The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-01-22

ballot system; but it in no way
touches the error Of gprineiple which
underiies the whole bnsiness-that is
to say the curtaiiment Of the right Of
individuals and parties to push their
canvass by every honest means Every
body who is familiar with the work OF
bpoliticaI campaigns knows how vitality
important everypolifician considers it
to reach the voters whose suffrages he
seeks with suitable tickets bearing his
name. In the s of high offices, such
as the Governorship, the matter may
be. overrated, but we believe that the
anxiety of candidates upon the point
is well founded, when we come down
to the election of minor officers. Per-
haps the difficulty might be met under
Governor Abbett's modified system by
permitting candidates or parties to
circulate among the voters ready
marked State ballots, prepared in
their interest, but this distribution
previous to election is the thing the
Australian theorists will not hear of.
while the Governor does not seem to
insist on 1t.
Two. advantages are claimed for the
official ballot, first that it aids SCI
crecy by enforcing uniformity and
prevents detection of the voters ac-
ton through the appearance of the
ballot he casts, second that it opens
the door for all men to run for office
by relieving candidates of expense.
AS to the former, it seems to us the
present New York law, which exaets
absolute uniformity in the tickets, ae-
complishes every practical purpose
or Governor Abbett's own proposal to
have the ballots enclosed in envelopes
might do so. AS for the second al
legged advantage, it seems to us to be
trivial. The expense OF printing bal
lots is very small, and any person who
has backing enough to make his APP
pearanoe on the official ballot effect
i've, would, it is to be presumed, have
equally effective aid in placing his
own ballots in the voters hands. As.
an Offset to these two supposed adj.
vantages, which we consider abso-
lutely unreal, there are the disad-
vantages that the system is an incon-
venience to the voters, an expense to
the State, and an unfair and unre-
publican restriction upon the efforts
of candidates.
Another feature of Mr.. Abbett's
recommendations in which we cannot
coincide is his proposal to limit the
expenditure Of money by aspirants
for Office OF their supporters. In fact
we believe this to be an aggression on
personal liberty which is in opposition
to the spirit Of our institutions and
the temper Of our people. If anyone
thinks such a perfunctory proceeding
useful there can certainly be no objec-
ton to exacting an oath that no
money has been spent for corrupt
ends. The infection of severe penal
tiles for such corrupt expenditure is of
course eminently right. But how
anyone can pretend to say how much
can or shall 81 ie~gitinateiy spent in a
campaign, we are wholly at a loss to
see.
There is no limit to the money that
may be legitimately spent in printing,
and uniforms, torches, and rockets
are %innocuousi if not intellectual sub
iects of campaign extravaganza. A
candidate may run a newspaper or a
dozen in his interest, and he or his
party may hire halls, build platforms,
send out brass bands, and bell carts
and other instruments of torture, or
may cover all the dead walls in the
country with his portrait if he ICES
any advantage and has. the where
bwithal. Who has the right to say he
shall not do it, or shall not do it be-
yond a certain amount of money?
How can any law limiting his rights
be enforced?
OF course there is much upon this
topic in Governor Abbettss address
which all good citizens must approve.
The compulsory registration through
out the State, the compulsory seelu-
sion of the voter for some time pre-
vious to casting his ballot, the exclu-
sion of those who might be a check on
him at the moment he casts it, the
general requirement. that the contents
of his ballot should be impossible of
detection from its external appear
ance, the privilege Of nomination by
petition, and an obligation upon the
State to provide ballots for any person
who may desire to seek votes for
office-these at least are principles on
which all will agree most heartily
with the Governor. We rather think
when the subject passes through the
Legislative mill, these are the atoms
of wheat that will be ground out to
sustain the hungry advocates OF re-
form a.zo VA s
As to all the other points, we think
they are merely theories of q day
which will soon be FORGOTTEN, and