The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-02-06

1t would be unkind to withhold
from Mr.. Robert Davis the praise
which is due him for the matchless
success he has achieved during the
last few weeks at Trenton in the ca
pacity of a 'Hoodoo." We have sell
dom seen anything so complete and
thorough.
The record of some men is check
cred, as it were. They have their sue
cesses and their failures. 1t takes
the mastery powers of leader-in
retreat-to insure absolute, unfailing,
inevitable catastrophe for everything
that he becomes identified with. This
proud distinction, Mr.. Davis has now
added to his many titles to fame.
There was that City Attorney Bill.
It was as the apple of Mr.. Davis eye
and the core of Mr.. Davis heart. He
evolved it from the depths of his souls
desire, and he got all the lawyers he
knew to tinker it and patch it, until
he thought it was the sweetest thing
in Legislation. Senator Daily intro
duced it. Under cover of party
~exigency, it made a certain progress.
Then Mr.. Davis appeared. He let it
be known that he was interested in it,,
He wanted it passed. Oh, how he
wanted it, with a great big greedy
want. The Hoodoo began to work.
1t queered the whole operation.
The press and the more careful mem
bers of the Legislature took it up. and
showed it up. Governor Werts also
took it up. Mr.. Davis grew frantic.
He hustled around at a great rate.
The more he hustled, the grimmer
grew the ghastliness of the Hoodoo.
Mr.. Davis marshalled his clans. He
howled and he danced with anger. 1t
was no use. The Hoodoo was a dead
~, murderous Hoodoo, and the bill
underwent a horrible and blood curd-
ling decease. r. I. P.
Then there was the "Three Jims'
bill. This also was in its youth a
tender tendril of hope. There is no.
telling what its future might have
been. Mr.. Davis gave it out that he
wanted it passed, and passed quick,
too. Then the Hoodoo took posses
sion of it and swept it away to the
caverns OF despair.
The repeater of the Tax Appeals
C,x,.f.c.o- Aa& 1ya1 a-1+Ior 1cea IN
point. 1t was drawn by Mr.. Davis
direction, and surreptitiously started
upon its way towards passage through
the Legislature. But in an unguarded
moment, Mr.. Davis revealed his inter
est in its enactment. Relentless as
death, the Hoodoo bounced upon it,
draped it in mourning, and entombed
it in the limbo of defunct possibilities.
Mr.. Davis latest brilliant scheme
of Aldermanic confirmation of the
Mayors nominees was condemned by
his own council of war as soon as he
preached it. He insisted, however,
upon springing it upon the public, to
see how they and the Governor would
take it. He found out in short order.
The Hoodoo was lurking for it, out
side the door of the oom where the
conspiracy was Matched. The moment
the idea emerged the savage spectre
seized upon it, and yanked it off to
the newspaper Offices where it ran it
through innumerable printing presses
all over this and other States until it
was reduced to a mangled shapeless
pulp, a thing that its W parent is
forced to turn from with nausea-for
Mr. Davis is indeed very sick over it.
The Hoodoo got there.
Well, all this is as it should be. We
have no objection to Mr.. Davis's hoo
dooing his own bills and his own
projects; neither have the public.
The more of them he kills off by the
malaria of his advocacy, the better it
is for the State and for Jersey City.
But there are some bills that we do
hope to see passed this session, and
we hope he will keep his hands off
them-or perhaps he would be good
enough to help them along by maxi
ing a strenuous opposition to them.
There is the City Hall site bill, for in
stance, We should hate to see it
beaten, as it is bound to be if Mr..
Davis and his Hoodoo start to give it
their support" There is, also, the
bill for the completion Of the County
Boulevard. This likewise is a highly
m~eritorious bill, and we implore OF
Mr.. Davis not to advocate it; we beg
OF him to give it a living chance to be-
come law.
Perhaps if anything is to be done
by the Legislature to help the party
out of the hole it has siumped into in
this city under Mr.. Davis Hoodoo
guidance, it might be well not to con-
suit him-at least, openly. He has
proven to be a leader only on the
toboggan slide of ruin. His open adj
vocacy of anything is a sure omen of
defeat. The other heads of the
party ought to keep him at home, out
- - L.