The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-11-16
THURSDAY. NOVEMBER IS. 1898.
9his paper is Democratic in principles and is
independent in its Vie,vs on oil local questions
WHY Not Hold A New EIections


The Newark Ecening Nems means
well, but it does not appear to have any
very clear idea in an editorial which it
printed yesterday upon the Supreme
Court decision and the proposal to
carry out. the mandate thereof by
holding a election of Assembly
men. 1t takes alarm at the notion
that this proposal is a ring scheme to
overturn the will of the people ex-
pressed in the recent election, and it
thinksit will be just awful il Gov
ernor Werts proclaims a new cleo
ton.
We confess we do not follow the
Netcs' train of reasoning. How the
will of tile people can be overturned
by referring the whole issue back TO
popular vote is not obvious to us. III
the people are so dead set on having
a Republican Assembly, they a
vote for it again. surely. There
can be no injustice to that
party in ordering a new election
under the legal system, for not only
does the party appear to have a
majority pro TEN of about %. 900 in
the State; but, further, the new cleo
tion will be held under conditions
chosen by itself, conditions which it
has labored strenuously to establish
throughtthe intervention of the court.
Does the NeWs want US to believe that
the Republican party does not like
the County-at-Large system, that it
does not expect success through it,
that all its attack on the ''infamous
gerrylnander"- under which it SO
lately carried the Assembly-was
mere campaign thunder, common, con-
tenptible fake Indignation. Really,
the Neus puts its moral reform party
in a very weak if not a very vicious
light.
But the Nens is equally illogical
when it comes to discuss the legal
aspects OF the situation. 1t holds
that the election having been held be-
fore the Supreme Court decision was
rendered is valid. In proof. it utters
the following amazing tangle of alb
surdities and contradictions
There is no power under the Constitution of
the United States or the State of New Jersey
investing in . coordinate hranca of the
Government to make void the Lawful exercise
OF tho right OF the popular expression ny the
retroactive opsration OF a judicial opinion. II
thai Or fha fAnnrf Tn1f6 n QhnUA h
Legislature and above the people.
The very point at stake is the one
comprised in these words lawful ex-
e~rcise.n The court has expressly
ruled that the recent election was not
lawful exercise of the suffrage. The
negation of the results of that inform.
al and invalid proceeding, SO far
from being in coutravention of the
rights of the people, is the true de-
fence of their highest right, the pres
~ervation of the integrity OF the Con-
stitution as defined by the Courts.
The introduction of the words ''re-
troacJiye operation" adds no strength
to the NEWS opinion. The majority
of the judicial decisions are retroac-
tive in operation. Otherwise they
would be hollow mockeries. Just why
they should not be retroactive as re-
spects an informal. Illegal, unconsti-
tutional and essentially invalid pro-
cess of balloting w cannot see, any
more than we can see why they
should not operate retroactively to
overthrow the acts OF the Legislature
itself.
The Nesos is the victim of it's preju-
dices OF this occasion. It's logic is
astray.