Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-09-09
HUDSON COUNTY
ELECTION BOARD
CASES ARE HEARD
Supreme Court at Trenton DE-
yided Into Three Parts to
Hear Arguments.
1sneoial to the Newark star.l

TRENTON. Sept. 9.-Because of the
number of election cases to be heard,
the entire Supreme Court was called
to the state House 'oday and divided
itself into three branches. This was
necessary to make It possible to hear
the arguments in all of the cases today.
In the main court there Vas sitting
Chief Justice Gummere, Justices Min
turn and Trenchard and Justices Gar
rison, Swayze and Voorhees, in the
first branch and Justices Parker n
Bergen in the second branch.
The first cases to be heard were the
Hudson county suits, which were
brought by the Progressive Repub-
licans VS.. the County Board of Elec-
lions of Hudson County, George L.
Record and Merritt Lane appearing for
the Progressives. Mr.. Lane in stating
his argument said that it would be
necessary, in order to enlighten the
court, to detail the fight hat has been
going ON in Hudson county between
the Regular Republican organization
and the New Idea or Progressive or
ganization.
Mr.. Lane claimed that on the 29th of
August the board adopted a resolution
without giving notice to anyone declar-
ing that all nominees who had been
qualified were appointed. Whereupon
the clerk of the board read a list of
names whom they pretended had not
qualified. The persons disqualified
were So ordered on the ground that
they had not sent in answers to the
questions set forth by the county board.
Causes of Rejection.
Following this list another lot of
names were presented, and they were
rejected because they had been desig-
mated New Idea" New Idea Republic
can Progressive" and Progressive"
Republicans. Following this resolutions
were adopted by the county board re-
jecting all the names who had styled
themselves by, the name of New Idea"
Progressive, and the like.
At the meeting of the board John
Rotterdam was present, and when
vacancies were announced the secre-
tary took thesnames from Mr.. Rother-
ham and placed them in the vacant
places. The final result of which was
that all the New idea names were
thrown out and supplanted by Rother-
ham men.
Mr.. Lane argued that the law pro-
vides that the Z county chairman Is
vested with the right to make the APP
pointments and the committe has only
the right to ratify. such appointments.
Chief Justice Gummere, however, did
not agree with this view and was OF
the opinion that the law intended that
the board should also determine
whether the appointees were bona-1de
members of the party which they were
supposed to represent. He pointed out
that the chairman might select one So
cialist and one Republican,, or he might
take one anarchist and one Socialist.
Mr.. Lane replied that this could not
be so, for the reason that an anarchist
would not be a legal voter. The chief
Justice, however, replied that just sim
ply because a man might have anarch-
istic views would not necessarily pre-
vent him from voting, the fact on the
contrary that man. of them do vote
at every election.
In his view the question is as to
whether New Idea Republicans and
Progressive Republicans are Republ-
cans within the meaning Of the law
providing for equal representation by
the two great parties in one of fact.
He said that the argument of Mr. Lane
in support of the absolute right of the
county chairman to designate the cleo
ton officers without review by the
county board was persuasive.
Mr.. Lane continued that no such ac-
ton had ever before been taken by an
election board in Hudson county. He
then referred to the limitations that
the mails had been robbed of the ac-
ceptances of the Progressive election
officers as absurd. He characterized the
testimony of Clerk Strebling as an ex-
ample of evasiveness and ignorance
such as he had never seen.
AS another example of the ~inconsist-
ency of the board. Mr.. Lane said that
when the call reached the ward In Hoo
bolen, from which August Graf, the
Dickinson member of The board, halls,
there were no acceptances from either
of the Republican election officers. Mr..
Graf stated that he knew the accept
ances had been mailed n the board
confirmed the nominations without
question.