The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1890-02-16
This paper Is Democratic IN principles
and is Independent IN its pie,0s on all
local questions
"a Great Conspiracy

When we read our Newark name
sake's editorial on Friday, accusing
us of '.apologizing for crime, we
were SO much moved to laughter that
we found it impossible to take the
matter seriously. But we will try to
control our emotions for a brief space
SO as to show our respected contem-
porary in few words what egregious
nonsense it has been talking.
The examination of one assembly
district-the First--is now complete
1t consists of nine precincts In three
ballot boxes there were serious ir-
Irregularities. In the other six there
was practically nothing wrong, GER
tainly nothing that anybody would
regard as Of the slightest Importance.
Now admitting that all the irregu-
larity in the three crooked boxes was
fraudulent, where does the evidence
Of "a great conspiracy" or of any con-
spiracy at all come in. Is there not,
on the contrary, something amount
ing to an irresistible presumption that
there was no conspiracy, no general
design, but merely great irregular
tiles occurring in aminority Of the pre-
cincts. and most likely resulting from
local causes. If there was conspiracy,
it was just as easy TO control all the
boxes as few, and then the fraud"
could have been SO far subdiyided as
to be very hard TO detect.
But, again. is there as yet any legal
evidence OF fraud in any one case.
Perhaps the worst Of all is that of the
Ninth Precinct First OF all the poll
officials certified that 234 votes were
cast Then. some pages further on,
with many suspicious marks, there
appears another certificate that 81
votes was the true total Seems very
bad on its face, and yet Poll Clerk
William F. Howey comes to the front
with an explanation which. if not
very probable, is at least possible. He
says the first certificate was signed at
dinner time, the second when the polls
closed.
Poll Clerk Howey is ignorant,
stupid, tough. 1t is quite possible
he and the other fellows who ran the
poll along with him made donkeys of
themselves by signing two certificates,
and thought they were only doing
their duty. We don't really believe
they did. but it Is impossible to feel
sure that they did not. 1t is said
Poll Clerk Fallon was drunk in the
First Precinct If so, he may have
thought any wild thing at any stage
OF the proceedings. OF course, it is
beyond question that the election
officers in the crooked precincts were
wholly unfit to serve. Either they
were dishonest or they were both ig-
norant and careless But who shall
decide which. We would not like to
take the responsibility OF anticipating
the verdict of jury.
Now. what does the Newark Nezgs
mean by IAN Apologist for Crime
1t quotes from our columns, and in
the passage il quotes this occurs
There are irregularities. They ought
not to have occurred. Nay, some of
them may be fraudulent irregulari-
ties. and they ought to be punished. y
Where does the apology come ins
We are shoulder to shoulder with
the Newark NezCs in saying that the
revelations of the First Assembly Dis
trict ballot boxes are disgrace to Jer-
sey City. disgrace to Hudson Coun-
ty, disgrace TO the State. They
prove couclnsively the need for reform
in our election laws such as The JER-
sEy CRY NEws IN common with all
faithful Democrats has been clamoring
for. They SHOW TOO how futile is the
much Wanted Australian system to