Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1897-10-28
NEW JERSEY DEMOCRATS.
ADDRESS BY THE STATE DEMOCRATIC COM :
MITTEE TO THE VOTERS OF THE STATE
The following address was issued by the

MITIEE IL THE NOIEhS OF IHE State.
The following address was issued by the
Democratic State Committee -
Trenton, N j
To the voters of New Jersey.
The Democratic party of New Jersey, re-
lying on it's ime-honored principles Of the
sovereign right Of the people to govern them-
selves, the responsibility Of those in author
ity to the people governed, the exercise Of
prudent economy in public expenditure
consistent with effective government the
right of the people to local sell. government,
lust system of taxation which shall be
distributed in proportion to the benefits
and protection received, and confident that
these principles are essential to the best
administration of the affairs of this State
invites the cooperation of all who endorse
these principles as based upon our funda-
mental and abiding theory of government,
and calls upon such to express their protest
against the reckless, extravagant and
viciously partisan spirit that has charac-
terized the Republican party in its admin
istration of the affairs OF this State.
The Republican party was elevated to
power upon platforms pledging the people
that every reform demanded by them
should be accomplished Bat we charge
them with utter failure TO bring about any
effective reform or to redeem any pledge
Such extreme partisanship as has been dis
played by the Republican party has never
been exhibited heretofore in the conduct
of the affairs of this State. Almost every
department, office and officer has been
subject to the domination of the bosses who
control that party in the interests of the
corporations
We congratulate the people of this State
that the question of race-track gambling
has at last been settled. But in con-
graduating the people we must charge
upon the Republican party that they never
at any time favored the adoption of the
constitutional amendment but sought by
organization in nearly every county in the
State to bring about its defeat. And we
charge them with maintaining in Hudson
county every form of gambling under the
pretense of reform. And we call attention
TO the published words of John 7, T0ffey,
late Republican State Comptroller and
Sheriff of Hudson county, in the Euening
Journal of Jersey City, on the evening Of
October, 1897, that when sheriff, certain
gambling places were befriended by
certain well known Republicans high in
power at that time, who tried to influence
me in my duty" And again he says, "
have been reminded by some of my former
political friends that had | not been SO
active against the gamblers and other GER
tain forms of attractions of the law which
come under my notice as sheriff, might
to- day be considered as yet in the politics
of the machine"
The people of New Jersey look upon the
judiciary of the State as free from suspicion
and contamination, and at no time in its
history had it ever been reflected upon
until it was left to Republican Judge
under a Republican administration, to
sacrifice judicial dignity by appearing as a
railroad lobbyist before a committee of the
Senate, and advocating railroad measure
And when the attention of the Republican
Legislature was directed to this fragrant
breach Of official duty, by resolution of con-
domination, they refused to act or consider
the same, and, without protest, voted it
down. We beheld railroad lobby on
another occasion invading the Legislature
and defeating submission to the people
of constitutional amendment changing
our judicial saystem. This, too, reflected
upon the judiciary by suggesting that they
were the creatures Of corporate influence,
and subject to their will and dictation.
During the past Legislature bill giving
the right to the commuters, who passed to
and from business over the railroad lines
within this State, to carry with them par
cells for the use of their families, was in
trcduced and passed the Senate. But the
influence of the corporations proved too
strong, and this bill never became law
The Republicans pledged themselves to
give the people constitutional amend
ment providing for the election of assem-
blymen by districts instead of by the obso-
lete, and plainly unjust system of election
by counties. This was a needed reform
and consistent with the principal of local
self-government, but the wishes of the
people were disregarded and thousands of
voters have no voice in the selection of
their representatives in the lower house.
and political minority is absolutely I'M
represented.
We charge the Republican party with
attempting to assail the peoples right to
control their local affairs, free from the en-
tangling issues of national politics, by the
passage of the iniquitous Macarthur act. In
it they sought to abolish local self-govern-
ment, principle incorporated in the very
life of our institutions. Under the trans
parent plea of economy they sought to con-
tinue Republicans in Office, in the cities of
Newark and Jersey City, at a time when
they knew that the people were ready to
drive them from Office by reason of their
ineompetency and they would have sue
ceded had not the courts of the State put
upon their partisan scheme the stamp of
disapproval, by declaring the law uncon-
stitutiOnal.
We charge the Republicans with prac-
ticing deception upon the voters of this
State when they pledged themselves to re-
wise the tax laws in order to secure a more
just distribution of the burdens of tax
alton. The record Of that party, in making
this issue to secure the suffrages of the
people, and then utterly ignoring the de.
mands of the taxpay ers, clearly indicates
the controlling influence of corporate power
over their acts, and we pledge the Demo-
cratic party to accomplish this reform, and
to right the injustice that the taxpayers of
this State now suffer- by euacting legisla-
ton that will distribute the burden of
taxation and will compel property, both
personal and real, to bear it's Just and
reasonable share. They sought to con-
Cllldt0 jersey OAty Will all appropriation VI
one hundred thousand. But that is not
the equal taxation that the people de-
handed and which the Republican party
was pledged to enact Although confronted
with the fact that personal property pays
but 90 per cent. of the tax, and that the in
equality is so great that in some counties
personal property is about forty per cent.
of the proerty assessed, and in other coun-
ties but eight per cent. is discovered by the
tax assessor. the Republican party did
nothing in the interest of the people. The
Democratic party pledged itself to reform
of the existing tax laws.
During the past four years the Republic
can party has, by system worse than
gerrymander, sought to destroy the
autonomy of towns and townships for parti-
san purposes. They have divided towns,
taken parts of towns and annexed them
to other towns, changed the boundary
lines of towns so as to increase the terri
torial area of some and diminish that of
other towns, and have even sought to
change the boundary lines of counties.
The mere increased representation to be
gained in Board of FreehOlders has often
been enough to bring about this kind of
legislation.
At a time when the State needed to pro-
tect its own resources and franchises, for
the sake of the revenue due from them to
the State and for the interests of the peo-
pie at large, we find that at the last session
of the Legislature the Republicans passed
the Delaware Dam bill, and the corpora
tions that NAV profit bv that act are not