The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-09-30
W0OLLEY OUTRAGE,
Allan [. McDermott Pro-
claims the Rights of
Jersey City Voters in
Open Court.
FISHER CALLED TO ACCOUNT
Suppression Of Information
Needed by Citizens De-
nouneed from the Bench
as Inexplieable.
OPINION TO Be SERVED ON WOOLLEY
The City Clerks official Relation
to the Republican Machine
as Motive for
4 n,
adj ITICkeIys
owe,
mfs
i4awyer Erwin Furnishes an object
cor Lesson-Facts TO BE Submitted
= TO the Grand Jury.
i1axvyer Erwin Furnishes an Object
or Lesson-Facts TO BE Submitted
to the Grand Jury.

Mr.. Allan L. McDermott brought to
the attention of the Court of Common
Pleas this mornig the conduct OF
City Clerk Edward Woolley and County
Clerk John G. Fisher in reference to the
publication of election notices ana IN
the course of his speech denounced the
City Clerk as utterly unfit to exercise
his dAties in the matter by reason of
his relation to the Republican County
Committee. AS for the County Clerk,
Mr.. McDernlott simply said he had
failed to perform his duty.
lssThis conduct on the part of Woolley
is an outrage on the citizens of Jersey
City who are without proper irforma-
tion as to the lines of the precincts in
which they are to vote" said Mr.. Nc
EiDermott, referring to the notice pub
! 7ished giving the numbers of the wards
i and voting places without describing their
limitations
The regular business of Court this
morning was interrupted by Mr.. Nc
Dermott, who said
MAY it please the Court, I wish to
| direct your Honors attention to a mat
ter affecting the public interest. or
the past twenty-five years the election
! notices have been published in s1Sh
way as to give the citizens in Jersey
City the widest possible information as
to where they may vote. As the mat
ter stands now, notice has been pub
lished which is worse than useless be-
cause it is impossible for a voter with
any degree OF certainty to know where
to vote unless he goes to the City Hall
to find out. This is an outrage on the
citizens of the city.
81 do not charge. your Honor, that it
is a political trick, but on its face it ap-
pears so
THE FACTS EXPLAINED.
Mr.. McDermott explained that thou
sands of people by the change of ward
lines last spring were left entirely at
sea as to where they were to vote.
Even he himself was at a loss to know
what ward and precinct he lived in.
The citizens, he said, were by the terms
of the election laws entitled to the full
est information in reference to the poll
ing places and boundaries of wards or
precincts.
.'The County Clerk" Mr.. McDermott
continued "has taken on himself the
responsibility of publishing a notice in
six weekly papers. while The Jersey
City News and the journal were left
out Now, your Honor, the power is
reposed in you as presiding Judge of the
Court of Common Pleas to remedy this
matter
Reading from Section 21O. of the Elec-
ton Laws, Mr.. McDermott said that
the publication of all information per
tanning to the election should be as wide
as possible and to all political parties.
.sBut has the spirit of the law been
followed?" he asked. Nothing of the
by accident This man Woolley knew
well enough what he he was doing.
This notice published gives no informa-
ton whatever and the County Clerk has
utterly failed to do his duty. The whole
thing is a one-sided political trick, and
as a member of the Democratic party
and citizen. ask that the people of
Jersey City may be protected by this
Court in getting full information con-
cerning the election. The people are
entitled to know where they should
vote. don't know where 1 am to vote
and I believe there are thousands of
others in the same situation.
Now, your Honor, 1 ask that the
County Clerk shall be directed to give
the widest information about the mat
ter by publication in the daily organs of
the city,
COUNTY CLERK APOLOGETIC
II am glad, Mr.. McDemott," said
Judge Hudspeth in reply, that you have
called the attention of the Court to the
natter The Court will inquire by what
authority this is done'' and then adj
dressing an usher Judge Hudspeth said,
ssSend for the County Clerk"
A few minutes later, Mr.. Fisher came
into the Court, au,d Judge Hudspeth
told him that the notice in the papers
was insufficient and inadequate. The
Court picking up one of the six papers.
the sChronicle," said that on account of
its small circulation the people were
not properly informed. He added that
s.The Jersey City News" and the Jour
papers to publish the notices
The County Clerk spoke so low that
his words were inaudible. He told the
Court that Justice Lippincott had desig-
mated the six papers
Judge Hudspeth Immediately left the
bench and went to see the Justice. He
was. however, charging jury in the
front court, and Judge Hudspeth did
not disturb him.
SAT the close of the CHARGE said
the Court to Mr.. McDermott, .I win
consult with Judge Lippincott."
Mr. McDermott then raised the point
that under the law the Supreme Court
Justice cannot be the presiding Judge
Of the Court of Common Pleas, and as
the statute regulating the publication OF
election notices says specifically that it
Is the presiding Judge OF the Court Of