The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-04-08
BESIEGlNG GRIGGS.
The Death Of Recent Ap
poiIltees Brings office
Seekers 10 Tren-
! tUn Again.
NEW LEADERS ASKED FOR
Democrats Talk Of Having the
State Committee APP
pointed Anew.
LEADERS ASKED FOR
Spccid, to TIC .Jerss,, Gin Ys,cs.


OF the State House looked like the good
cid Democratic times yesterday, although
the greatest number Of faces seen were
those of strangers. Governor Griggs
was down early and from nine o'clock
until one, when Dundreary Gordon, his
messenger. m him to lunch. ne
was kept busy lodging The pitfalls dug
for him by the office-seekers, friends Of
ofhce-seekers and those who wanted him
to sign some one of the small mountain
Of bill which the Legislature left upon his
hands when 1t ran away from the wrath
of a righteously Indignant public last
week.
From the Governors appearance and
manner to the public the general i'm
preston has gotten abroad that he is
cold and distant and a difficult man to
approach. If hat is his true nature he
succeeds most admirably in concealing it.
No Governor who ever sat in the inner
sanctum of the executive department was
more accessible to the general public than
Mr.. Griggs, and and no one receives his
visitors more cordially and listens more
attentively to their tales than he, but
when it comes to getting him to COM
nit himself upon n subject no one was
ever closer.
The refusal of David A. Pell. of Ber-
gen, to accept the appointment of State
prison keeper has revived anew the scram-
Bile for this office. hi position is a
lucrative one, paying as it does $500 a
year and carrying with it a home free
of rentSA 1t was just this latter feature
which compelled Mr.. Pell to give it up.
The idea Of living within the dingy tomb
like structure, only to be entered n
left by a massive iron door. which is
always kept locked, separated only by a
thick wall and barred gate from so much
misery and suffering was too much for
MIR. Pell, and so he declined.
ONCE inside of the Keepers quarters,
however, they are not so gloomy as they
appear from the outside. They are in the
Sqnnlest portion of the building and
sley open INTO an attractive flower gar
gen. which is dulled, however, by the fact
That It is the exercise yard Of the female
prisoners. The gloominess and depressing
part, however, does not dampen the ardor
q the hungry Republicans and they and
sneIr friends fes were on the ground early,
stated in the Jersey City News" yester-
day, Mercer, which thinks she has a
trst lien on every office in sight, is out
x Ivy cdIuhdaleS Tor the place. The
split among the Mercer men will doubt
less lose them the small chance they had
OF securing the position, as the Governor
VINO IS on to- MERGERS s~tupendous nerve,
to throw them out.
II was rumored during the day that
former Senator Joseph A.. Roe, of Glouces-
ter county, would be named for the place.
qut the Governor, before leaving the State
Etouse, gave assurance that he had NOT
given the matter any consideration. and
had authorized no statement ofSthe kind
The selection of the sHGood Doctor, Roe
TOT the ONCE would be an excellent one
and would be welcomed by both Demo-
and Republicans alike. Although a
good Republican the Doctor was never a
rabid partisan. and while a Senator from,
gloucester, from 1888 to 1890. he won many
friends among his Democratic colleagues.
Inc fatality among Governor Griggs' APP
has become noticeable. hut il
has had no effect upon the Republican
office seeker.
There We're enough Senators in and
apoul the corridors to make a quorum.
Senator Parry was looking after he
road bills that he had passed and ssUncle
DanI,' as they call Senator Packer. came
up to see if he could do anything for his
friend DR.. Roe. Senator Herbert was
pushing his constituent Postmaster, Bob
Carson of New Brunswick for State Pris-
on Keeper, and Assemblyman Hicks was
irving him all the assistance he could.
Abe Lower saw the Governor and was
exceedingly proud Of his standing as a
mighty man in the party when the Gov
ernor named his man, Albert C. Martin,
for Law Judge of Ocean county.
Senator Kuhl of Hunterdon walked
about apparently lost in the large throng
of Republicans, and Senator Rogers was
all over the State House with the general
air of absolute ownership. There were
Democrats in the throng and their
conversation turned altogether upon the
Craftsmanship of the State Committee. 1t
Is we'll known that matters of more than
ordinar consequence were discussed at
the-meeting held in Jersey City on Sat
urday. The fact that all present were
pledged to secrecy and have all KEPT that
pledge bears evidence that the COMMITTEES
IS Struggling with some weighty problem.
which Is its own existence. A proposition
has been made that the present commit
tee resign in a body in May when the
convention meets and allow a new body
to be appointed by the convention. 1t is
also proposed that the committee be re-
stored to the number it was before the
last convention, when it was changed
from one from each Congressional dis
n four at large. 1t is argued
that h large committee is unwieldy and
cannot do as effective work as the SMALL
er body did. It is said that the majority
of the present body favor the change,
and 1t was that which induced Mr.. e.
of chairman until May S, and Influenced
Mr.. Abram De Ronde in withholding his
resignation az a member until then.
Governor Criggs was asked yesterday
mission for the prevention of the pollu-
ton of the Passaic River, which was
provided for by the recent Legislature.
h Governor said that he was consid-
ering the matter and would make the
appointments in due time.
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