The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-11-21
THREE Big DECISIONS.
Fresh Aspects in Which
the Douglas and Brug-
geman Litigations
Are Interesting.
WHAT HAS DOUGLAS AcHIEygDi
Effect Of Roche's Defeat on the
MayoraIty Contest-The Al
dermanic Gerrymander.

vi tHt bukt6 ueIlsipI5 fcuucfca w
matters that have heretofore attracted
more or less local interest, by the Su-
preme Court at Trenton in the early part
Of the week. that which concerned the
disposition of the Douglass case seems.
upon Investigation, to be the least easily
comprehended. Douglass was-and under
the decision Of the Supreme Court still Is
Ia detective in the service OF the city.
While he was serving as clerk in the Sec
ond District Police Court he won the
enfnity Of the Ring in some way-he
says because he refused to be party to
the use OF the already stamped and
punctured joker ballots; and the Ring
Police Board began to contrlve devices
for his annoyance. he was first sent to
do active detective duty at Captain Nc
Kaig's police station, and two or three
months later he was shifted to the Green
vile precinct-the place of service that
the Board knew would be the most dis
tasteful for him.
ATTEMPTS TO DEGRADE.
He submitted with sucn good nature
that the ringmasters concluded that ne
had not been punished at all, and new
tortures were devised. He obstinately
refused to afford them, by q neglect of
duty or defiance of order, with q pre-
texL for bouncing him. and the only fresh
humiliation their brains could devise was
TO put him in u uniform and send him
ont ON post, like an ordinary patti Gilman.
They could not degrade him to patrol
man.in name or salary ,and their endeavors
10 make him look and act like one OF the
everyday streetwalkers OF the department
were baked by rule of the Police Man
ual directing that detectives should do
duty in citizen clothing. Ii was easy
enough to repeal this rule, and it was
done. put before it could be enforced
against him Douglass was taken sick. IL
was three months before he was able TO
do duty again. and when he had recuper-
ated he was presented with a general or
der directing him TO put on uniform
and go on post, and a special order on the
department tailor for the regulation suit
Of blue.
DOUGLASS TRIUMPH
Selected alone for this DEGRADATION he
refused to obey and the Ring Board, con-
ceiving that its opportunity had ut last
arrived, gave him the grand bounce. be
went Into court at once to demand his
rights, and Justice Scudder decided in
DOUGLASS favor ON Tuesday. The dfetitns
OF the decision as reported in the True
american OF yesterday reads as follows
George w. Douglass, formerly a detective on
the Jersey City police force, was made patrol
man by resolution OF the Police Board at
ducei salary, and was subsequently by another
resolution dismissed from the force. and without
any hearing: He brought suit against the
Board, and Justice Scudder yesterday filed
opinion setting aside both resolutions. He says
that detective officer in the police department
OF a city cannot bo reduced to roundsman
with decreased pay without notice and hear
ing If he be uniawfully reduced he cannot be
dismissed for not procuring round smaa's uni
form when the rule of the department requires
detectives to perform duty in citizens clothing.
Ex-Mayor Collins VINO acted for Doug
LAST in The proceedings was in Trenton
this morning when l called on him, and
Corporation Counsel Edwards, who repre-
capfdd the (sifV had vet racefVq6 The
/. text of the courts finding
CHIEF MURPHY PUZZLED.
Chief Of Police Murphy was puzzled to
know what 1t all meant
II really can't make up my mind from
what has been reported of its decision,
what the court ruled upon,' he said
douglas was not made patrolman by
the Board, nor was his salary
reduced. The detectives all do patrol
duty = that is they patrol as
detectives, and Douglass was merely
required to do this with his manly form
encircled in uniform. So do not un-
derstand the decision, which seems to
have gone on the assumption that the de-
tectiye had been reduced to a patrolman's
position on patrolman's pay. 1t looks
10 me as though the Court had been mis-
informed, or not fully informed. as to the
facts. Ii the decision be as it is reported,
why the Board can reinstate Douglas and
bounce him again. But he has a nice lit
tie placer in the form of 81. 200 back pay
to come to him."
-1he Chief could not.say where Douglass
is now.
THE FREEHoLDER CONTEST
The decision in Roche's contest against
Bruggemann, for the position of Dire ctor-
at-Large OF the Board OF Freeholders,
which was renderet the same day, does
not derive its interest not only from the
fact that is settles that matter. but as
well because of its possible bearing on
the movement to GUST Cleveland from the
Office in the City Hall. which he hclds by
fraud. There never was pile OF public
interest in the Director-at-Large contest.
Every body seems to have had an intuitive
notion that nothing would come OF it.
But the decision as rendered seems 10
have remote. relation to the Mayoralty
controversy. The application In the
Bruggemann, ,as in the Cleveland case, was
for leave TO file an information The
True american reports the Courts rul-
ing in these W0rds:-
The ciuse for contestiug was that there were
frauduix Mt ballots cast, and Illegal voters ad-
mltted 10 the polls Ia several precincts. But the
examination only eztened to twenty five pre-
cincts out of i29 in the county. According to
the returns Mr.. Bruggeman had pura l y over
al votes cast of 1913. The proofs offered show
satisfactorily that l,iei frandnlent ballots were
cat, and should, this be deducted from Mr..
Brnggeman's plurality he would yet have 2e95I
fthese fscos ali that can be shown they do not
establish the right OF the relator TO oust the in
cumbent II IS not reasonable inference, II
we we're allowed TO presume fraud, that because
there were frauds III twenty Ave precincts of
the county. there were in others sufficient TO
change the result. The proofs should go fur
ther and show that the fraudulent voting
throughout the county was sufficient to change
the result.
THE MAYoRALTY CONTEST.
Counsellor George l.. Record could not
but admit when visited him this morn
ing. that the decision squints somewhat
al The proceedings 10 csisi the fraudulent
Mayor, but he aid not regard it as being
settler.
"Roche's lawyers showed frauds only
in 25 precincts aud affecting only 1,s24
votes OF majority Of over 4,600, he said,
s'and the Court did not consider that
enough. That's good law. to my mind;
and ife we were in the same position in
our city case, should have no hope of
doing anything further with our case.
But we are not. Cleyelani's majority
was abou. 2,00U- Between the
false counte. and the false reg
jsrration, and the irregular ballots,
our proofs becloud enough votes to wipe
to wipe out tho majority Then we have
shown enough proofs Of deliberate design
on the part of the election officers toover-
come the will of the people in macy pre-
cints that ought to raint the entlreyote at
those polling places; and II the votes OF
those precincts are thrown out. as we