The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1902-12-13
WIN. GEORGE
BREAKS out
Tells the Republican County
Committee That the
Freeholders Need
Watching.
CHAIRMAN FRy'S REPORT
Advocates Assembly Districts
and Voting Machines and
Deplores the Late
Trouncing.
CHAIRMAN FRY'S REPORT

4
AT last nights meeting Of the Repub-
/ lican County Committee at Lincoln Hall
ex-Assembiyman William George Nelson
made a few remarks in advocacy of the
establishment of jury commission by
the coming Legislature. Mr.. Nelson said
that the Freeholders were becoming more
extravagant each year and he thought
that the creation of such commission
would tend to curb this alleged extrava-
gance.
Mr.. Nelson, in support of his idea. told
of his experience as Freeholder a dozen
years ago or so, when there was a jury
commission and some twelve members
of the Board were indicted. He forgot
to add that they were tried and acquitted
of the charges brought against them by
a partisan grand jury, or mention the
fact that some Of the indicted men were
Republicans
| Mr.. Nelson's opinion was suggested by
the annual report of Chairman Edward
/ Fry to the County Committee. Mr.. Fry
referred to some matters of public inter-
est, in connection with which he thought
additional or changed legislation would
be advisable. One of these was the
amendment to the election laws suggest
ed by the Bayonne Republican Commit
/ tee to prevent a reoeeurrence of the dis
graceful conditions of the last election in
that city and for which both Republican
and Democratic election officers were
| largely responsible Another was the
substitution of the automatic voting ma
chine for the present ballot system. He
I also urged constitutional amendment
for the election of Assenblymen by dis
tricts instead of in the county at large
as now.
FRY NOT sRABIDl ENOUGH.
Evidently Mr.. Fry's communication
was not sufficiently rabid from d parti-
san standpoint to suit the ex-F Freebooter
| and ex-Assemblyman, for he began to
think. and then arose and said that he
thought that the report should have in
c1uded a recommendation for jury
commission. He said that we had one
in this county some years ago and that
/ he thought it was good thing
Mr.. Nelson said he was a member of
the Board of Freeholders when the last
jury commission was in power and that
he knew it had had a good effect on the
Board. He was satisfied that the Free
holders were grossly extrayagant and
were. becoming more so every year, al
though the published reports of their
work did not show this. He again
thought" that the establishment of a
/ jury commission would remedy the state
of affairs that he said existed
Whether or not any of the other
members agreed with Mr.. Nelson's
thoughts is not known, but at all events
no one said so, and there the matter
dropped.
ONLY A FEW OUT.
The meeting was the last of the year
and was probably the most slimly at
4 tended owing to the storm that prevailed.
4 Those who did come. however were
agreeably surprised to see the improve
1nents inaugurated by the House Conn
mittee during the year. The large hall
and the hallway and rooms on the first
| floor have been fitted with an electric
! lighting system, eighty incandeseent
! lights being used throughout the build
/ ing. A life-size sepia enlargement of
! photograph. Of President Roosevelt, in
| a handsome gilded frame adorned the
wall at the rear Of the platform, banked
on either. side by lithograph pictures of
! former President Mckinley and former
Vice President Hobart.
Col. Samuel D. Dickinson, Mayor
Mark Fagan and most of the other promi-
nent officeholders of the Republican
faith were present when Chairman Fry
called the meeting to order.
The resignation of Committeeman
Jacob Dorr of the First district, Second
ward, was received and accepted. Mr..
Dorr gave as his reason for resigning
that he lad lately been appointed to the
1 police force, and some one suggested that
he probably could not live up to his oath
as a policeman and at the same time
serve the Republican party as commit
/ teeman.
The Second Ward Association report
ed that Committeeman Thomas Mitchell
had moved out>af that ward. The COM
nlunication was referred to the appeals
! committee.
Charles Grodberg was appointed as
/ committeeman from tae First district,
Second ward Bayonne. in place of
Abraham Botkin, res gnpll.
i The executive committee reported it's
approval Of the resolution Of the Bayonne
! City Committee urging the passage of a
i hill to enable election off GERS To be an