The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1890-02-09
What Bugaboo Is Hidden in
the Hudson County
Ballot Boxes !?
WILL IT HELP TIE Reform ?
Serious Problems in State Finance
Bell Ringing Bills in the
Legislature.
sDecial % he sasntsav lfornino Ne,ss

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boxes from Hudson county, which created
such sensation upon their arrival here
last Tuesday, have been quietly sleeping
IN the vaults Of the State Treasurer nm
der the seal of City Clerk Scott ever
since, and the impression is steadily gain
ing ground that the investigation is
sleeping with them The recount was
adjourned this week on account of the
enforced absence OF Senator Adrain, the
Democratic member of tho committee.
who had 10 go South on a business trip.
On Wednesday Senator Gardner, the Re
publican chairman of the committee. was
moping about the Sena tie chamber COM
planning Of feeling Ill and predicting that
ne might not be able to be IN Trenton
next week According to Democratic
member this means another postpone
ment. Then it is expected that some
thing else will transpire TO make another
adjournment plausible, and so It VIII go
on until the farce is played out, when
MI Scott VIII be called here to break the
seal and take his boxes back 10 the city.
Even the Republican members Of the
committee are said TO be unwilling to go
through all the labor of counting each
ballot IN the 1923 boxes for the little CAPT
tai which they could at most gain. They
have no idea of seating Stuhr. Tnev
knew full well that Mcdonald was
elected by an unsurmountabie Taaserifr
Moreover, Stuhr is not made or Ine
material the Senators are DESTROYS of
having in the chamber, while even the
blttereSt partisan among them recognize
the fact that the dignified demeanor and
polished eIoquence of Mr.. Mcdonald has
added lustTe to the Senate which It
would take about 4.000 Stuhrs to imparf
Then again the fact is slowly dawning
upon the most guliible Of the sana-belt
patriots that the hue and cry ABOUT the
frauds in Hudson county is cloak manu-
tactured solely Tor use in campaigns 20
hide the frauds perpetrated BY the Re-
publlcans nCamden and in djaceHt coun-
ties, and to be laid in camphor SO that
the moths Of truth cannot destroy il until
next election. The whole investigation
calls forcibly to mind old Horace s lines
1.-THE mountains labor and q ridiculous mouse
is born
BALLOT REFORM.
A great descent of ballot ref0rmers is
expected here on Tuesday. when the com
nlittee will hold its first public meeting.
The members of the committee expect to
hear some valuable suggestions, and they
also believe that there will be inflicted
upon them the effervescence of every
crank who can make his way to Trenton.
IL vas AD1 LuE ICdSUu III IHGSe
gentlemen as little as possible, no doubt,
that the committee has fixed ten-minute
limit on the speakers
About the first thing to which the COM
mittee VIII have its attention called VIII
be the bills upon ballot reform, which
were introduced into both the House and
Senate at the beginning of the session
The committee win also procure copies of
the revised election laws Of other States
which have recently adopted ballot re-
form measures, and give them its careful
attention.
When the Republican leader of the
House, Foster NJ Voorhees,, withdrew
his resolution providing for the appoint
ment OF committee to prepare a law for
the taxation of corporate property, he did
so at the request of Governor Albeit
This was in order that there might
be no political conflict in a mat
ter of such grave Importance. It is
the purpose of the resolution TO give the
special committee the power to consider
the question of the taxation of corpora
tions Of every description. As, by the
| instructions in the resolution creating it,
the Commission will not make a report
until the Legislature Of 1891 additional
taxation of corporation, will be delayed
for another year.
now ABOUT THE DEFIcIT2
This naturally raises the question.
What will the State do in the meantime
to provide FOR the deficit in the State
Treasury that must be provided for2
This question was asked Mr.. voorhees,,
and he replied that the Commission is 70
be appointed for the purpose of revising.
codifying and amending the corporation
tax laws, and thai in the meantime tenn
porary relief will be furnished by
hastily devised method. 1t is supposed
that before long the Ways and Means
Committee Of the House viii devise some
plan for the relief OF the State treasury
Governor Albeit is understood to have
some plan that he will advise the COM
mittee TO adopt. The permanent revision
OF the taxation laws is a more important
matter, and must be done deliberately
and cautiously.
The deficiency which the present Legis
lature must meet amounts TO over half
million dollars. Il is well known that
the Governor will not favor q direct tax
upon the people, and It is generally be-
heyed that the Comptroller foFeshadowed
the Governors policy when he said in his
last report
The Stare treasury possesses assets, the sale
of which would produce a sufficient sum 10 sup
ply the greater part, not the whole, of the
probable deficiency, and such sale is already
authorized by law, but the disposal Of valuable
securities 10 meet an emergency IS Of doubtful
policy, while other proper and available mas
ures Tor the revision OF revenue remain untF3gd-
1t is probable that among the first bust
ness transacted by the Senate next week
will be the adoption of Mar. Voorhees, Feso-
luton, and that the commission Wlllfbe
appointed at once,
The cities OF the first class, though
only two in number, find il impossible 10
agree upon many Of the measures which
each wants enacted. For instance. the
simple measure introduced by Mr.. Price
which changes The time for making tax
statements had q narrow escape from
death through the opposition of the Jer-
sew City members. They wanted the
statements made in June instead of Feb
ruary, and would not consider the bill
until Mr.. Muilone tackled on an amsnd-
ment providing that it should not apply
TO cities which have adopted the charter
Of last winter.
ELEcTlsIC WIRE BILL LEGISLATION.
Mr. Smiths obnoxious measure, pro
viding thar all electric light, telephone aud
telegraph wires must be put underground
by November l, is having a hard time of
it in the Committee On Corporations,
which has sat down on it very hard
STORY ABOUT SMITH.
Appropos or Smith here is good story
they are telling about him
On the dUT OF the first session he went
to the capital comparatively unknown 70
the habitues of the State House and 10
his fellow members. The Assem- blyman's
appearance is somewhat clerical His
side whiskers are long and silky, he
wears gold rimnael eyeglasses, his lips
are flexible, his mouth is Of that peculiar
character that II found iD pulpit orators