The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-08-07
new JERSEY COURT
ANNULS ELECTIONS
supreme Court Kills No saloon Vie
torieS--UcCideS That soldiers
should Bc Counted.
VOTE FOR SALOON PROGRAM
Must Have Majority of Dry Votes
Over Local Home Vote. Plus the
soldiers All Counted Wells n Pc
culiar Ruling.

on July Is. Chief Justice Gummere.
Of the supreme court, OF the state of
New Jersey. sitting as magistrate TO
hear the applications OF the represen-
tatives Of the liquor interests in Cald-
we'll MOntClair. East orange and
South Orange township. asking that
the elections in these places be set
aside on the ground that the soldiers
whose homes are in these various mu-
inequalities and who at the present
time are absent in active service were
not given an opportunity to vote upon
the question. as provided by the
amendment Ia the election law passed
by the recent legislature, rendered an
interesting decision. AS q result of
that decision, South Orange township
election was held valid because II all
the soldiers in the township had
voted there were not enough OF them
to have changed the result of the
election. The Caldwell election was
set aside on the ground that no at
tcmpt was made to secure the soldier
vote Montclair and East Orange
elections were set aside on the ground
that in the judges opinion they had
not made proper effoffrt to secure the
soldier votes.
The judge, In giving his opinion.
makes it plain that if the question
voted upon had been the selection of
officers OF the law or members of the
legislature the election would not
have been held Illegal or set aside on
the ground that the soldiers had not
voted. But the question being so
Ciologicaf' question. the law must be
and is interpreted differently.
1t must be interesting for the peo-
pie to learn that the statutes Of a
nndPr certain cirrnrO are
to be literally obeyed while under
other circumstances it is not neces
sar1y so. A clear distinction is drawn
between voting upon government of
ficers and other questions.
The drys insist that every effort
was made to enroll the soldier vote
although the responsibility for secur-
ing this vote is placed upon public Of
ficials and not upon private citizens
The New Jersey Courier of recent
date declares that this remarkable
court decision places an imperative
duty upon Governor Edge inasmuch
as the Republican party in its plat
form pledged itself TO enact a local
option law so that each community
could decide for itself whether or not
there should be licensed places there
in. Now. after elections have been
held in something like eighty places,
the courts rule that another law, dis
tinct from the local option law. multi
fies a number of these elections.
I'm effect the decisions are that to
make municipality dry, the dry vote
must be not only a majority but 1t
must be a majority over the wet vote
plus the number of soldiers in train
ing at camps and not voting. The
crux of the matter is that high state
official, the secretary of state, has
not carried out the duty of the state
upon him by law. Therefore.
the people of these communities are
TO be deprived of a promised right to
decide for themselves on the liquor
question and Danish drinking from
their places by majority vote"
A demand is then made by the
Courier that Governor Edge call the
Legislature in special session. If snec-
essary, in order to keep the pledge
made the people. namely an oppor
tunity to govern themselves on the sa-
Loon question.
Application has been made for
writ of certiorari to review this de-
cision before the supreme court, and
it is understood that the chief justice
has granted this application. The
people will await with interest the de-
cision of the higher court