The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1898-10-28
Mr.. sTRYkEH ANSWERED.
October %, 1898.

11DlIOh OH Illl
William A. Stryker of Warren county,
the Democratic campaign speaker, in his
effort to show that by reason of my cleo
ton to the State Senate the Fourth
Congressional District will be put to the
expense of special election to fill my
seat in Congress for the unexpired term,
has made some serious blunders, to put
it mildly. He quoted the general phrase
of the United States Constitution requir-
ing the executive authority of the several
States to issue writs of election to fill
vacancies in Congress, but omitted to
mention an act of Congress Gu. S. Re-
vised Statutes, 1878, page 5, section 26)
which provides that the time for holding
such an election mag be prescribed By the
lotvs of the several States, and also
omitted to refer to that portion of the
New Jersey election law which was
passed in pursuance of the authority
thus given by Congress. This statute is
in the following words:
Whenever any vacancy or vacancies
shall happen in the representation of this
State in the House of Representatives
| it shall be the duty of the Governor
forthwith to issue writ Of election to
fill such vacancy or vacancies, unless the
term of service for a1Ilich the person or
persons achose office or Offices shall be-
come vacant aoiu e.rpire scithin ta0o
months nert after the happening Of such
Uacancy or Uacancies. This provision
has long been upon our statute books,
and is re-enacted in the Revised Act to
Regulate Elections, passed in 1898, being
section 1876 of chapter 139 of the laws of
that year. (P. L. 1898, page 3O3
The plain intent of the Constitution Of
the United States, and of the laws thus
passed in pursuance thereof, is that
sufficient notice shall be given of the
holding of special election, and that no
such election shall be held where less
than two months remains before the ex
piration of the term.
My seat in Congress will not become
vacant until the second Tuesday in
January, which is the date fixed by law
for the assembling of our State Legisla-
ture. This date is seven weeks and three
days qess than two months) from the
expiration of my term as Congressman.
The law does not provide for special
election to fill such vacancy and SO the
entire argument of Mr.. Stryker falls to
the ground.
l was present during a part of Mr..
Stryker's speech in Morristown, but did
not arrive until after he had finished his
reference to the Constitution and the
laws / heard after the meeting that he
had furnished in writing to the news
paper reporters statement of his legal
argument, and as find close similarity
in the reports thereof, as contained in the
different Democratic newspapers, take
it for granted that the reporters followed
the written copy which he furnished.
If this be SO, the reports are of course
authentic, and it becomes significant
that Mr.. Stryker referred to chapter 1879
ofthe laws of 1898 for purpose present
lly to be mentioned, but did not quote
section 1876 of chapter 1879, which section,
| if quoted, would have shown his argu-
ment as to the necessity of special
election to be without foundation in law.
He quoted chapter 1879 as enacting that
no person shall hold at the same time the
offices of Congressman and State Senator,
and is reported as saying that that law
ssfurther provides that if such person be
elected to such offices it shall make
vacant the Office to which he shall have
been previously elected"
quote from similar reports found in
two Democratic newspapers, both pre-
sumably taken from Mr. Stryker's writ
ten statement.
The section to which Mr.. Stryker here
alludes (although he does not mention it
by number) is section 1884. If correctly
reported, he declared that that section
provides that the election of Congress-
man to the Office of State Senator shall
make vacant the former Office. The laiU
does not so provide. It says P. L. 1898,
page 319, section 1S4) that eff any person
who shall have been elected or appointed
TO any such Office (for instance, that of
Congressman shall, during the term for
which he shall have been elected or APP
pointed, be elected or appointed to
another Of such offices, (for instance, that
of Senator) and shall accept the same,
such acceptance shall be deemed to make
vacant the Office to which he shall have
been previously elected or appointed"
In short, Mr.. stryker attempted to
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