The Penn's Grove record., 1913-09-05
set BACK FOR
N. ]. SUFFRAG|STS
Constitutional Amendment In
validated BY Blunder
YEAR LOST IN THE FIGHT
Claim of Debt, Not Tax Relief, Ruling
of Board of OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
u Grade Crossings Referred to
Commission.

Especial Trenton Correspondence
Trenton.-The discovery has just
been made that, after all their work
at the last session of the Legislature
which finally resulted in the passage
Of their amendment for equal SUI
frage, the suffragists are set back
just a year. This is how it happens:
In this State an amendment to the
Constitution to become effective must
be passed by one Legislature and if
again passed then submitted to the
vote of the people at a special cleo
ton for adoption or rejection. There
is just n little matter of detail, how
ever, that projects itself into this
process and that 1t is that caused
the upset.
Following the passage by the Legis-
lature of the amendment it is provid-
ed by the Constitution that it must be
advertised in at least n newspaper
in each of the 81 counties at least
three months prior to the election of
members of the Legislature. The
election falls upon November 5 and
the three months period expired
August 4. The situation is said to be
due to the fact that the resolution
providing for the amendment was not
filed with the Secretary of State, who
Is charged with the duty of advertis-
Ing such matters. The language of
the Constitution, Article TX. on the
question is as follows
Any specific amendment OF amend
ments to the Constitution may be pro-
posed in the Senate or General AS
sembly, and if the same shall be
agreed to by a majority of the mem
bers elected to each of the two houses,
such proposed amendment or amend
ments shall be entered on the jour
nails, with the yeas and nays taken
thereon, and referred to the Legisla-
ture then next to be chosen, and shall
be published for three months pre-
vious to making such choice, In at
least n newspaper of each county,
if any be published therein; and if
in the Legislature next chosen as
aforesaid such proposed amendment
or amendments, or any Of them, shall
be agreed to by a majority of all the
members elected to each house, then
it shall be the duty of the Legislature
to submit each proposed amendment
or amendments, or such of them as
may have been agreed to as afore-
said by the two Legislatures to the
people.
Secretary of State Carter, who had
looked into the situation, made this
statement
upon investigation it appears that
a concurrent resolution adopted by
the Legislature providing for a con-
stitutional amendment granting the
right of equal suffrage originated in
the Senate, was passed by the Sen
ate and later concurred by the House
of Assembly. The files of this office
disclose the fact trat such concurrent
resolution was never filed here in ac-
cordance with the custom which has
attained for years in handling such
resolutions, namely, no resolution was
filed here; therefore, the Secretary of
State did not have before him the
original resolution.
Under Article TX. of the State
Constitution there is a provision that
all constitutional amendments shall
be advertised three months before the
date of the election at which they
will be submitted to the people. The
article of the Constitution does not,
howeV er, provide who shall designate
such newspapers. In the past such
resolutions have provided that the
newspapers be designated by the
President of the Senate, the Speaker
of the House and the Secretary of
State. Such was also the case with
this resolution.
The failure to file the original reso-
luton with the Secretary Of State
would appear to be primarily respon-
sible for the failure to insert such ad-
vertisement. No action was taken by
the President of the Senate or the
Speaker of the House toward desig-
mating such newspapers.
While Investigating the matter, Elk
ecutive Clerk John J. Farrell produced
the missing proposed amendments in
the office of the Secretary of State and
said that they had been given to him
by the secretary of the Senate and the
Clerk of the House with a number of
dead bills, who requested the execu-
tive clerk tc file them in the library.
Frank B. Jess, President of the
State Board of Equalization of
Taxes, has filed a memorandum in
which he s~ustains the Hudson County