The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-10-11
The Great Disfranchisement Jon
spiracy.

r..r,on of the Republican county
Committee, for the disfrancnisemeh
,,oters in this city has proven more OF
,ass of a boomerang. The agitation re-
.,,t,,g from his contemplate trickery
attracted so much public ATTENTION 'na'
neonle were led to register who, other-
u-,sa ,nie4ht have never been around 10
do On Resides, the Evening Journal,
with a liberality and public spirit winch
anno+ he too much commended, joined
With ..The News" in publishing at ITS
ou, exnense the precinct lines. SO that
voters were enabled TO find out where
they were to register and SO were en-
abled to comply with the provisions OF
the oppressive law enacted by the he
publican majority last winter.
In Newark. there was no such agita-
ton. and as the officials in that city do
not publish the precinct lines there is a
prospect 5f about a third of the voting
population being DISTINGUISHED. So small
Is the registration aggregate for the two
days, already past, that the Democratic
nag are desperately alarmed, and
even Republican leaders are disquieted.
Like Jersey City, Newark was gerry
wandered into wards last spring,
with a view to throwing the Com
mon Council into the hands of the Re-
-a~... rlo ~,,h 5;vis;on of tho citv
for this partisan purpose is of the crazy
quilt pattern, and even experienced pol
fticians are at sea as. to where they are
located politically. The ordinary citizen
has no idea of what ward he is in, not
to speak of what precinct. There is a
chaotic condition of affairs, and a large
proportion of the voters seem to have
lust given up the problem as hopeless,
and allowed themselves to be deprived OF
The franchise because it has been made
too troublesome to exercise it.
The total registration for Newark last
November was 1921. Obviously this was
not padded. for it is in proper ratio
with the census returns, which make the
population about 100000. Besides, the to-
tai vote cast in the city for the Congress
sional ticket was 39,151.
The total registration this year to
date is 27,552, or hardly more than half
of last years figure. If the same ratio
Is preserved on the third day it will give
a total registration of about 10000, or
twenty per cent. less than last years.
That is to say, the prospective total reg
istration this year is likely to be about
the same as the total vote cast last year
Ian off year, politically considered.
On a registration of Al. 1000, the prospect
fs not over 80, 900 votes would be cast
this year against almost 10000 last year,
and yet this year we are to elect the
chief Executive of the State.
II looks as if the personal registry bill
was a very successful piece of iniquity.
with conscienceless scoundrels in local
boards to gerrymander thu municipalities
and other INSCRIPTIONS tricksters, like
Woolley, to deprive the people Oh I'll
needed information, a very large body of
voters may, in fact, wake up to find on
the morning of election day that citizen
ship is a farce, and the voting power a
plaything when the Republican party is
at the head of affairs.
The Newark Democratic leaders are
now striving with all their might
to get a larger registration q on
next Tuesday, the last day of
registration. BY hard work they may
effect much. though it is obvi.us $1,000
votes cannot now be brought out and
registered, and this, at least, is the NUM-
Der d-isfranchised thus far, in Newark.
Our own Democratic leaders want TO
look sharply after Hudson sta~y-at-homes,
too. The proportion of voters registered
this year as compared with last, is not
much greater than in Newark. There
is going to be a most surprising drop
in Jersey city's vote unless there is q
fabuIously high registration next Tues
day.
Now. where is the falling of? y 4
T. Tt