The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-10-15
A SUCCESS IN NEWARK.
The Observations of a aNews" Man
on the Grounds Yesterday.
specfa, to the Jsrsev citv Ns,os

NEWARK, Oct. Is, 1S90--If Senator
Werts, Assemblyman Foster. Voorhees,,
and the other members of the Joint Leg
islative Committee on Ballot Reform that
prepared the new election law could have
gone from poll to poll yesterday in this
city as the first practical test of the law
was made. they would have been con-
firmed in their conviction that it was the
best system of ballot reform yet devised.
The election was a municipal one, and
that fact together with the inclement
weather rendered to make the vote light,
but it was large enough to demonstrate
the practicaDility of the new law. The
manner in which the great majority of
the voters went through the some
what complicated process OF cast
ing their ballots was marked
feature or the voting, and showed
that all classes of citizens had taken
enough interest In the law to obtain some
knowledge of its working. True there
were some who expressed great surprise
and in many cases indignation when the
election officer made him take one of
each party's ballots and an official en-
velope and insisted upon his going into
one of the booths. The scenes which this
names which the indignant citizens ap-
piled to the booths were more expressive
than elegant.
HOW THE LAW WAS VIOLATED.
The law was openly violated in almost
every polling place in one particular with
which every election officer should have
been familiar, and that was the section
requiring that no one but election officers
and the properly designated watchers
shall be within one hundred feet Of the
polling place. Not only did heelers
crowd into the polling places, but they
helped the citizens prepare their ballots,
and in many cases told them how to vote.
The most glaring incident of the kind
happened in the Second district of the
Fourth ward. The polling place, which
was on Market and Mulberry streets, was
crowded with men around the box,
among whom lounged two policemen. A
citizen came in and was handed the en-
velope and ticket He seemed puzzled,
and looked enquiringly at the envelope
and those about him. Seeing his embar-
rassmenr, a man came up TO him, took.
his ballot. folded it up and placed it into
the envelope. The man then walked to
the ofticerin charge OF the box and hand
ed him the envelope.
Two newspaper men who were stand
ing with the crowd inside the polling
place laughed at this bold violation of the
law, and made some remark about the
one hundred feet section. This produced
a display OF activity on the part of the
two policemen. One ran to che reporters
and asked them il they voted there Upon
being told that they did not he hustled
them unceremoniously into the street.
One of the reporters asked If all the men
Inside were election officers, The police
man said he couldn't teach him the law,
and menaced him with his long night
stick.
The other policeman, who was big
strapling six footer, went up to frail,
unoffending darkey, who with open eyes
and mouth was taking In the booths. He
asked the darkey If ne was voter, and
the darkey replied no. Whack, bang,
and most astonished darkey
was sprawliug out into the street.
IN THE ITALIAN QUARTER.
In the First district of the Fourth ward
which, in the Addisonian nomenclature OF
the polished Newarker. is designated as
the ''Tub of Blood" large number Of
Italians vote. An interpreter was on
hand and had little difficulty in making