The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-03-17
THE BALLOT RASCALS.
The Corporation Counsel to
Be Asked if They Must
Be Reappointed.
"A GREAT CITIZENS MOVEMENT,
Tomorrow Nights Meeting to Take
Steps to Guard the Ballot
Boxes and Watch
the Count.

Alderman O'Neill is disposed to think
that there is no way by which the Board
of Aldermen can escape allowing the
election officers who served at the polls
last fall to serve during the spring May
orally campaign. He admits, however,
the Board will have to redesignate the
election officers at their meeting on the
25th inst, so as to send them to their
proper precincts. For instance, what is
the First precinct of the First district at
the fall election becomes precinct in
the Second district at the spring election
because of the difference between the
Assembly and the Aldermanic lines. In
order that the precinct officers who
served at the First precinct of the First
district last fall may be sent to the
proper precinct in the Second district
next month, it will be necessary for the
Board to designate them TO serve at the
new precinct.
CORPORATION COUNSEL QUESTIONED.
AS there are conflicts all over the city
between the precinct lines last fall and
the precinct lines this spring it will be
necessary for the Board to name all the
election officers over again Neither Al
derman O'Neill nor Alderman o. Rourke,
with whom | talked this morning, could
sea that this is practically retilling of
the Election Boards. and that the Board
may have us much right to fill them with
new men as with old men. But then
they both thought that there might pos
sibiy be something in the point, and they
asked City lerk Scott to request Cor
poratlon Counsel Edwards to look into
the point
A SPECIMEN CONTRACT
Whatever may be the decision of the
Corporation Counsel as to the legality of
general change of election officers there
seems to be no doubt that in the the pre-
tinct already referred to as an instance
the power OF the Boards right to appoint
cannot be disputed; and there are special
reasons why il should be exercised for all
it is worth. II was in the First precinct
OF the First Assembly district that the
grossest of the frauds were perpetr ated
last fall
The men who served there then are, by
the differences between the lines, trans
lated to the Second precinct this spring.
There is no fiction of law that can enable
man who was First district election
officer last fall to claim the right, as a
hold-over, TO serve as Second district
election officer.
ToMoREow's MEETING.
The meeting of citizens to be held at
the Tabernacle tomorrow evening will
probably take up this point for all IL is
worth and urge its consideration by the
~eity authorities. The gross outrage upon
public decency and the gross defiance of
public sentiment involved in the reap
neint,nent of the disoraced election
officers of last fall will probably be pre-
sented by the speakers in all of their
aspects 1t was originated by the
Jeffersonian Committee, but it bids fair
to grow beyond their anuicipations into a
great citizens meeting. All parties will
be represented.
The speakers will be ex-senator
Rudolph L. Rabe, of Hoboken; ex-Mayor
Collins, Rev. J. Il. Scudder, Richard J. AL
len, the labor man, who polled over 600
voles as labor candidate for Sheriff two
years ago, and a number of other citi-
zens. The Rev. Father Hennessy, of St.
Patrick's Catholic Church, may be one of
them.
Ex-Governor Bedle was to have pre-
sided, but the recent death of his father
iE-law, the late Judge Randolph, forbids
that now, and the committee have been
talking OF putting ex-Mayor Charles II.
O'Ncilt in the chair.
A CITIZENS COMMITTEE.
The expected outcome OF the meeting
is That Il Citizens Committee Will be
formed to watchthe two parties as their
plans develop, and to take such
steps as may be advisable for a clean
and honest administration of city affairs.
The committee will be expected beyond
that TO see that the polls are not only
manned, but the voting supervised and
the counting watched by citizens of the
highest repute.
They are determined at all hazards to
prevent the repetition OF the diSgraceful
frauds OF last fall in the interest of any
body.