The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-03-30
THE JOURNALS SHAME.
Allan l.. McDermott Holds gthe
Organ of Corruption Up TO
Deserved OblOquy

To the Editor of the Evening Jourual:-
In your issue of even date you say:-
when the indicted election officers were
brought to trial Allan l.. McDermott ap-
peared as counsel, trying to shield them
from punishment" 1t SO happens that I
did not defend any of these election Off
GERS, nor had l anything to do with their
cases, except to express my opinion that
the fact that a man convicted of an offense
should not have the severity of his SEN
tence affected by his determination to
take or waive an appeal. II / had been
retained to defend them / should have
done SC. A lawyer who refuses to defend
a man indicted for any crime because
public opinion is against the accused is
unworthy of his profession.
You say "When the pool sellers were
arrested at Gutenberg, Allan l.. McDer-
mott was their chosen counsel. The
Grand Jury ignored the charges against
them. Their counsel had the pull" 1
do not believe hat any man In this com
munity whose opinion is worthy of con-
sideration will think me guilty of the
crime yon insinuate. Your insinuation
is an unqualified falsehood. You may
take your own way about retracting
it.
You waste half a column In trying to
prove that l drew certain race track
bills. / did not draw them. The bills
you refer to were drawn just as 1 stated
in my letter Of acceptance. Reference to
them was omitted in the letter Published
in the Journal, because that letter was
addressed to certain gentlemen to whom
/ had no right to complain of a personal
matter Mr.. McGee will hardly thank you
for inducing me to be more explicit on
this point. My connection with the bills
was this:-I received by mail copies of
two bills, accompanied by a request that
l call at the office of Bedle. Muirheid s.
MCGEE for consultation. l did SO and
gave my opinion tha the bills were un-
constitutional. The bills were altered
after / left the office to meet the objec-
ton II had raised. They were subse-
quently handed to me at Trenton, with a
request that l deliver them to Assembly
man Parker, which I did. Except to pass
my opinion as stated l had nothing to do
with the bills. / did not draw a line or
word of them. AS l have already said, it
was proper that counsel should draw
those bills, and their authorship has
nothing to do with this campaign.
You have attacked me with a vicious
ness born of a desire to see reinstated in
this city the days of corruption and job
berry that existed from 1871 to 1877. II
is told. that which is unsavory in
the present administration OF city affairs,
is not wholly unsavory to you. You have
opposed me as you never before opposed
a Democratic candidate for Mayor, aud
YOU declare the reason to be that l would
conduct the city government in the
best interests OF the people. Those who
can read between yonr lines will have no
in discerning that the exact OPP.
posite is the reason of your TRADE against
me. You know that l have worked for
ten years to secure to Jersey City
rights of property aud equal
taxation that have been withheld from
her. You know that when this city was
the brink of a financial precipice, in
1884, l threw partisanship to the winds
and insisted on the retention Of City Col
Love and City Treasurer Earle, be-
cause l thought that any change in their
would make timid those
whom / was asking TO save Jersey City
from Bankruptcy. You know these things,
as does every officer OF every financial in-.
stitution in the city. And yet you have
me as though You really be-
Loved that l became a candidate for
Mayor because I desire the salary or
lie contemplate patronage attached to
he office.
Yon have devoted columns Of abuse to