The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-06-30
GARRETsoE's GREAT EFFORT.


Plausible Theories to Account for Over
whelming Facts.
Ex-Judge Garretson then arose. He
said:--"If the Court please and gentle
men of the jury, it may be that you look
on the efforts of counsel TO sum up this
case with some degree Of impatience.
You have listened to this testimony and
have formed your own ideas, but you
may have omitted some points.
s"rhis case has not been disposed of yet,
although it may appear SO in the press
and in the minds of some people. The
constitution provides that ali shall have
Il trial By jury This can't be dispensed
with and must be carried out, and Tor
that reason you are here Now then it is
first important we should understand the
nature of the case being tried You are
not sitting here to try these men for
failure to put names on the register or
because some one noted illegally but you
are here to try them on charge of con-
spiracy.
ssThis Indictment provides that these
defendants combined to pervert the laws
of election, and not that they put in illegal
votes. One man can't conspire. You
can't convict one of these men unless you
find he has conspired with some person
on the outside. Under this indictment
you must at least find two guilty to prove
conspiracy. Again / say you must bear
in mind you are not trying these men for
keeping a bad election book or of having
received Illegal ballots, but for conspir-
acy-that is. agreeing to do wrong.
A STARTLING PROPOSITION.
"If they permitted man to vote not on
the registry, but knowing him 10 live in
the precinct, are you going to convict
them for that?
why, gentlemen, am not so sure thar
the Legislature has the right to compel o
man to register two weeks before elec-
tion. think it is fair TO judge the ignor-
ance of these men and to give them the
benefit of the doubt caused by it,
How many, of you gentlemen would
serve as an election officer at S3 a day?
not one of you, there Is not money enough
for you in it, but it is good pay for these
men who are laborerS. How many of
you know the election laws? Perhaps
not one. And as to the question of num-
bering the ballots, the election officers
were provided witlra machine for that
purpose, and it was but natural that they
should have been guided by the dial. Ie
was natural for them to be thus guided.
Has there been one single word OF testl-
mony against the defendants by an eye
Witness HNo, the State has only produced
documentary evidence. If there had been
wrong done, don't you think some one
could have been found testify to itP
Now, as TO this precinct, the number
of votes is not in excess of what we had
right to expect This registry and poll
book have been scrutinized carefully for
the past six months, first by the Sena to
Committee and since then by the Prose-
cutor, and all that has been found out,
we have right to assume, has been pro-
duced to you here.
.'This is a conspiracy If anything, to in
crease the Democratic votes, and if so
why did these men return seventy eight
Republican votes?
DE RANcY's POSITION.
Now tell me why should Mr.. De
Rancy enter into a conspiracy to help the
Democrats. he being a Republican. If
this conspiracy was to increase the ma
jority of the Democratic votes how was it
done?
N"The State will claim..that there were
but 258 votes cast and over 500 counted.
The State has had plenty of time to more
thoroughly investigate this; it will also
be claimed that There are names on the
poll book not on the register and also that
the Illegal small ballots were found in the
box. Now, hDw did they get in the box?
If you say tAat some tiEae during the day
these men took from the ballot
box 146 ballots and put the jokers
in, that involves much time in
sorting them; If you say two or three
for the fact that the dial was right? 1t
will not register more than one at tim e.
This precinct is Mr.. Abbett's own pr e.
cinct, and is it wonderful that he shoul d
carry it by the fullvote when a candidate
for Governors
THE REGISTRATION.
''The Indictment sets forth that certain
men appear on the poll book and don't
appear on the registry. This is easily ex-
planned. =
Counsel then went through the list Of
names showing what explanation the de-
fence had of the apparent discrepancies,
and then claimed that all but two We're
legally entitled to vote. He re-
sllmed, Next to those who
have voted It is Sclaimed
that some persons voted whose names are
not on the poll book, the only evidence Of
voting being checks opposite tbF names
on The registry book, " and Mr.. q etson
Went ever the list to show how
mistake could be made in che&
names Of voters. He asked:-"