Bridgeton pioneer. (Bridgeton, N.J.) 1884-1919, 1913-05-15
FREAK JURY BILL
FAILS IN SENATE
Ten Democrats Whipped in
Line.
WAIT FOR nth VOTE
Senator Munson Expected Back from
Senator Munson Expected Back from
Europe on Monday to Vote
For the Bill.

Trentos, May 13.-President Will
sons compromise Chancellor's Jury
reform bill, after being designated by
Senator Leavitt, Republican, of Mercer
as the "Wilson-Smith measure. was
lost in the Senate today through the
lack of one vote. The Republicans,
with nine Senators, are in a position
of beating any bill proposed by the
Democrats, who have ten votes, just
one short of the necessary number to
pass bills. The deadlock is caused by
the absence of Senator Samuel J..
Munson, Democrat, of Sussex County.
now in Europe for his health, and
whose presence here Democrats be-
lieved would have saved the day.
The Democrats assert that they will
prolong the session until Munson's re-
turn and then pass the bill that the
House approved after attaching to it a
referendum to which President Wilson
was obliged to agree upon the demands
of the Smith-Nugent forces.
The Republicans made a hard but
vain fight for the Read bill, providing
for the appointment of jury commis-
sioners by Circuit Court Judges, which
the Republicans in conference earlier
in day agreed to solidly support. The
Republican Senators predict that nc
matter how long the Senate session is
prolonged, the Presidents bill, which
| they declare is poor makeshift, can
not pass.
Governor Fielder, realizing that al
the Democratic strength possible to
muster was necessary in the Senate
| today, took his seat in that body as
the Senator from Hudson County, and
fought for the Democratic compromise
bill. He offered to settle the fate of
the bill without debate, but Senator
Edge, attacking, said that he did not
wonder that the Governor wanted to
get out of the mess quickly. Fielder
said he was willing to debate the
measure, and the argument COM
menced.
Senator Edge, Republican, of Allan
tic, asserted that the Egan bill was
not even compromise, but was rout
of the Democratic forces. He said
that President Wilson had played par
tisan politics.
Senator Davis the Democratic ma
jority leader, of Salem, declared he
would have voted for the Read bill if
he had not made a canvass of the
House and found that it would not
pass. He commended the Republican
minority in the regular session when
it switched from the Read bill on find
ing that it would not pass, and voted
for his bill, and he wanted them to
do so now for the sake of the Egan
bill, known as the Presidents meas
ure.
Senator Nichols, Republican, of
Cumberland, attacked President Will
son, saying Mr.. Wilson had been first
for no referendum, then for referen-
dunn, and then on both sides of the
question, but never for real jury re-
form as in the Read bill.
When the vote was taken, every Re-
publican, as his name was called, spoke
saying his party was not to blame that
jury reform was being killed; that the
Democrats could even then pass the
Read bill, both in the Senate and the
House. The Democrats sat silent and
voted, Wheaton only saying: Il am for
the Read bill, but am voting as l have
been told"
Earlier in the day Senator Davis
moved for the consideration of the
Egan bill, and the Hennessy constitu-
tional convention measure, and when
Senator Read urged consideration of
his bill it was included in the pro-
gramme.
In support of his bill, Senator Head
reviewed the work of the commission
named by the last Legislature to study
the question; how that commission re-
ported that politics played an impor-
tant part in the selection of juries by
the Sheriffs and that both Republicans
and Democrats were squarely respon-
sible for the selection of juries to do