The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-09-13
IMPORTANT IF TRUE.
A New York Papers Remark
able Story Of a Big Split
Among Republicans.


(From the New York Morning Journal. y
Ever since the gathering of politicians
at the State Fair at Waverly last Thurs
day a surprising piece of news has been
quietly going the rounds among the Re-
publican leaders and causing a sensation.
1t is to the effect that a split is imminent
in the party and that the greatest fight
the party has ever had had already begun
over the United States Senatorship.
John Kean, the Elizabeth millionaire,
who is United States Senator Sewell's
recognized candidate for the seat now
held by Senior Smith, is being opposed,
the politicians say, by Vice-President
Hobart and Governor Griggs. That
means a split between the TIobart-Griggs
and Sewel1 forces and a fight that will
stir the State from end to end.
Mr.. Kean has had apparently a very
easy time of it since Secretary of State
Wurts CAV out his official statement that
Governor Griggs would not be a candi-
date for the Senatorship. AS a matter
of fact, however, his troubles date from
that time, because Messrs. Hobart and
Griggs began to organize the campaign
against him at once.
Vice-President Hobart is recognized as
the leader in the opposition to Kean. and
Mr.. Hobart's friends say it was merely
to leave MI. Hobart perfectly free to act
IN the selection Of a candidate that Gov
ernor GriggS withdrew. 1t may be that,
after all, Mr.. Hobart may decide that the
Governor is the best man to run against
Kean, but he is undecided as yet, and he
may take up Franklin Murphy. John +.
Dryden, William Barbour or some other
man competent to make the kind of
struggle required.
dates back to the last Republican
National Convention. Mr.. Kean was a
delegate to that convention from New
Jersey. The Jerseymen were all wild to
have Hobart on the Presidential ticket,
and they entered enthusiastically into the
combination with the Mckinley forces.
Mr.. Kean was the only Jerseyman to re-
fuse to go into the combination. He was
q follower OF Thomas b. Reed from the
start, and being in consequence against
Mckinley, he was also against the Nc
Kinley-Hobart combination. 1t is to settle
that little score that the Vice President
will grid on his arrnor and endeavor to
see to it that Mr.. Kean does not occupy
a seat in the Senate.
Then Governor Griggs is not under any
obligation to help Mr.. Kean. His friends
have been bitter against the Sage of
Ursino, not only because he would not
vote to give Hobart, who is Griggs' most
intimate friend, the nomination for Vice
President, but because the Sage gave not
even a small fraction of his millions to
the campaign fun when Griggs ran rol
Governor, and was SO slightly interested
in the fight that he went off to Hot
Springs and stayed there until the battle
was over.
With the Hobart following, it is now
merely a question of expectancy as to the
ormation of the line of battle against the
Sewell-Kean forces. 1t may be that Sena-
tor Sewell will quietly withdraw from ac-
tivity in the campaign and permit Hobart
to wreak vengeance on Kean and defeat
sx- ..,A4 90. ~ Ma ~ H. IIr,1 49, - - win l
Convention two years ago. in which Ho-
bart so cleverly managed as to pull
Griggs out a winner But in an important
case like this, it is hardly likely that
Sewell will take his hands off. He has
already pledged Kean his support. He
has visited the Ursino Sage at his lodge,
near Elizabeth, and p%artaken of his hos
~pitality. Besides, he is a born fighter. and
the issue of the contest is certain to be
the leadership of the party. He is not
ready to retire yet, and so it seems certain
that he must fight Hobart and Griggs.
Hobart is the only man in the Repub-
lican party. in a position to successfully
contest an issue with Sewell. He has the
prestige of the Vice-Presidency behind
him to start with, and that alone makes
him much stronger N his State than he
was when he effected the nomination of
Griggs. His most telling point against
S Ser Of fp@g Board Of Rrbitrato as Of the
great railroads of tie country. Sewell
annot dare to go toe far with him, be-
cause he mas q tremendous power IN MS
hands against the very interests which
Sewell has always represented and which.
have made Sewell the Republican boss of
New Jersey.
TO accomplish the defeat Of Kean, the
Vice President will have to be careful in
the selection of a candidate for Governor.
Under the New Jersey Constitution no
man can have two successive terms as
Governor. Comptroller Hancock is the
man the Kean forces ppear to have Sc
lected as the Gubernatorial end of their
combination. Opposed to him the Hobart
GrigE forces will select State Senator
Foster NJ. Voorhees,, Mahlon Pitney. Judge
J. Franklin Fort, or some other available
anti kean man and the possibility at
present seems to favor Voorhees, because
Of the young Union county statesman's
fine record and popularity with the rank
and file of the party.
Thus it will be seen Hobart. Griggs
and Voorhees, are in a fair way to ever
up a lot of old scores. Hobart Will be
easy, because he has paid Kean the debt
incurred at the National Convention.
Griggs will be happy because he has given
John wha his friends claim John tried
to give him., and Voorhees, will be par
ticularly happy because he can even up
many little things between himself and
Kean, who is his not over-beloved neigh
Dor in Elizabeth. and also pay bach
SeweI for the numerous snubs and set
backs the Camden boss has given him in
conventions and Legislatures.
In the meantime kean is fully alive to
the gathering storm, and in his stolid,
quiet way, he is arranging to meet it.