The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-02-12

1t is a mistake to suppose that the
transfer of the name of regularity"
from the Central to the Garretson
Committee will leave the Central COM
mittee either friendless or powerless.
The old ofice-holding element, the
element represented by numerous
Democratic clubs and associations
will largely remain faithful to the old
body. We believe a considerable
amount of corporate influence will be
thrown in the scale on its side, and in
the control of the County Clerks
office, of which Mr.. Mclaughlin is the
| incumbent, it has an advantage I'M
der the ballot law at least equal to
| that which the Garrerson Committee
would gain from naming the election
| officers. \
In frankly stating the case thus,
THE NEWS has no desire to aid in the
rehabilitation of the Central Commit
tee. Our opinion of that body is on
record and we have not changed it.
We hold it ~powerless for good. We
consider it impossible for it to lead
the Democratic party TO victory IN
this county, ever again. We have
been deeply grieved and disappointed
at its determined defeat of every pro-
position of any value leading to the
| substitution of a better organization.
| If it were possible to wipe it out by a
word, we would gladly hail the utter
ance of that word by whosoever had
it in his keeping. But we think it
our duty now to warn all who hope
for the party good that the Central
| Committee is too strong to be over
thrown that way. 1t is a power for
evil if not for good.
The way to solidify the party into
one unified body, embracing all that
is worth saving in the scattered debris
of the recent c~atastrophes. and pos
| sessing such leadership and such
| ideals as will rally Democratic
voters to victory once more, has
not yet been publicly indicated.
Of course we do not know what plan
may be maturing in the brain OF Mr..
McDermott, Mr.. Garretson. MI. Rec
ord. Mr.. Young, Governor Werts or
other Democratic thinkers. ALI we
can say is that a mere recognition by
Mr.. McDermott of the Garretson
Committee will not suffice. We say
this with every feeling of friendship
and respect towards the gentlemen
making up that body, but we say it
with the conviction of its truth. The
Central Committee "a always make
a technical argument in behalf of it's
regularity, which will satisfy very
large numbers of voters, and the
story of John Kelly's revolt against
T,ucius Robinson and the subsequent
triumphs of Tammany Hall afford us
the strongest grounds for doubling
whether a political machine such as
the Central Committee can be over
thrown by any hostile combination
that can be made against 1t, even
though such combination include
the Governor of the State and the
Chairman of the State Committee.
THE NEWS has often advised the
calling of a State Convention to con-
slider the plight of the party in this
county and to launch a new scheme
of reorganization which would have
an unmistakable stamp of regularity,
in which all might enlist, in which
foes might join without undergoing
the humiliation Of n submitting to
the other. We believe the occasion is
important enough to justify the un-
usual proceeding. We see no other
way to secure party success in Hud-
son, and without success in Hudson
there can be no success in the State.
A State Convention might be turn
ed to further good purpose i'll formu-
iating a State platform for the next
campaign, a platform repudiating the
errors and offences on account of
which we have lost the State, and re-
defining the issues on which we can
win.
Let it nominate a candidate for
| United States Senator to succeed
John r. Mcpherson. and let him lead
the State campaign.
There is a certainty of our winning
L. .-l z,;-:-c, o1+s1o or, r1x