Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-08-12
BODY TO
PASS ON PROOF
Commission Government Cues
lion DevoIves on Percent
age of Assembly Vote.
fFrom n stan correspondent.I

| TRENTON, N. J., Aug. 12.-The
| Senate committee on procedure, COM
posed of President Johnson and Sena-
tors Ramsay, Munson, Leavitt and
Read, met this morning before the
two houses convened to hear Corpor-
alton Counsel John Milton. of Jersey
City, and former Corporation Counsel
Warren Dixon argue on the existence
or non-existence of proof by which
the courts might determine, in the
pending litigation. whether the affirm
ative vote was equal to the 30 per.
cent. requirement of the Walsh act
in the recent commission government
election in Jersey City.
If the vote for Assembly candidates
for 1912 is to be determined by taking
the aggregate vote for all candidates
and dividing ii by twelve (the num-
Der of assemblymen elected, then
there seems TO be no question that
the commission government PROPOSE
ton received the required 80 per cent
vote. Mr.. Dixon, counsel for the
ousted Wittpenn forces, contends that
the basis of calculation Is the number
of persons who voted at the 1912 cleo
ton, regardless of whether they voted
for twelve or a lesser number of As
sembly candidates. If this view is
taken and is sustained by proof then
there was not the required 30 per
cent. affirmative vote for commission
government in Jersey City.
Says Proof Is Impossible.
Mr. Milton submitted afidavits to
show that the ballots cast in 1872
for Assembly and other candidates
have been destroyed and he also pre-
sented afiidavits to show that the
election returns for thirty-four of the
Jersey City election districts do not
show how many voters cast ballots
in those districts. He therefore held
that II was impossible to prove how
many voters voted in Jersey City in
the 1912 election
Mr.. Dixon conceded that ii was i'm
possible to show the exact number of
votes cast in Jersey City in 1912, but
he said that from the returns of the
thiry-four districts in question it was
easy to ascertain the minimum num-
Der of votes cast in those districts,
and that If this minimum number
was added to the number of votes
st in the other districts, and Of
which there is a record, then a total
would be reached of over thirty-nine
thousand and 1t would be demon
strated that commission government
did not carry in Jersey City if the
thirty per cent. calculation is to be
applied to the number of persons
who voted in Jersey City in 1912
Hints at MaIfeasance.
During the more or less informal
debate between Messrs. Milton and
Dixon, Senator Read asked why the
primary and election had been held
when there had been a doubt at tho
time as to whether commission gov
ernment would be legal. Mr.. Milton
replied that City Clerk Morris, who
had charge of the ballots, was an
advocate of commission government
and a successful candidate before the
primaries and the election, and he
said it was significant that the bal
lots were destroyed after and not
before the legality question had been
raised by a Hudson newspaper. He
said he would allow the senators to
draw their own Inference from this
condition. Mr.. Dixon replied that he
was not responsible for Mr.. Morris $
attitude nor for the destruction of
the ballots.
Assistant Attorney General Gaskill
declared he was of the opinion that
Attorney General Wilson would not
allow the quo warranto writ obtain
ed by Mr.. Dixon.
The committee at this point arose.
1t is understood the House bill rati-
flying adoption of commission gov
ernment in Jersey City will be re-
ported by the procedure committee.