Perth Amboy evening news., 1919-08-07
VETERANS GET
ELECTION bD.
JOBS IN STATE
Benjamin L. Atwater and WAL
ter J. ReiIley Named for
MiddIesex County
By specia, Correspondent.

TRENTON, Aug. 7:-For the first
time in the history of New Jersey,
so far as is known. veterans of Amer
| lean wars, men who barred their
| breasts to the fire of the enemies of
the country were today given COM
| plete recognition In appointments to
| public offices when Governor Runyon
announced the selections of the
| forty-two members of the twenty
one County Boards of Election
throughout the state, one Democrat
and one Republican from each
| county.
Most of the appointees, whom the
| governor commissioned today to
serve terms of two years each, are
veterans of the world war just end
J ed, there is sprinkling of Spanish
American War veterans and one man
who was in the Civil War. He is
! Charles f. Hopkins, Republican, of
! Boonton, Morris county. Mr.. Runyon
/ made this statement today:
| II have issued commissions for
| the various members Of the County
Boards of Elections pursuant to the
requirements of Chapter 125 of the
| Laws of 1919. The great majority
| of these commissions are exactly as
submitted to me by the supreme and
common pleas judges of the different
! cOunLl6S. LII TWO VI Ill CO llo CcIilSOS
i changes have been made by me along
lines which I conceived to be in ac-
cordance with the spirit of the act
and in few instances also names
fnot having been forwarded to me In
time 1 have made such appointme ents
as seemed to me to be advisable and
warranted.
i IT believe that this list is composed
in its entirety of very high type cltl-
oF xxyhn "a a at
of one Of the country's wars. 1t has
been hard in a good many instances
to unseat members whose records
have been good and who have rem
: dered valuable, service as members
Eof such boards, but my action has
: been based upon the belief that there
has been no alternative left for me.
"As long as candidate possesses
: the requisite business capacity / be-
} neve that the veteran is entitled to
the position. I sincerely trust thai
these new members will cooperate
with the present members Of the va
: rious boards to the end that .oul
: election machinery ma move eff
ciently and smoothly"
Former Speaker of the House Carl,
ton Godfrey, of Atlantic City, whe
made the principal argument here this
week before the Governor for spe-
? cial session Of the Legislature to com
pei recognition of the Veteran Act, IL
of the opinion that all present State
| House office holders and all who have
!. held office since the passage Of the
1897 act for preferment for soldiers
were illegally named to their respec'
tive places, If they were not veterans
It Is his contention that the present
office holders, therefore, should be
replaced by men who have been ir
. some of the country's wars.
Concerning the act which he thinks
the special session ought to pass, the
! former speaker says it should be sc
framed to provide that whenever the
state appointing official fails to namt
veteran, provided such men are
eligible, the pay for such Office shall
. cease to flow from the State Treasur.
until such time as the place is giver
to a representative of the country'i
fighters.
He further regards all the talk of {
long and protracted special session
| as a bugaboo to scare off the posi-
bility of the lawmakers being called
He says there have been several spe
cial sessions in the last few years ant
the business for which they were call
ed has been dispatched and the mem
hers eagerly adjourned In order to ge
home again.
All of the veterans named today t.
, 1.-THE Election Boards will receive com
Ipensation for their services. baset
upon the sizes of. their respective
counties. The average rate of pay i
understood to be $500 a year. Follow
ing are the men appointed from coun
ties of Middlesex and Monmouth:
Middlesex: Republican, Chester r
holman. New Brunswick; Democrat
Walter ]. Reilly, Perth Amboy.
Monmouth; Republican. Benjamin
L. Atwater Red Bank; Democrat
Leonard ]. Arrowsmith, Freehold.