The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-04-01
JUDGE KNAPP SPEAKS. ks
His Long Expected Charge
to the Grand Jury
Delivered.
BALLOT FRAUDS AND GAMBLING.
The Judge Goes over the Senate
Revelations and Urges the
Duty Of Furnishing
The entity.

Court opened this morning, and afte
Judge Knapp excused John NJ Crusins
from duty as Grand Juror he addressed
the other members and made one Of the
most remarkable charges ever delivered
in that Court House. After briefly re-
ferring to the criminal and jail cases @
come before the body, udge Knapp
said:--
Gentlemen Of the Grand Jury: Th ere
is matter Of Importance to the county
wish to call your attention. OF course
you anticipate to what allude. An in
vestlgatiOn has taken place in the Senate
which has disclosed the existence Of I'M
usual and extensive frauds in the fall
elect1ons, OF such character as
seemingly could not have been
Incidental but general. The last
Grand Jury should have been the
body to investigate this matter if the dis
closures had been made in time, but while
that Grand Jury was in session the ballot
boxes from which the evidence of fraud
was to be obtained in q large measure.
senate Sala N and she can1S enst9dy nof Of the p
recalled by the court. That investiga-
tion, as l understand it, has not entirely
terminated, but it has gone to such an
extent that the evidence upon which they
UdStl tutlE examination is now within
the control OF this Grand Jury
THE JUDGES OBSERVATIONS.
II have examined this matter with
some interest as it has progressed, and
from the disclosures made it would seem
that out OF the 129 election precincts in
whlcn paIlot boxes were used, in some
cases irregularities occurred, and in some
cases clear patent evidences of fraud
such as | think could scarcely have kx-
isted without the concurrence and coiz,-
plicity OF those who acted as officers Al
election.
CASES IN POINT
In the Ninth precinct, first district.
the returns showed for one candidate 51i
ballots and for the other TO- The recount
showed AL and 81. These what refer to
are not the most marked in
stances but serve to Indicate what
ballots wese found without being counted
for either, or without being rejected In
one case there were forty y-three in the bot
tom Of the box. In many caoes the num-
Der of names on the poll book did not
agree with the number checked on the
registry as having voted
In many cases the number of ballots
on the string did not agree with the NUM-
Der of names on the poll book. In up
wards OF twenty precincts there were on
the string and loose in the boxes ballots
OF about one-third the size of the ordinary
ballots in use. The greatest number Of
these in any one box on the string was
l76 in the Third precinct of the
First district. There were seven
boxes, which Ahad over one hundred
each. The number of these ballots upon
the strings amounted in all to 1,500 and
odd
I'm two precincts of the Seventh district
there were ballots of the usual size which
had been stamped and milled not with the
mill Of the box, but with a strange mill
a int he how srrTff n
they were found. OF these ballots LA
were found in the First precinct and 106
in the Third precinct
In two precinctsin Hoboken, the Fourth
and Fifth, of the Fourth ward, as the
evidence seems to disclose, there were
ballots stamped with mil entirely diff
ferent from that upon the boxes, fifteen
in one precinct and twenty-four in an
other. In other precincts there were
large ballots not having been stamped
some of them not even have been folded,
and these were found on the string. num-
bered and counted. OF these 1500 and
odd ballots q speak of the smaller bal
lots) were, with few exceptions, all
| stamped and punctured by mill, differ
they were found, and nearly all appeared
| to have been worked by the same stamp
| The Judge then recited the cases OF
certain precincts in illustration of the
lTdllu6 COuIIliGLeu, aIL0r winch ne S8lQs--
| PURITY OF THE BALLOT
NOW, there is nothing that the Court
| can say too forcible to impress the inn
portance of this subject on the minds Of
| gentlemen who represent community
| like this.
'.It is not the design of the court to de-
| liver lecture on public policy Every
man who stops moment to think will
| understand that the purity of the ballot
4 box lies at the very basis of our govern
ment. there is any thing Of
make our laws and to administer them,
| it is OF the utmost Importance to the pe0-
| pie that these frauds should be punished.
There is but one way by which this
Government can be maintained, that is
a regard for the law designed to give the
correct expression to the will of the peo-
| pie.
If rascals can take possession Of the
polls and vote at their pleasure then
| popular government is at an end. No
| honest mad would care to vote who
would go to such a poll knowing his vote
would not be counted.
THE DUTY OF THE JURORS.
II think the public will request of thig
Grand Jury an investigation in this mat
ter. 1t is thing. that you cannot pass
country that Hudson County is not gov
erned by lay.
THE question is often asked, it comes
to the ears of the judges with great fre-
quency and sometimes in tone Of come
plant, Why do you not enforce
! the law, why is not this law or that law
enforced by the Court? The constitutions
| provides that no man shall be held to
answer for any criminal offence except
upon the presentation of the Grand Jury.
First and foremost every cause of 4
| public nature must pass the ordeal OF
| your Judgment. You are TO investigate
as yenr oath has disclosed to you, and as
| you have declared that you wills
"The court has nothing to do with the
appointment or the selection of the Grand
Jury. While here You are part Of the
court, but no judge can compel you 70 Il
indict person no matter how fragrant
his crime, and If the Grand jury do noe
indict where the evidence iustifies, no
reproach can be cast on the Judge.
THE Grand Jury is at fault and this
part OF the court is helpless.
POOL SELLING. & S.
In different parts OF this county pool
selling is said to have existed and does
exist, and the court has frequently called
| the attention of the Grand jury
| to this matter until, I suppose
| the Grand Juries are tired of hearing
| the Court speak of it. Here, ii is said, the
law is publicly and hagrantly violated.
1t seems to be known to everybody but