The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-12-20
THOMPSON ON HAND.
His First Visit to Trenton
Since Election Worries
Repubs.
IT'S A PLOT TO STEAL THE SENATE?
Extra Session Bugaboo Still Stalks
Through the State House Cor
ridors-Scoring Charles
COrbin.
IT'S A PLOT TO STEAL THE SENATE?
Special to the Ierseu 9th Ne,ps.

time | have had courage emo ugh to come up
here since the cyclone" said Duke Billy
Thompson Of Gloucester yesterday to a
small group who stood in the rotunda of
the State House. The Duke was never more
clipper in the palmy days of last winter,
when he ran everything to suit himself in
the Assembly. His eye sparkled and his
face was wreathed in smiles. He was full
of good spirits, and laughed heartily at his
own and others jokes. One of the group
asked what he had come to Trenton for, and
he replied chat he merely came up to see if
the Treasurer's office was still here, and his
salary as an A-ssemblyman for next year was
all right. 'For you know | won't nave
much TO do this winter but draw my salary"
he concluded.
Mr.. Thompson apparently was deeply in
terested in the Founder of Asbury Park, and
asked many questions concerning Senator
Bradley. He wanted to know if he was not
a prohibition Crank" and would not in
sist upon sending the Republican majority
in the Senate to the demnition bowwows if
they did not pass some radical temperance
measure. The prospect of Mr.. Bradley's
turning himself into a first class Republican
wrecker pleased Mr.. Thompson immensely.
He expatiated gleefully upon the effects
WHICH Sucn a course WOulu nave upon the
election next fall in Hudson and Essex
counties, and as he cast his prophetic eye
down the vista of the coming ten months
his face fairly beamed with satisfaction.
STILL AFRAID OF TIL DUKE.
The presence of Mr.. Thompson, Senators
Martin and McMickle and several other
democrats of prominence, all apparently in
the best of spirits, filed the republicans who
saw them with apprehension. The repub-
licans believed, or profess to believe, that it
would be impossible for Thomson, after the
terrible drubbing he get last month, to
be in anything but the mos0 lugubrious
gloom if he was not up to some new rascal
lty," and felt pretty well assured that he had
finally devised some plan for depriving the
law abiding citizens of The State o the fruits
OF the great victory Wnlch they won at the
polls last month. There is not a republican
in the State Of New Jersey who can persuade
himself that Thompson and the race track
men a accepted the result of that election
and are not divising ways and means render
ing it imperative. The Republicans still be-
lleve that the gamblers have not abandoned
their intention OF, In some way or other,
stealing the Senate. The extra session still
haunt them, and Notwithstanding the most
emphatic assurances Of those in a position to
speak, that the Governor has no sympathy
with such a movement, has never given the
subject one moments serious consideration
and will not call an extra session, like Ban
quos ghost, the bugaboo will not down. The
presence of Mr.. Thompson and the Demo-
cratic Legislators in excellent spirits re-
wed all these rumorS Yesterday.
The republicans say that it is not too late
yet to call an extra session, and that the
Governor may be forced to yield to the pres
sure which is being brought to bear upon
him to call the Senate together, in which case
Senator Hoffman of Atlantic will be unseat-
ed. They quote the constitution to show that
| c11nh q nnr11.c 7urnp1d hn narfan@fr 1ora1 -
everyone who has followed the Legislatures
of the past five years fully knows. The Re-
publican Senate of 1890 unseated the late
Congressman Edward f. Mcdonald, who was
elected Senator from Hudson the previous
fall, and gave the seat to his opponent, Will
lam S. Stuhr. The Senate of 1892 was Demo-
cratic, and the first thing which it did was to
unseat Mr.. Stuhr and restore to Mr.. McDon-
aid the seat to which he had been elected by
the people.
S~TUHR-M'DONALD CONTEST RECALLED.
But that case differed very materially
from the Hoffman case. Stuhr was seated
by a strict party vote on a report of fraud
which was SO manifestly unjust that one of
the Republican Senators actually shed tears
when, under the sting of the party lash he
voted for one of the most infamous pieces of
legislation which disgrace the history of
our State. Mr.. Hoffman, on the other hand.
though a republican, was seated by a Demo
| VI dUlC ocudU6 dllGl d UuOIOuSu investigation
of the charges brought against him by a vote
of Is to 8.
1t is not to be supposed that the Demo-
cratic party would allow itself to be stulti-
fled to that extent to crafty a gang of
bookmakers and race track owners.
Then there are some few Republicans,
who, though sensible enough to realize that
George Werts is not the man to lend him
self to any such scheme as this, still believe
that the Democrats have some scheme for
obtaining control of the Senate. The
scheme, in the language of one of the worse
scared, is something like this: The hold
over Senators can meet and organize to suit
themselves, provided a majority vote of
those present is all that is necessary. They
number thirteen altogether, nine Democrats
and four republicans. 1t is beyond all
question that the Democrats can control the
temporary organization, simply because
they have the votes. They can place Colonel
Adrain in the chair, and as experience has
shown, it would be a very difficult matter
indeed to drive him out of it. The majority
can nave sworn in whom it pleases. Then
supposing the credentials of two Republican
Senators-elect were rejected or were referred
to the Committee OF Elections, the demo-
Gratis would be left in control of the machin-
cry, and could do as they pleased. And all
this can be accomplished by a majority
vote"
That there is some Democratic scheme on
foot to grab control of the Senate, is generally
believed, but what it may be will not be learn
ed until the climax is reached, and when the
hour for action arrives.
o ABRAMS SCHEME.
1t can safely be said that this scheme,
whatever it may be, will be defeated, and
that too by the better element of the Demo
cratic Senators. In fact no one hears any
one Democratic Senator's name mentioned
in connection with the affair except that of
Robert Adrain, and every one who knows
Handsome Bob does not think that he
would be any alarming amount of inches
above such a scheme. But there are many
democrats who will not listen to any such
revolutionary measure, and there is not
much prospect of its ever going through,
although some of the sporting gents are
said to be making bets that the Republicans
will not control the next Senate.
TIL Republican statesmen are doing the
Brer Rabbit act and are ''laying lows Just
now, especially the newly elected members
of the Legislature. Whether they are afraid
to meet the many office seekers who flock to
Trenton on Tuesdays, or whether they have
not vet acquired the habit of coming down
here is not known. With the exception of
the Mercer men and Max Salinger of Hud-
son, who most vigorously declared that he
was down on law business and law business
| alone, none of the new Solons were about
Yesterday. Major Anderson, ex-Judge w.
T. Hoffman of Monmouth, Richard B. Read
ing, whom some people call chief of Sewell's
political staff, and several other prominent
local leaders got their heads together and
discussed various topics in Subdued tones.