The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-10-25
WHAT THEY STAND FOR
Very Fair Comparison Of
the Political Parties in
New Jersey.
LEON ABBETT'S LEGACY
Democracy Is the Party Of the
People and Republican
ism Means Trusts.
LEON ABBETT'S LEGACY

competence-whether her windfail is a
Democratic or Republican proyislon-is a
real live one, and more than pertinent to
the discussions that should determine the
choice OF the voter. And there the
Democrats have a trihe the better of the
| argument. The act imposing a tax upon
the railroads is one of the States main
sources OF income. A second handsome
revenue is derived from her tax upon mu-
n-cipal corporations. There has always
been a lively dispute between the two
| parties as to the auspices under which
that railroad tax act was perfected. The
Democrats insist that it was draw and
| formulated and perfected by Governor
Albeit. The Republicans insist that John
w. Griggs, then Senator from Passaic.
afterward Governor of New Jersey, and
now Attorney General of the United
States, is entitled to all the credit. To the
view of the impartial and non-partisan
critic 1t seems likely thai Senate Griggs
had even more to do with the final shape
of the act than Governor Albeit Gid.
That he lelft the Governor valuable as
s~istance in securing its passage by the
Legislature there can be no manner of
Goubt.
But then this part of the discussion is
not really germane to the question that is
beng considered. The bill would never
have been pushed upon the attention of
The Legislature and could never have be-
come d law If Governor Albeit had not
started it on its mission. and. with teeth
set firmly together, addressed himself to
the task Of forcing a none too willing
Legislature to accept it. 1t was a her
o34foayh #y7r1ors q hin ma n thof paT1o
but a man Of strong personality. of un-
wavering determination. of intrepid fight
ing qualities. would nave entered upon,
much less achieved. But Albeit did it.
It was he who aroused the public ssnti-
merit that would not abate its clanaor till
the work had been done, and it was he
who took a reluctant Republican Senate
by the throat and held It IN his ron grasp
till it gave up something like what he
asked. And so the credit of having given
the State the tax system that has since
relieved the property owners from a dol
lar of State tax belongs to Abbett-and
the Democracy. The Republican officials
would rot be living IN clover today if
Governor Albeit had not provided the
| State and them with a pr.ncely revenue
wrung from a federation of railroad COR
portations that has been d~enoninatiag her
for mans years.
Nor did he cease his efforts with the
passage of the act. He did not stop till he
had compelled the railroads to accept, it.
The Pennsylvania and Erie yielded; but
the Jersey Contra and the Delaware,
Lackawanna and Western, arrogant and
defiant till the very end, tried to dodge
It by hidiag behiad their so-called ire
pealable contracts exenapting them from
taxation. They were tax ~in1nunes, they
said. No axlaw except the farcial
old apology for a tax system they had
themselves framed when the State was
willing to help them open up territory.
could reach them. Albeit threatened
to sell them out, in accordance with the
terms of these old charters Of theirs, I'M
less they yielded. Nor would he releose
his iron grip on them till they had actual
ly surrendered the ir~repealable charters
and IN writing consented to acknowledge
the absolute sovereignty of the State
over them. AS the result of the intrepid
work Of this great Democratic Governor
there is no such thing in New Jersey to-
day as an ir~repealable charter, and the
railroads, that used to own and UNI n
defy the State. whenever and as often as
the yhtnl seized them, are now its sub
nissive children.
The enormous revenue derived from the
miscellaneous corporation tax is another
henefactor for which the Democrats are
alone entitled to credit. That was not
onl yof Governor Abbetts nspTatipnLll
was his work clean through, from the
convention OF the idea to its reailzatloh
IN dollars. The income from this source
has passed rapidly from the tens O
Thousands stage through the huhureu
thousand stage to be seven hgure pro-
f,orfian' The act is worth a million a
wear 70 the State today, and TO II ana on
jts twin. the railroad tax act, the peopie
called upon to pay q cent toWafd tue
nTaintenance of the States expensive es-
Establishment. They have their SlV,up0 Gov
ernor, with his retinue OF Inhltary anu
civil assistants, their State prisons. tnelr
great lunatic asylufns, their great reform
atories. their arBories. even tnelr slnqotn
q pity that the cavilling voter who fumes
and foams about the race track regime
wouldn't stop once in a Whlie 20 tahe
fered not TIL 1t had achieved these
splendid benefits for him..
Ii is easy to see, too, that the tendency
Of Republican rule in the State IS TO put
the Commonwealth and al her people
again at the mercy of the corporations
that made these achievements almost I'M
possible till they had been aceon1pnsnea
fIhG i0II1EIt6T IL 31Q ~ 49,
and more felt in the conduct OF state al
fairs the longer the Republicans remain
IN newer. They come to look upon them
selves as too firmly irtreEched. as time
goes bv. to be d~islodged. and they sur
renTer themselves with the most reckless
cornDlafsance to their corporation mas
ters' Representative Fowler did not seem
10 realize with what awful apt11ess a
story he told, with other settings, TO
one OF his audiences the other night, IL
Illustrated the devotion of the Republicans
TO the trusts and the rich magnates who
constitute them. -
Something reminded him, so he said, "of
a story Of an i~1npecunious darkey. one of
these no account fellows, you know, who
never have 4 cent and who would rather
beg than work. Well, he was going along
on his travels one day and he came to q
river. There was a ferry across the river, |
but this poor negro didn't have the money
to pay his fare. so he just sat down on
a log to wait until somebody came along
FROM whom he might be able to borrow.
Presently he saw a white man APPROACH
ing. and hailed him with a pitiful whine. |
Boss he said. boss. won't you GLIB
me tree 4 cents to cross de ferry ? II
hahn rot a cent IN de world,
Well, sir said the white man, If you
haven't 4 cent III the world. it don't make
a damn bit Of difference what side Of the
river you are ON.
That's about the feeling of the Republic
can, take him as a rule. He doesn't
care Ii damn whether YOU are on the
Democratic or Republican side II you
can't las millions. Ills Needless devotion
ia The great m-onopOiieS and To the men /