The Penn's Grove record., 1906-02-16
Colby In Camden.

Senator Eyeritt Colby spoke in Cam
den last Friday night to an intelligent
audience. He said:
"We are fighting for a representative
government, and the time has come for
decent citizens to wake up and strike a
blow at what now is an intellectual ty
ranny. 1t is hard Tor the ordinary cit
izen to see the Importance of changing
matters, but that a short stay among
the people at Trenton would convince
any dlSintereSted nan that what has
been done by the New Jersey Legisla-
ture for years has been entirely at the
dictation of the political machine. The
combine was composed of men connect
ed with large corporations and polite
ians who constitute the machine.
1.-THE corporations put up the money
to put the crowd in Office and for a GER
tain consideration hold the crowd. You
will find that men do not vote accord
ing to the dictation of their own brains
or minds, but at the dictation of the
leaders Of the party, or their political
career, the bosses tell them, will come
to an end.
GA fellow-member of the House
whom 1 thought a great deal of took
money for his vote. When l asked for
an investigation he trembled and has
never looked me in the face from that
day. l went to these people and asked
that something be done to keep crooks
out of the Legislature. [ was told:
Nothing can be done, that's politics."
The Senator told of the introduction
of his resolution for limited franchise
before his Neutrality-suspicious. had an op-
portunity of consulting the bosses. The
members were unanimous in their sup
port of the measure at that time, but
when the resolution again came up for
consideration, nearly all were opposed
to it. In the meantime, the Senator
said, the Legislators had received Or
ders from the bosses and changed their
minds accordingly.
ut goes to show what a body of men
will do if they are let alone. We will
never in the world work out the great
problem of the country until mel of in
telligence and independence and brains
are elected to do the work. There is
no excuse for a political party to exist
that has no fundamental principles.
FEAR MEN WHO THINK AND ACT,
1.-THE cas- why decent men don't
get in power is because the political
boss doesn't allow men who think to be
nominated and elected. A political
boss does not fear the police as much
as a man in a municipal body who
thinks and acts as he thinks. We are
here to see il we cannot cur repre-
sentative government and send to Tren-
ton men who will be absolutely Free"
Senator Colby told of the time that
in his own county of Essex only one
eighth OF the voters turned out at the
primaries. AS a consequence the poll
tical boss controlled the nominations
through office holders and their reIa-
tives. But when the people become
aroused, things are different, and now
is the time for you to organize irres-
pective of the Machine organization
and put up a fight at the Republican
primaries-and you will win"
STATE CHEATED OF MILLIoNsI II TAXES
Corporation Counsel George L. Rec
ord, of Jersey City, enlarged upon the
description given by Mr.. Colby of the
ways OF the bosses and legislators at the
State capital, and his fight for equal
taxation. II went to Trenton,n he
said, land presented a bill to the Leg
islature to secure a MOI e equal adjust
ment of taxes, so the railroads could
bear their just portion of the burdens.
You would have thought that the peo-
pies representatives would have been
delighted to afford this remedy. But |
couldn't make any impression on the
members of the Legislature. Instead
of getting the bill passed, as you would
expect, | was considered a nuisance
about the State House, and Stunned
whenever 1 put in an appearance.
"This year the Governor writes a
message saying that if the railroads
should pay what they ought to pay New
Jersey would get 5000, 900 more a
year than she does now. Think. fell
low citizens, that for 20 years your Re-
representatives. have allowed the rail
roads to escape the payment of So, O0O.-
900 a year in taxes! Just think that.
if you had gotten this amount of money
each year for the past Is years, what
could have been derived for schools.
parks, good roads and other benefits -