The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-03-28
COMMISSION VOTE
 IN JERSEY APR. I5
Petitions Under Walsh Act to Be Collected Tonight in
 Four Cities
CAMPAIGNS ARE UNDER WAY
Jersey City, HObOken, BayOnae and Union Hill to Have
 411 Elections 14-

The men in Jersey City, Hoboken, Bayonne and Union Hill who are run hing the preliminary campaign in the interests of commission government have decided to file on the same day with their respective city or town clerks the petitions now in circulation calling for special elections on the question of adopting or rejecting the so-called Walsh act or commission plan law. It will then be necessary for the clerks, under the law, to pro vide for elections on the third Tues- day following the date of filing, which, in accordance with a carefully pre- pared programme, will fall on Tues day, April 15-
 Members of the Jersey City Com mon Government League, which in cIudes politicians of many brands, as well as non-partisans and 1ndepend- ents of divers kinds, are having smooth sailing in their quest for sign ers. There will be 8 general round LID of petitions tonight and 1t is ex- peoted that they will contain the names of at least 15,ooo voters. Un- der the law commission government cannot be adopted unless a majority of votes cast for the proposition con stitutes 30 per cent of the total vote cast at the last preceding election for Asse1nblymen. In Jersey City, there fore, r. 900 votes at least must be cast in favor if commission government is to prevail.
 County Judge Robert Carey. who helped to draft the Walsh aot and who has made hundreds of speeches in many States in favor of the com mission plan, said last night that there is no doubt in his mind that for every man who votes for the rejection four or five will cast their ballots for adoption.
 One of the remarkable features of the preliminary campaign is the fact that the great majority of the Jersey City policemen are hustIing for com mission government. They are inhu- enoed largely by the fact that Mayor Wittpenn and his administration off, cia1s favor the commission plan and because they have been told that the new style of government will have tendency to keep politics out of the department. Jersey City policemen, like the police of other cities, have been under the thumb of professional politicians in the years gone by and are beginning to figure, they say that if the commission plan really produces a non-partisan government they will not be obliged to hand up political campaign assessments every time an election comes around.
 The onIx- -outMard- oppQsition to the commission plan that has so far de- veloped in Jersey City comes from the Socialists. They declare that commission government Is not desir- able for a municipality, as 1t destroys parties, and they are most anxious to preserve and build up the Socialist party. If city commissioners are to be selected from a list of men with out party designation, which is the case under the Walsh act, the Social lists say there can be no hope for the growth of the Socialist party and therefore they are against the com mission plan.
 It is an open secret that although many prominent politicians of all par ties are on the commission govern ment band wagon, many others who have had their fingers deep in the po- liticaI pies of bygone days are work ing quietly against the plan to do away with the ninety-two heads of departments in Jersey City and place the entire control of affairs under the management of a commission of five men.
 Commission government will prob ably have a hard row to hoe in Ho- bozen owing to the opposition of the Democratic organization, which ob- system now under it's control It is understood that all is not harmony in the organization on the question of the forthcoming special election and the machine may not work unani- mously to defeat the act on the the ory that the Democrats can elect the commissioners anyhow, so what's the difference?
 The boomers in Union Hill are afraid that the Democratic organiza- ton in that town will beat commits sion government. They are keeping up the fight, however, Tn the hope that to +frv, will I,7-sr7 ,I,a