The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-11-29


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The Graveyard System OF Legislation.
In all their talk about reform, the
republicans have never said a word
about the system which is at the very
root of bad legislation at Trenton
the lax aud unwise rules which make
the presiding officer of either House
the arbiter of the destiny of bills. We
allude to what came to be known as
the private graveyard system, during
the last couple of sessions.
As the rules are now drafted, there
is no provision for the order in which
bills shall be brought up for action.
The President of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House can do just as
they please in this matter. Ii they
choose, they can have a bill read at
any time after it is reported from the
committees; If they choose they can
hold it back from day to day. If it is
a bill they are hostile to, they can
delay it and delay it to the point of
strangling it altogether. If they
favor it, they can seize the oppor-
tunity when the member oppose d to
it is not on the floor. to bring it be-
fore the House.
This is, of course, an outrageous
abuse. 1t often amounts to- an as
sumption by the presiding officer
of the powers and functions of the
entire House. In the hands of un-
scrupulous men like Adrain aud
Flynn it amounts to a desperate
wrong to the people of the State.
Last winter the evil became so crying
that the attention of the whole State
,versal demand for the amendment of
the rules SO as to make a repetition
impossible. Unfortunately in the
revolution which has just taken place
the demand has been lost sight of,
and it is to be feared that the coming
winter will see bills pushed ahead or
held, back. as may be most to the in
terest of General Sewe3I, whereas, last
year, tlreywere juggied with to suit
the ends of Miles Ross. \
This certainly should not be. Here
is an occasion for the Republican ma
joritya to show that it means some
good to the people. Here is a cheap
andaeasY way to make a really sound
record y let us see if they viii do it.
The evil which prevails here still
has been felt in the Legislatures of
other States as we'll. In New York,
the Speaker of the Assembly and the
Lieutenant Governor used to exercise
the same monsrrous privilege of CON
trolling the course of legislation. But
New York has outgrown the evil.
The rules of both houses of her Legis-
lature expressly guard against it.
Here is the rule OF the New York As
sembly relating to the NATTER
Rule a. The third reading of bills shall take
place in the order in which they have been
ordered to a third reading. unless the House, by
q vote Of two-thirds Of the members present
direct other wise. . = = = TIE Clerk of the
House shall place each dav In two conspicuous
places In the Assembly Chamber lists of all bills
ordered TO a third readiug; such lists to contain
the third reading number aud printed number
Of each bill, etc.
The Senate has a precisely similar
rule. When the proposer OF a bill is
lot on hand at the right time. the
bill is passed over. retaining its pri-
ority except for the immediate in
slant. It can only be showed down
the list just as i. can only be pushed
forward by an open vote of two-thirds
of the members present. All the
other stages Of a bills progression
instance the General Order stage
which corresponds in a sense to our
second reading-are similarly matters
of rotation. The bill takes its turn
at every step, unless the members,
publicly and above board. vote other
wise. This is legislation by the repre-
sentatives of the people and not by
lobbyists and bosses as in our grave
yard plan iss
Bob Adrain in this one respect has
done the public a service. He has
made the Presidents Private Grave
yard a,,recegnized infamy, Let us
have dono with it now. We are will
ing the Republicans should have the
credit for the sake of the general good
to the State.
THEtone of discontinue in the Re-
puolican organs was very marked
yesterday. asThey tried to hide it in
enigmas and to cover it up in generali-
ties; buts4any one could see that the
Wilsonsqbiil-had disarmed and dis
mayed them, gY o.
One OF the most remarkable features
nf the recepti5ria Of the bill Dy the
people was the upheayai of joy in
Massachusetts, because the taxable
industries OF the East are no longer to
be made pay tribute to the coal
barods Of Pennsylvania and the wool
;hearers Of the West. Probably.
though none are SO loud spoken as
tho Eastern men, every section of the
country. is satisfied to find that some
la,d If ny,nression some hainperinp