Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1908-01-23


Such power should not be lodged in
the court except in the ordinary way,
through Indictment or on presentnlent
of a grand jury, and then for crime
only.
The legislature should provide that,
upon charges and after hearing, the
governor of the state should have au-
municipality for causes which should
he defined in the statute. The effect of
this would be to hold municipal Off
Gals to the highest sense of their re-
sponsibility to the public
The executive, of course, should have
discretion upon such a complaint being
made to him to entertain it or not, as
he judged proper, but if the complaint
be of such a serious nature and char
acter as to justify its being entertain
ed and if after hearing the proof es-
| tablishes the fact that the charges
made are true, then there should be
power in the executive of the state to
remove such an official and to have
him succeeded in his Office by such
town shall provide as to his successor
in case of his death or resignation.
recommend such legislation.
An examination of the statutes of
the state of New Jersey discloses the
fact that there are no provisions of
law empowering the governor of the
state or any one else to remove from
/ y-e,f, Int Tod
under statute, even for cause.
The chief executive should be armed
with some power both for the enforce
ment of the law and for the removal
of those in public Office who refuse or
neglect to perform their duty.
1t may be easily imagined that cases
may arise where public officials are
shown to have been guilty of either
/ misfeasance or malfeasance in Office
and who refuse to resign, and it might
be that cases would arise where
4 public official should not be permitted
to resign. In either event there should
be some power in the governor, upon
formal charges In writing, to cite any
statutory state officer to show cause
why he should not be removed, and if,
after hearing and full opportunity to
make defense, the governor should be
| satisfied that the official has been der
| elicit in the performance of his duty or
guilty of more serious offense he
should then have the power to remove
him
/ The governor should be held re-
i sponsible for the administration of all
public affairs in the state. He should
recognize that it is his duty to see that
the Institutions, penal and charitable,
and all the departments of the state
government are conducted within the
lines required by the law and the con-
| stitution and that the officials in con-
nection with these institutions and de-
partments are in attendance upon and
| in the performance of their duties. that
they are not neglectfng the service
which they owe to the state and that
/ they are not guilty of misfeasance or
malfeasance in Office. OF course the
governor cannot do this alone and I'M
aided, but he may do it through proper
assistants of the kind and character
which l have recommended in this
message through department of ac-
counts
/ OF necessity this will entail labor
upon the governor, but the people of
the state elect their governor for that
purpose, and he should either perform
his duties and see that others perform
| theirs or he should not assume the
office
Other Suggestions Hereafter.
| There are other questions concern
/ ing which am deeply interested, upon
which | shall not touch in this inau-
/ gural. They relate to the making of
further grants of riparian lands and of
/ state aid for an inland waterway from
Bay Head to Atlantic City and Cape
May, to the ACCESSIBILITY of changing
| the present method of control of state
institutions and reducing the number
Of the managers, SO that there shall be
more concentration Of authority; to the
/ question of the passage in this state Of
an employers liability act and further
legislation regulating the letting of
| contracts by boards of chosen free
holders.
Keep Every Promise.
Every promise made to the people In
the platform of the party prevailing in
the last election must be kept. This
is a duty which both the legislative
and executive branches Of the govern
ment must regard as obligatory.
One of these pledges was to simpli-
| fly the primary and election laws, to.
give greater security against fraud
and to insure a recount In all cases.
Another was to adopt measures to
keep the professional lobbyist out of
the halls of the legislature.
IL / may be pardoned for the sug
gestion, may ask that you adopt a
rule in both your houses, if you have
/ not already done So excluding every