New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-09-17
4 RESPONSIBILITY HILL CANNOI EFADE.

4 RESPONSIBILITY HILL CANNOT EFADE.
1t is going to take large sum Oh money T."
nav for all the ballots which the public VIII
he called upon to furnish the voters 'llder inc
new Ballot law. But it must he borne III
mind by the taxpayers that this item OF eN-
pense would have been moderate one II II
had not been for Governor Hill. Why VIII 1t
he necessary to print fifty or sixty million bal
lots this fall instead of two or three mllloh
WHY will it be necessary to number all these
Gftv or sixty million ballots? Simply because
the Governor absolutely refused to sign blll
which proydcd. as did the original SaXton Dill
NJ last winter which he vetoed. for " blanket
ballet that is to say. ballot containing the
names of all the candidates TO be voted for;
and because he absolutely refused to sign a
hill which failed to provide. as the original
y,vt,n hill failed. for the numbering Of all
the ballots.
I'm his message killing the original bill tho
Governor argued at length against the banker
ballot. He denied the constitutional right OF
the Legislature to compel an clcctor To accept
4 ballot CONTAINING the names OF Candidates
other than those for which he intended to vote,
and insisted that each distinct set Of nomlha-
tions should be printed on separate ballots.
No SOONER was this worthy measure vetoed
than the true friends Of blllot reform pa'rl-
otically determined, rather than have the re-
form perish entirely. to see II they c"uid ho'
secure the Governors signature to Il compro-
mise bill. Hill could not be- persuaded to sign
= first rate bll-that was clear. But his NciO
had been denounced from one end OF the state
To the other and he had expressed his rcadl-
ness TO sign some sort of Il Ballot bill. so the!
prcpared their compromise. That it might
not furnish the Governor with an eAcn>o Tor
another vcto-he had already slaughtered three
Saxton bill,-thc provision for IA blanket haIlot
was stricken out. and the Governors demand
for separate ballots for each distinct set 81
nominations was complied with. W hat sen
ator SaytOn thought of the change appears III
the letter which he wrote Ia the Ballot Kc-
form League of this city after the compromise
had been prcvarcd d" ! am in favor OF the
>o-calcd blanket ballot. he says, hccIii>" II
i, much more convenient for the voter. The
.chcrl" of having separate ballots and rcqil-
irc the voter to take one of each kind into the
booth will secure Il secret ballot. but II Is iai
more complex, and fear will be less effective
in operation. The chang" in this respect Is
maze Hctf>>ti.' ~. wv "'''''' w '''' '
crnor upon the question which. while IN my
opinion entirely nd"fcn>ihlc. is nevertheless
a fact which we must take int" account
What is true OF III" provision III question II
equally tluc Of the provision calling for the
numbering OF the ballet: II was placed III the
compromise bill simply "a CONCESSION I" inc
Governor. In the interview with o"nat n HaA-
| ton. which was printed in yesterday liIh-
| rNE. he explained this "My~c!f and other
Republicans" said he did not seq the need
Of numbering the ballots. hut Professor Col
lin (who representa-. tho Governor insisted
upon our accepting the amendment "i INC
Governors. and we had ~ take it.. Th!, feat
IRE of numbering the ballots promises greatly
to cmharIa>S the County Clerks. VIII" haN" me
duty of having tho hlll"tS printed. and II has
added greatly 10 the eXprn>" Of In" printing"
| work.
| In view of these incontestabl" facts our
| Democratic friends would do we'll t. refrain
! from directing attention 10 the large cAp'ns"
ATTENDING the operation OF the new Ballot
| Reform law All the, say on that head cannot
fail f. ininic David y. Hill. But for his stub
I hornnc.> long persisted I'll the law would not
! ha\" cnnran"d the prtS i.ionS which r"ndcr IT
reform WAS frs, proposed in thi, Stat" his re-
! latiou to il has been that Of u stumbling block.