The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-04-07

ana is independent in its Tte0s on all
ocal questions.
The Veto and Republican Comment
on 1t.
1t is hard to think of anything
meaner or more contemplate than
the manner In which the Republican
press of this State treats Governor
Albeit apropos of his veto of the
Reading Railway consolidation bill.
These papers have been inveighing
against the bill for weeks and calling
npon the Governor to veto it-as have
also a large majority of Democratic
papers. He has vetoed it. And now
the vile, cowardly, constituencies
sheets which disgrace the name of
journalism, do nothing but heap
abuse upon him for his action.
The State Gazette dismissed the sub
ject with one sneering allusion in five
lines. The Eoening Journal of this
city printed an editorial which would
be the ruin of any man or newspaper
that had a remnant of character left
to lose. The other Republican pap
ers of this and the adjoining States
varied between these two extremes.
or course the veto has driven the
Republicans nearly frantic. In COM
mon parlance, they went off half
cockedn as soon as the bill went into
the Governors hands. They heaped
up abuse on the Governor, and the
Democratic party, on the assumption
that it would be signed. In their
blind rancor, they never looked at the
other possibility.
But the Governor calmly waited.
He gave the first excitement time to
wear off. He desired to see whether
in cool, sober earnest the majority of
the people were opposed to the bill.
In time it became plain that they
were-overwhelmingly opposed to it.
Perhaps they were right: perhaps
they were wrong. 1t did not matter
to the Governor. He is a Democrat.
He remembers that he was elected by
the people; that he is their servant;
that in this country the people are
king, and that it is the duty of the
peoples servants to do the peoples
will and not to force their will on the
people.
And so the Governor vetoed the
bill-not because he was afraid of the
Republican papers, or the Democratic
ones either; but simply in obedience
to the peoples unlnistakable behest.
In doing SO, he fully discussed the
issues involved in it from all points of
view. 1t is plain to everyone that on
theoretic grounds the Governor sees
much oon for good in the proposed
union of roads. He is right, We
have always thought the deal had in it
great possibilities of benefit to the en-
tire public as we'll as the shareholders.
1t is III line with sound economic
principles.
But the people did not want it, and
that was enough. Besides, the Cover
nor found the bill did not go far enough
in asserting and protecting public
rights, and there arose some reasons
TO think that the companies, instead
OF showing gratitude for the liberality
of the State, meant to abuse their
powers once they had got all they
wanted. The bill was defective in
not affording the Governor means to
prevent or check such abuse without
calling an extra session of the Legis-
lature.
So far as we can see, there was
enough good in the bill, or at least
plausibiIity enough, to leave all who
voted for it a clean record. Perhaps
the reproach of hasty and imperfect
work might be levelled at them, but
hal applies equally to almost all pro-
ceedings over which that most obnox-
ious person, Speaker Bergen, pre-
sided. Care should be taken that any
bill which is passed cover all posi-
bilities, and according to that stand
ard this one fails. 1t was hasty and
i'll considered in respect to some
things that were inserted in il ard
in respect to many that were left out.
But the Governor was not mis-
led by haste. He detected the
flaws, and he deserves high honor
for vetoing it, especially if that
course is pursued under penalty of
FORGETTING valuable political ALI
ances. We can think of nothing
more d~elnoralizing to public life than
the villainous moral obliquity of the
Republican, press in striving to turn
an act of virtue and public spirit to
the injury and annoyance of the man
who has performed it.
But Of such things is made up the
gospel OF Republicanism.
THE Eoendng Journal printed an
.-atIzuA .;.t..~ - AII1,u,no d II