The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1909-09-28

nation III that is all IL COST him II
was not dear. His kind of Democratic
senator is cheap at a much larger
sum.
Quotes Governor Hughes.
The expense question should never
enter into the problem. Good govern
ment is cheap at any cost. What is
needed is to get close to the people
and get candidates truly representa-
! tive Of them. Governor Hughes has
stated the whole matter in this way:
We want legislation that is wise, and
we want it considered on its merits. We
want representatives at Albany without
| collars about their necks. The days have
gone by of open election corruption.
| When we have founded a country based
on manhood suffrage, what an awful thing
it is to polluta that fountain at its source,
the ballot box! We must look to the
nominating machine as much as to the
! election machinery.
| The people do not intend to let any
coterie or clique take away the rights
which belong to the man. A great move
ment is here. 1t cannot be stopped, be-
cause 1t is in accord with the spirit of a
free country.
| A few make a business of political ac-
! tivity-run things. That is not American.
The way to get a representative legisla-
ture is to make the nominations come d.
rectly from the party voters. Political
leaders should stand before the people,
resting upon the suffrages Of the people.
With this declaration of Governor
Hughes agree. 1t has the right ring.
Every legislator must be free to exer-
else his own Judgment. He must be
his own man and owe no allegiance to
any other master than the people. The
way to secure that is by the direct pri-
mary. We can only get that in New
Jersey by overthrowing present lobby
conditions at the statehouse, by max
ing it evident by our votes that we
will not have a county committee
chairman or any self constituted lead
er rule over us and control the vote of
Legislators. We want free men at
Trenton. They are needed, and when
we get one who knows his duty and
resoutely does it we should support
him and send him back. / love the
party of Abraham Lincoln and want
to stay in it, but | do not want to see
it boss ridden and unreSponsive to the
popular will That every boss is
against the direct primary is plenary
evidence that it is right.
Bossism is the serious political prob
lem of our time Roosevelt tried to
kill it in the nation and overthrow all
the reactionaries and bosses in the
nomination of Mr.. Taft. Governor
Hughes has a great fight on against
it in New York. 1t is in New Jersey
even worse than in New York, and we
must either overthrow it or it will us.
1T seems to me the times are out of
iaipt EIaxrf Sc pooaSSaY-v that xVQ
should have bosses in the respective
counties of the state? Why should
not the people rule? Is it possible that
the rest Of us do not know enough to
vote intelligently unless we are told
and that our representatives at Tren-
ton and in city affairs must have
boss to tell them what they can or
cannot do? If these men would only
boss once in awhile in favor of legis-
lation for the people it would help
some, but this they seldom do. If
those who furnish them their money
for election purposes do not want the
legislation proposed it is at once con-
demned These men do not hesitate
to say when certain legislation is
pending relieving the people from cor
porate exactions, Eff you pass this
bill, where are we going to get our
money from for political purposes"
Money In Politics.
Money! Money! oh, the curse of
1t in politics! 1t is the mainstay of
the political boss. 1t is absolutely I'M
necessary, in my opinion, to spend
money as is done. The corruption of
the ballot for political purposes must
l. fol LODI IN jc a
serious problem. A public utilities
long way toward it, because the cor
from attack under it. And they
would be in large measure.
There is no more jealous guardian of
the rights of person or property than
/. / would not pass laws affecting a
corporation simply because it was a
corporation. But l would see to it
that they had no right that an indi-
vidual did not have and that the state
controlled all their actions and powers
absolutely. No honestly managed cor
poration fears proper regulation and
supervision. Great corporations, like
the Pennsylvania railroad and the
Central Railroad of New Jersey, do
not object to reasonable regulation by
state action. | am assured by them
that they find it protection.
j thoroughly believe in reasonable
public utilities bill with authority to
regulate on complaint all,public serv-
| ing corporations. These corporations
are creatures of the state. They have
not single right except such as the
state gives them. They make all their
money by state favor. We must not
let the creature be greater than its
creator 1t is the power of regulation
that | advocate. But they will not
permit even an extension of the juris-
diction of the present railroad COM
mission of the state to the public serv-
| ing corporations. There should be
some power somewhere to reach and
cure abuses, to prevent issuance of
stock or bonds except on approval, to
prevent the making of enormous for
tunes out of public franchises which
come from the people, every advan-
tage under which should accrue to
the people. There would be no trou-
BILE to meet fixed charges or about
paying reasonable dividends by public
serving corporations of this state but
for the enormous overcapitalization
and excessive bonding Of them. This
may not be the fault of the present
4 management, as they claim, but it wa
of some one, and the state should no
allow any more Of it. There shoul'
4 be no more enormous fortunes bull
up in New Jersey at the expense 0
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