The Jersey City news., 1905-09-26
The Party In Essex Is Likely
to Boom Municipal Owner
ship and the Election Of
Judges.
PLATFORM PLANNED
THOUGH COLBY HAS STOLEN
MUCH DEMOCRATIC AMMUNI-
TION THE LEADERS HAVE
PLENTY IN RESERVE.
Especial to "The Jersey City News.")

NEWARK, Sept. 26, 1905.--Drafts
of platforms that have been suggested
| by the Democratic county and citl lead
ers have been made and submitted to
them for revision previous to the meet
ings of the two conventions next We'd
| nesday night in the Kruger Auditorium
| Claims will be made in both of them
| that the credit given to the Republican
| party in the county for advancing the
limited franchises and equal taxation
clause through the success Of Assembly
man Everett Colby should go to the
Democratic party. The attempt is made
| to show that each of the planks in TIE
Colby platform was taken from plat
forms adopted in previous years by the
Democrats.
Probably the most important feature
of the city platform will be. it is said,
| a declaration for municipal ownership
of all public utilities. The leaders had
| determined upon this, it is stated, before
Frank NJ McDermit broached the ques-
ton at the meeting of the executive COM
inittee last week.
Mayor Doremus. the Board of Works,
me Police Commission and other official
bodies that are under the control of the
! Republican party will be criticised and
minority representation in the Board of
Works will be demanded Another de-
mand will be for the cleansing of the
Passaic River valley by removing the
! pollution from the water
In the county platform probably the
most important feature, aside from sthe
claim that all the virtues of the Repub
| lican platform We're stolen from the Dem
ocrats. will be the demand for a general
constitutional convention.
| Besides declaring for the election of the
| United States Senators by the people the
platform will demand the election of the
| Attorney General of the State by popular
| vote in year when the regular election
| for Governor does not take place and for
/ the election Of the justices of the Su-
preme Court. The old subject of the elec-
tion Of members of the Assembly by cleo
l
tion districts in a county instead of by
the county as whole will again be
brought forward
! Some of the persons interested In the
drafting of the document are said to have
also suggested the advisability of incor-
| porating in the paper declaration in
favor of the division of the State into
equal sections by population. each to be
represented by Senator instead of hav-
ing each county, as a present, represent
ed by a Senator irrespective of the popu-
lation Of the county.
The election of the Federal Senators.
of course, cannot be made without reyis-
ing the national constitution That fact
is said to be recognized by the Democrats,
but what their plan of procedure will be
until the constitution is revised is not
known.
/ The AttorneyG General is a constitu-
tional officer, the justices are appointed
under constitutional requirements at
present, and the manner of choosing
Senators is also. prescribed by the con-
stitution. To change the method of Sc
lecticn the constitution of the State will
have to be altered, and it is for this
reason thatt he declaration in favor of
the constitutional convention will be
brought forward.
The subject of the election of Assem-
blymen by districts is one that has never
been definitely settled In 1893 branch
of the Supreme Court gave a decision
that the entire body of Assemblymen
| from a county should be elected by the
whole county. This decision was never
appealed from, ard under its terms all
| Assembly elections in the State since
1898 have been conducted. The opinion
| Of the Court Of Errors and Appeals on
the question has never been given.
| The Democratic campaign committee
Of the county committee will have d
meeting this afternoon, when the plat
| form and the possibilities in the way Of
candidates for the various places to be
filled will be discussed.
/ a call for the county and city conven-
tons and for the caucuses to name can
dIiates for the Assembly has been issued
lty the county committee