Pleasantville weekly press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1890-1911, 1910-10-01
VOTERS WILL JUDGE
CANDIDATES. MERITS
Langham and Smathers Address Queries
to the Colonel and MIR. Bacharach.
Party Men Refuse Debate
ASPIRANTS CLAIM THAT Such
METHODS ARE QUITE OBSOLETE

campaign was drawn last Saturday when
the Democratic legislative candidates,
Louis Langham and Frank Smathers,
challenged their Republican opponents,
Walter E. Edge and Isaac Bacharach, to
debate. Of equal interest was the de-
clination by Mr.. Edge and Mr. Bacharach
to accept the proposal of their adversar-
ies The ground for the refusal was that
Mr.. Edge and Mr.. Bacharach have been
50 clearly identified with the county
and city's development and business in
terests as to make debate unnecessary
Mr.. Langham and Mr.. Smathers in
heir challenge took the position that
he people of the county would welcome
the opportunity to hear the issue dis
;ussed by the rival candidates and that
the interests of the people would be
better conserved if this was done In
their reply Mr.. Edge and Mr.. Bacharach
assert that the voters of Atlantic county
are fully capable of deciding men and
issues without resorting to the obsolete
method" of debates, also, they state,
the Smathers-Langham proposition was
more for advertisement than otherwise.
No especial time or place was sugges-
ted by the Democratic challengers for
holding the debate but, on the contrary.
it was stated that several debates would
be better than one
Nor were any particular issues EN-
bodied in the challenge except in so far
as Messrs. Langham and Smathers sug
gested two or three as of important in
terest to Atlantic county residents. The
utilities law of the last session, which
Mr.. Edge had a large part in passing,
the Atlantic county oyster law act of
1910, an Edge law, an amendment to
the election laws passed last year and
which requires City Clerks to adver-
tise primaries and elections in differ
ent and more costly manner than hereto
fore, and an act increasing the price Of
official advertising, are cited by Mr..
Langham and Mr.. Smathers as some
questions which are worthy of debate.
The letter sent by the Democratic
candidates to their Republican antag-
onists, which is in self explanation, is
az follows:
Atlantic City, Sept. "a, 1910.
Hon. Walter E. Edge
and
Councilman Isaac Bacharach,
Atlantic City, n. j.,
Gentlemen:
The issues OF this campaign, as you
well know, are many and most of them
of great Importance to the people. We
believe the people have right to hear
and would like to hear some, if not all,
Of these issues publicly discussed by the.
candidates for the Legislature. Further
more we believe the people have right
to know and ought to know before cleo
tion where we candidates stand on these.
issues. 1t seems to us, therefore, that
| we candidates for the Legislature should
! arrange for a joint debate on these issues
at stated times and places throughout
| the county, particulars of which we can
agree upon later. Are you Republican
candidates willing to do this If you
are, then we would be obliged to you to
submit to us in writing, within five days
| from the date hereof, all or few of the
issues you regard paramount and as most
vital to the interests of the people.
We, of course, are aware of the fact
that each party has its respective state
platform different in principle in many
respects and alike in others. But each
| county has more or less local palms.
and needs therefore local remedies. Hence
We suggest, for the purposes of this
joint debate that the issues be few and
confined to the county as much as possi-
Bile. Why aren't the following a few of
the most important?
l. The Public Utilities Act of 1910
which fails to empower the commissioners
with authority to fix, determine, regulate
and enforce rates and charges of public
utilities.
2 The Atlantic County Oyster Act,
Pamphlet Laws 1910, page 40l, by which
| certain men in Atlantic City were per-
mitted to gobble up the best of the
oyster beds in the county to the exclus
ion of many of the oystermen who live
along the bay and who have, from time
immemorial, planted, improved and
harvested them as their sole source of
livelihood.
| 3. The amendment to an act entitled
An Act to Regulate Elections Pamph-
let Laws 1910, page 473, which requires
the city clerk to
Put up, &C., an advertisement in at
least five of the most public places with
in the city, &C., which advertisement
shall make known the time, place and
purpose ofholding such primary election.
&C., and the office or offices to be filed
thereat, ETC., and shall, at least two
weeks preceding the primary election.
cause a notice to be published in not
more than two of the newspapers of the
county as said clerk shall select setting
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