The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1890-08-01
General f. Burd Grubb says:

tfe1eTdl +. I9tltt ofhb' "a
n II hope to live to sec
the day when the poorest editor IN New
Jersey. no matter what his politics may
be. will give free utterance tn his true
onipion. and will support that which he
believes to be good and condemn that
which he believes to be bad, without the
hope of receiving the printing Of the State
laws. or the fear of being deprived OF
them for so doing
We hope the distinguished General
many long years of added life, but greatly
fear, in fact, are quite sure, that hecannot
live sufficiently long to enjoy the truition
of his hopes as expressed above, while the
nresept system of distributing state pat
ronage as party spoil maintains,
The Daily State Gazette, Trenton, says:
General Grubb strong
Iy condemns any system that permits any
one to use the patronage OF the State in
such a way as to suppress or hamper the
freedom of the press
And continues:
THAT is precisely what the present sys
TEN for the designation of the newspapers
to publish the laws does. 1t is a paddock
upon every newspaper in New Jersey to
which this patronage is important. And
it was enacted for that very object. 1t en-
ables the Democratic Governor to gag
every neoessitons Republican and Demo
cratic newspaper in the state.
A rather vigorous and not at all tongue
tied newspaper publisher writes:
I'VE nave pointed out the existence Of
an Ubiquitous law costing the people of
NJ Jorsay- 1fS R20 M a vnap fDr q n npfffp-
Iy useless publication and virtual gift
yearly of 81, ST. 80 to Secretary Of State
Kelsey for less than $3.50 worth of useless
work, in its sealing the eyes and lips and
ears of the State press to the interests of
the t~ax-paying farmer, mechanic ana
laborer, and in its making a corrupt poilti-
cal ring centercd at the State House, Tren-
ton. Even the men newspaper mem who
profit by his outrageous law, have no
voice in its condemnation-they have sold
their integrity, their natural functions as
conservators of the public god for $3.50 28
a year"
Speaking of the repeal of the law giving
the newspaper publishers (political) over
$500 per year for the publication Of the
State laws, he says:
ave think the subsidized papers could
and would raise enough money. Look at
these figures. There are GO papers which
receive nearly $1,000 apiece. Suppose these
Go editors were told they must raise $3.50
apiece to kill the repeater, could they not
afford to pay $3.50 out of $1,000, since the
whole amount is to come out of the State
treasury? Would they not still be over
s700 in pocket lfthe 63 papers ANTE"
$3.50 apiece, that would aggregate a neat
IfA,Io 1888 49, TE0 n q,AAI hnninninp
And as Secretary Kelsey will receive about
$1,000, an average of nearly $50 a day,
could he not contribute So, 500 towards the
necessary amount and still have a balance
worth about $40 per day. The Secretary
of State and the muzzled ne newspapers could
thus easily raise SO, $50 for any given pur-
pose" etc.
"Now suppose continues the writer,
'sMessrs, - have a price, each would re-
ceiye from the sum $3.50. how
very easy it would be to buy the death,
pinching, or smotheling OF any bill de
signed TO take a great many thousands OF
dollars out of the treasury and put it in the
purses of a few scheming politicians
The editor of the MoNIToR holds that it
would greatly conserve the interest of the
taxpayers of the State to have the laws
publication managed as any other business
enterprise, and not as a political stock in
trade. Let the contract for publishing
them in pamphlet form he given out to
the lowest responsible bidder, and after
printing let the copies be given to each
l4galized voter at the polls on election
day. Or If printed in the newspapers,
make the price that of ordinary advertise
ments, always basing value on amount Of
circulation