Evening star., 1940-10-08
ical machine and a political boss.
Jersey City, the center of Hudson
County, has the highest tax rate of
any city above 100000 rate of
$53.13 per $1,000 on swollen as
coccr,ontc


County, has the highest tax rate of
any city above 100000 rate of
s53.13 per $1,000 on swollen as
SeSsments.
Honest Men and Women
Beaten and Forced to Leave.
And I was shocked to see the
vacant buildings. the houses
boarded up, the empty lots. They
are evidence of what happens
when the people lose the power to
govern.
And what else? In Jersey City
honest men and women have
been beaten and dragged to the
ferries and told to leave the city.
This has happened to labor
leaders Norman Thomas, the
present Socialist candidate for
President, was denied the right to
make speech.
I am not in agreement with
Mr.. Thomas. But I would defend
his right to speak as would
defend my own.
I will do the same for every
man
And l will 60 down the line for
the right of every man to cast his
own vote-for me, or against me.
But where is that right, today,
in Hudson County? You know
as we'll as that the votes of hon.
est citizens do not count in that
part of America. The ballot boxes
in that county are stuffed with
illegal votes obtained from frau
dulent registration lists-votes
made out of thin air. The politi-
cal machine uses them to keep
itself in power You remember
the election of 1887 here in New
Jersey. Following that election a
legislative investigating commit
tee sought access to the poll
books in Hudson County. They
were refused. The books were
locked in steel vaults. They were
guarded. For three years nobody
could get at them.
Then few weeks ago the
legislature of New Jersey passed
law ordering those books
turned over to the superintend-
ent of elections. This law was
part of the program of Re-
publican legislature to provide
for a honest election.
What was the answer given by
this political machine to the
peoples legislature?
Books Destroyed to Cover Up
Crime Against Jersey People.
Why, the books had been
burned.
Why had they been burned?
To protect what? To save whom
Let us speak the words out loud.
Those books were destroyed to
cover up a crime against the
people of New Jersey.
They were destroyed to pro-
tect corruption in the very heart
of our democracy.
They were destroyed to protect
a political machine and a poll
tical boss who has taken away
from the honest people of Hud-
son County the right-the demo-
cratic right-of self government
And who is this man whose
political machine corrupts democ-
racy in Jersey City?
Who is this man who says who
shall speak and who shall not
speak In this particular part of
America?
Who is this who has said of
Jersey City, Il am the law?
Why. Ill tell you who it is. It's
the vice chairman of the Demo-
cratic National Committee!
This is the vice chairman-the
vice chairman-Of the party of
the New Deal. Yes, his name is
Frank Hague.
1 could wish at this moment
that I were not speaking to you
as a candidate in this election
year. If I were not a candidate
l could describe without self
interest the tragedy that has be-
fallen one of our great political
parties.
l know that there are many
here-and 1 was one of them
who looked forward with great
hope to the liberal movement
that swept over this Nation in
1882. 1t is a tragedy that the
leader of this movement-the
present third-term candidate
should now have among his clos
est lieutenants a man whose ma
chine had to burn the voting