The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1906-05-29

declarations and platforms. These sug
gestions of course affect municipal officials
and are local in character.
The demand for the adoption of rule
by the Senate and House of Assembly
compelling committee to report bill
within stated time upon the request of
the minority, is parliamentary PROPOSE
ton. Every legislative body has control
over its own affairs, and should have. To
say that the minority of that body, upon
its demand, can have certain things done,
is to substitute rule of the minority for
rule Of the majority, hardly democratic
principle. Any bill now introduced in
the Legislature can be reported from a
committee If the majority of the house
sees fit to have 1t. When the majority of
the house refuses to request such report
it simply means that the majority of the
Legislature disapproves of the bill. To
attempt to reverse the rule of the majority
| in a legislative body, is novel proceed
| ing in legislative history. Certainly this
| is not the practice in Washington and it is
doubtful if it is the practice of any State
| in the Union Indeed it is practically a
campaign cry drawn solely for the pur-
pose of inducing the people to believe
that bills are suppressed where, as mat
ter of fact, the consideration OF no bill
can be prevented against the wishes OF
majority of the Legislature. A vast deal
of the legislation of today Is crude and In
complete because the committees to which
the various measures are referred do not
give them sufficient study and attention.
If, without this study and attention on
the part of committees, bills were put on
the calendar of the house for passage, our
legal system would be more confused than
| it is now. to the detriment of the interests
of the people.
OF course every one knows that these
declarations Of principles are paraphrased
from stock form and sent out under the
direction of Messrs. Colby and Record
with instructions to adhere to these lines
as nearly as possible, but to vary them &C.
cording to local conditions. Since the
adjournment of the Legislature the Colby
movement has degenerated from plat
form of principles to a contest for office
which has recently been emphasized by
George L. Records statement that 1t is
necessary to get control of the Governor
ship and the United States Senatorship.
Mr.. Record himself has not been Re-
publican Of long standing He fought the
party when such men as Griggs, Voorhees,,
johnson and Stokes were striving for re-
form and he left the Democratic party
only when he found that it was doomed to
failure and that the Republican party Of
fered better pastures Is that party In
such straits that it must accept such man
for the high office he has recently an
nounced himself candidate forP He will
leave the Republican party as quickly q
he did his original faith, If he fails In his
personal ambition to reachi the United
States Senate. To hear Colby and Record
talk, one would think the Republican
party had done nothing good in the last
twelve years. As a matter of fact, both
Record and Colby were strong machine
men" "a mysterious organization they now
denounce) until 1t served their purposes
to look elsewhere.
| A list of the reform work done by our
party during the last twelve years is too
long for newspaper review, but the reforms
mentioned have been accomplished by the
party as party. The Colby movement is
such palpable attempt for personal con-
troll on the part Of few individuals, so
evidently insincere in its failure to give
credit to the party for the excellent legis-
lstion that has been enacted, not only in
the years past but this year, and so clearly
desire on the part of the little oligarchy
of Jersey City to run the State, that it
should be very carefully considered by
the citizens of Burlington county.