The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-12-26

their own application. made it impos,
sible for the Republicans to gerry
mander the State this winter, they
have been Matching MP schemes to
disfranchise O number of Democratic
voters. One of these lodges is the
revival of the old sunset law--an en-
acttnent ingeniously designed to pre-
vent wage earners from voting. The
newest is a scheme of ballot REFORM"
which will make it practically impos-
sible for several thousand Democratic
and a few score Republican voters to
record their SURFACES. every year.
There is no denying the fact that
the Democratic party in this State
embraces nine-tenths of the humber
class of citizens. 1t is, indeed, a boast
of the Democracy that it is the party
of the people--that while it includes
many of the ablest, the most cultured
and the weaIthiest citizens, its princi-
Piles and sympathies are broad enough
to take in the mechanic and the la
borer, the unlettered and the unskilled
in mental work. OF course, it is
equally the boast of the Republican
party that it is a gilr-edged party,
that it is made up OF the highly edu-
Gated classes, and its idea of caring
fnu f1aa t,r,NNIlon ,oc, io That fhn
more enlightened should legislate for
them, over their heads.
1t is, therefore. not out Of keeping
with general Republican principles to
devise a scheme which not only in
creases their chance of maiorities at
the polls but also DISTINGUISHES a large
number of those who. according to
true Republican theory, should not
be allowed to vote. anyway. And, in
this way, those members of the party
who have any conscience in such mat
tiers, seek to justify the oppressive
measure which the party leaders are
now framing.
Ballot Reform is a very good thing
sc long as it is practical. But reform
which abolishes abuse only to intro
duce an equally crying one is not a
real reform. Ii it is a product of
honest opinion run to seed, it is to be
depiored as an error; if it is the result
of deliberate calculation, it is to be
denounced as a crime. 1t ill becomes
a party which has just carried every
thing it's way in a popular cleo
ton to proclaim that the system
under which that election was held is
honeycombed with fraud or oppor-
tunity for fraud. Such a claim either
bellies itself or reflects on the too COM
planning victors in very empha tic
degree.
As a matter of fact, we believe there
has been a very small element of fraud
in elections in this State since the
passage of the Act of 1890. The
majorities have not as a rule. b sen Re-
publican, it is true; but that shocking
fact does not shake our faith in the
| general fairness of the votes and the
counts. We do not think the whole
number of dishonest ballots cast in
any election since 1899 was equal to
the number of votes that will be re-
jected for inforulality or otherwise
| excluded by the complex and vexa-
tious provisions of the blanket ballot
plan which it is proposed now to in
troduce.
The World, in an admirable article,
| yesterday, showed that the same sys-
tenn, now prevalent in Massachusetts,.
results in the rejection of about eleven
per cent. of the total vote polled in
every election for mere informaiity.
1t is idle TO say that any such COR
rupt vote as that is polled in this
State. Even in 1889. the Gardner
Senate Committee did not succeed in
showing that anything like that pro-
portion of fraudulent votes were cast
in this county. The total number, we
believe, was about five per cent. of
the vote of the county.
We hope that the Republican lead
ers may think better of their design.
We hope, as Judge Blair puts it.
they may not forget the Democrats,
without whose aid the victory would
have been impossible" If they do,
they will hear from Governor Werts
with some emphasis, when their bill
comes before him for his signature.
They will also hear from the Demo
Gratis next fall-the same mes with
out whose aid their victory would
have been impossible" last year.