Gloucester County Democrat., 1907-10-10
DEMOCRATIC NEWSPAPER WRITER'S
MEET STATE COMMITTEE.

cratic and INDEPENDENT press OF new y Jef :
sey met the Chairman of the State Demo
cratic Committee at headquarters in Jersey
City last Saturday More than SO editors
responded to the invitation and after lunch
Chairman Hudspeth addressed the editors,
saying
No campaign in the history of the Stat
has been fought under such remarkable
conditions as the present one. The attitude
of the Republican party is simply amazing.
Honest citizens cannot understand its COM
placent attitude in the face OF the past year.
Managers of institutions founded and con-
trolled by the state for humanitarian pur-
poses have been exposed as permitting the
grossest abuses and neglect, that calls for
swift and immediate punishment. Yet the
Republican leaders and men in responsible
positions have taken no step to cause the
removal and punishment of the offenders.
For some mysterious reason they seem
unable to appreciate the enormity of the
derelictions committed, but, on the con-
trary, they actually indorse the adminstra-
tion of the State institutions in their plat
form The only indication they give Of
any knowledge of the abuses which have
amazed the people of the State from Sussex
to Cape May is the weak assurance in their
platform that if there are abuses in any
State institution the Republican party can
be depended upon 80 wipe them out, and
this in face of the opening paragraph OF the
platform, which says that ''the Republican
party offers its record of faithful execution
of pledges as a guarantee of future perform
ances.
| said that conditions are remarkable and
amazing when great political party has
the etfrontery to complaisently go before
the people with q practical indorsemeDt of
all the sins of omission and commission
that have been exposed by the Hahn Inves-
tigating Committee of the House of Assem-
bly,
The situation is additionally more re-
markable and amazing because not a Repub-
lican prosecutor or other official has even
hinted that the officials exposed are being
considered as subjects for prosecution, or
even investigation. Why, we ask, does
the Republican party stand silent and in an
attitude of approval of these intolerable
conditions, lately exposed by the Hahn
Committee? The answer can be given in
but one way, and that is that the men ex-
/ posed are men OF influence in the Republi-
!
strong with the powers higher up that not
State official dares to move a finger against
any one of them.
CoNDoNES FAULTS.
But the Republican party is consistent.
1t protects these men and condones their
faults. In the Legislature its ear has been
/ deaf to the voice of the people. Look at
/ the record. Equal taxation, such as de-
}.
and killed by the Senate. Despite the
promises made by them in their platform
and by their leaders, the Republican SEN
ate this week killed the Brady bill, for
the election Of U. s. Senators By direct
! vote of the people, and in the House the
Republican leaders work with all their
might against the direct primary act, in
troduced by the Democrats Note their
/ hypocrisy regarding the separation of State
aud municipal elections. Governor Murphy,
during his term, advocated the repeal of the
Meeker act Republican platforms, as we'll
as Democratic platforms, had called for it's
repeal. The Republican platform of this
year calls for its repeal yet at the very time
of the adoption of that platform, and at the
present time, there is in the possession OF
the Republican Senate, sleeping the sleep
of death in committee, the two. bills passed
by the Democratic House, repeating the
Meeker act aud restoring spring elections
Go over the railroad legislation Of the
present year. The Republican party, stand
ipg in the breach for the corporations, at
every point, and finally enacting Railroad
Commission act which is utterly Ineffective
Consider the public utilities bill. Passed
by the Senate it was only halfway meas
ure. AS amended by the House it is an
effective measure. We shall see now if
the Republican Senate has the courage to
pass his act in the shape the Democrats
] have placed it, As amended, the bill is
now effective; it abolishes the useless and
powerless Railroad Commission, places all
/ proper public utilities under one commits
sion, at saving Of about $50, 900 per year,
and gives life and being TO the remedies
go generally required by our people The
Republican record on water tunnel and quo
warranto bills. enacted by the House for
the interests of the people and in the line
of relief for the people, were all consistently
smothered in the Senate, and these and
other good bills are sleeping the sleep that
| will know no wakening until Democratic
Governor and Democratic House raise
over the Republican majority in the Senate
next year the lash of the peoples indigna-
tion and political revolt.
VOTING MACHINES STILL IN USE.
If the Republican, party has scintiIla Of
sincerity in any Of its pledges, why has
not the Senate passed the House bill the
first one introduced in the house, abolish
ing the voting machines? It is now at
tempting to throw sand in the eyes of the
people by passing the act aboishing the
Voting Maching Commission, but this
merely transfers tbe handling of the ma
chimes from commission to the Secretary
of State. The machines we still have with
us, and the bill abolishing them still sleeps
with the Republican Senate. Why have
they not passed the Child Labor bill sent
them by the Democratic House? Why do
they show antagonism to every popular
measure demanded by the people
Gentlemen, we can only surmise the an
swers to the questions I have asked As