Perth Amboy evening news., 1910-10-10
THE RECORD ON
III. s. SENATOR
Senators Who Voted for the
Law Giving People Right
Ito Decide.
BOTH PARTIES INVOLVED
Especial Correspondence. }

OP~S ASoPOIuCICC.J
Trenton, Oct. 10:-Those who are
determined to force the members Of
the next legislature to respect the
popular vote on the United States
senatorial question have been looking
up the record by which the present
primary law, providing the method
by which the senatorial aspirants
submitted their candidates. to the
people, and they find that ten of the
present hold-oyer members of the
state senate voted in favor of the en-
actment of this law. Seven of them
are Observation-Disclosures, Bradley,
Brown, Frelinghuysen, Hand, Plum
mer and Lewis. The latter was then
a member of the House Of Assembly
from Burlington county and helped
to make up the thirty-three votes by
which the direct primary law was
put through the lower House.
The democratic hold-over senators
who voted for the primary law are
Silzer, Gebhardt and Price.
The political history of the direct
primary law under which the sena-
torial voting was carried on Septem-
Der 10, last, Is that the republican
state convention, which on September
19. 1907, Nominated Governor Fort.
.. adopted a platform carrying a plank
'favoring al amendment to the con-
stitution for popular election Of these
officials, and further stated: Until
such amendment has been adopted
we favor a law for the expression In
some authoritative way by the voter
of his choice for United States sena
tor"
1t will be remembered by those
who follow state affairs, an adjourn
ed session of the legislature met or
September Is following, in order te
act upon the Governor Stokes veto
of bills that had been passed in tht
closing hours OF the regular session
which had ended in the previous
April. Efforts had been made at the
regular session to ecu the passage
OF a direct primary law, but they
were ~unavailing. During the summer
recess agitation for the passage Of
such a statute was kept up with the
result that both the republican anf
democratic state convention declared
for popular election of senators an{
the republicans added the demand
for a law such as was finally passed.
In passing it may be noted tina
Senator John Kean who now, as {
&candidate for reelection insists tina
the popular voting scheme is of N
effect and should not be respected b,
members of the incoming Legislature
was a member of the sub-committe
which framed the platform contain
ing the demand for the law which h
now repudiates as a practical propO
sition.
1t is also significant that Daviu
Baird, the Camden county leade
who now is a candidate for the Unit
ed States senate, swung all the vote
of the delegates that he controlled il
that convention to approve of tn
platform demanding the primary law
although he now insists that the "olt
fashic' ed way of letting the mem
bers of the legislature decide fe
themselves shall be pursued withou
reference to the popular vote.
When the adjourned session of tn
legislature met on September 25
1907, Senator Colby secured the pas
sage of a resolution providing for
committee Of three to draft a direc
primary bill and "to report at tn
next session of the senate Wednesday
: October g." Meanwhile Senator
Colby, Plummer and Silzer were ap
poin a committee to draft the pre-
posed law On Friday, October II
after a conference with the Hous
leaders, the present primary law wa
reported In the form of a bill. Unde
a suspension of the rules the bill wa
progressed to an immediate passage
and forthwith sent to the House O
Assembly where the rules were ais
suspended and the measure passe
by a unanimous vote. On October 2
the bill was signed by Governo
Stokes.
These routine matters are now re
called In the line Of argument to b
used upon the members of the senat
who participated in the enactment O
the law, but several of whom hay
now practically lined themselves u
against acquiescence in the result
attained In the operation of the stat
ute. None of the republican sena
tors SO situated have made any dec
laration as to where they stand o.
the proposition. whereas they hav
all been pressed to state whether 0
not they win abide by the popula
voting.