party ant
the limit the which may lawfully be placed OF
this refonn ballot" denes computation and Is 10 be est
mated by the imagination only. An ordinary city al
reetory might a. well be handed to voter from whici
30 seiecb his candidate ticket whiei
might easily he constructed strictly in accordance will
the provisions OF this bill. Indeed the city director
would have certn advantage for there the names wout
be arranged IN alphabetical order.
The opportunities for free advertising the Coverno
thinks, would b immense, as only MY, ana pos
extensive crcula don Of any mans full business card
a. the expense Of the taxpayers" In England, Can
ada and Australia, Governor Hin finds, there Is Blu
one ballot employed under this proposed system anc
Tat ballot rarely contains more than two or tire
nAnes, ard provides for the filing Of but ono Office
He danger in the attempt to engra that system
upon complicated one, ard says that the ONLY
actual trial Of tho Australian" ~ item has been in
single municipal election IN Louisville, with unsatis
factory results.
Then the Governor declares that the system itseI
nhereutly unconstitutional. apart from the form Fl