The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-08-12
FRIDAY, AUGUST IL, 1895
This paper is Democratic in principles
and is s~,.dependent in its 0ieys on all '0ca1
questions.
4 Review Of the Political Situation

and is Independent in ats vaet0s y" ~ ."
questions
A Review of the Political Situation
The Newark Evening News" Of yester-
aay expended two columns of its valuapie
space upon a review Of the political situa-
ton in the State. We believe that in ef-
feet it sized up both parties correctly, ana
We can only think it a pity that for the
sake of sensation it thought fit to stick
ON a number of Ornamental inventions
in the way of deals and plots and con-
fereneesa none Of which have any exist
ence except in the writer's mind. 1t IS a
pity that no newspaper article, however
well-informed. is allowed to go before the
public nowadays on its intrinsic merits.
Even conservative editors seem to thin
ii necessary to trick out their facts IN
yellow coloring to make them acceptable
to readers.
The substance Of our namesake's story
As that an agreement exists between Sena-
tor James Smith. E.. f. C. Young of this
city. Robert Davis and other Democratic
leaders and workers. among whom VIII
liam McAdoo. William B. Gourley and
William ]. Thompson seem to be included.
The primary purpose is to r~e-elect Smith
to the Senate next January; the second
airy one. to make Mr.. Young successor to
-
General Sewell when his term runs out
in 1901. The story represents that all
other political struggles are to be sub
ordinated to these ends. The party
nomination for Governor. this year, for
instance. is to be given to Essex, not so
much to promote the probability of elect
ing the candidate as to render it easy to
carry that county with the Assembly
ticket and thu gain control Of the Legis-
lature on Joint ballot. The results, the
News explains, are to be brought about
by the exercise of bossism in the various
counties Of the State, the dominant figure
In each being brought into the scheme by
being allowed to benefit by it in some
way.
Now the truth in this story is in Its
general Indication of party tendencies. 1t
is true that the thinking men of the party
are anxious to bring it into rmo
again by gradually weaving it away from
It's recent International doctrines. 1t is true
that they desire to see its supremacy re-
established in the State, and it is true
that the trend of events is towards the
nomination of an Essex candidate for
Governor, the choice of Smith to succeed
himself if the Legislature be Democratic,
and probably towards the election of Mr..
Young to General sewell's seat, if the
Democracy should hold the Legislature in
1901.
But the lurid stories of deals and in
trigues. of compulsion and of seduction,
with which the ssNews'' fills out its yarn,
are not only specifically denied by every
one concerned, but are also improbable,
e not impossible in themselves. The
NOMINATION. LOT 0ONCIlOl . Aih-iy y ~
to Essex because the plain common sense
of every Democrat in the State tells him
that Essex is the key to the future: the
prospective success of Senator Smith
arises naturally out of his hold upon
Essex, without whose Assemblymensit is
hardly possible for the party to elect any
body-this fact we may not like, but it
would be fatuous to dispute 1.-THE talk
about the Senatorship in 1901 is by no
means a matter Of pledge or bargain, the
matter is far too distant to be even
thought of that way; it simply represents
the desire of a large element in the party
who hope to see a conservative Democrat
elected, and whose strong personal friend
ship for Mr.. Young causes them to turn
their eyes to him as the ideal man.
One remarkable feature of the News
story is that it does not mention Allan
IL. McDermott. This is a weakness due
to the ingrained prejudice of the News
which hates, with a superlative hatred,
all of Leon Abbett's oid-time adherents.
The notion that Mr.. McDermott could be
ignored in any future planning for the
Democratic party ds absurd. In any com
bination thai is made, ne must be taken
account of either as friend or foe. The
other State leaders are perfectly well
aware of this, and, we believe, the boldest
OF them would hesitate to estrange him.
That he will be given all the consideration
due to his ability and his services to the
party may be taken for granted.