The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-11-18
Bob Davis and the State Gazette

sBobn Davis and the State Gazette
The Estate Gazette has one of It's mas
ty. nagging articles this morning upon
bob Davis as State cad of the DEM
ocratic party, in which the poet-editor
from Red Dog eulogizes the late Senator
James Smith, and intimates that Mr.
Davis has not as much money or guile as
the dear, departed Statesman of Essex.
Therefore, the Gazette" thinks he will
not be a success as State Leader, and so
it halls his supposed advent with cordial
pleasure.
one disturbing element in the Ca
zette's'' cup of joy, we should think
would be the fact that Mr.. Davis has not
sought to become State Leader. and is not
likely to make an aggressive effort TO
capture that position. The story upon
which the Gazette bases it's editorial IS
a fabrication from whole cloth by the New
York Tribune" 1t has been denied by
Mr.. DAVIS and his friends, 1t has been re-
DEdteQ ny uiAdQl(lOi i1Sd PtioOhS NH4
sorts of grotesque variation of detail. In
short it has undergone every change and
vieissitude to which a plain, common or
binary roorback is subject.
State leaders are not made by any
specific act of themselves or anybody
else. They grow into the position by
- H. E4no-~ Af
things. In this way, Mr.. Davis may well
come to the very fore front of the Demo-
cratic party in the State. His unique vic
tory in the last election has certainly i'd
vanced him in influence and power, and
recognition of his qualities as the director
of a party organization is naore general
thar 1t ever was before. That he may be
the leading figure in the management Of
the next State campaign is more than
probable, and If success continues 20 fol-
low him, the drift into the position of
leadership is likely to be swift and easy.
But that Mr.. Davis is going to aggressive
" set up his single in the Trenton
House as the lineaI successor of Jim
Smith is so out of the customary curse
of politics as to be childish even as a
campaign rumor.
What is worrying the Gazette more
than anything else is the rising of Mr..
Davis star. There is a general reeogni-
tion in the Republican as well as the
Democratic party that If he had conducts
ed the late campaign, the result would
have been far different. There is a pre-
monition in G. o. p. circles that, when
ever he conducts a State campaign, 1t will
be all up with the Party of Moral Ideas
and Incidental Plumber. The estate Ca
zette" tries to persuade itself that the
campaign for the G%oyernorship was a
hard fought battle. It says
Mr.. Smith is one of the ~shrewdest poll
ticians and one of the most determined
fighters TO be found in the Democratic
ranks.
In the recent campaign he gave his per-
sonal attention to the details of the con
test kept his eye upon every part of the
field. withheld none of his energy, and
contributed literally from his purse To
Smith made a great fight.
It is too late to discuss Mr., Smiths mer-
Its as a politician, whether, for instance,
lodging is ~shrewdness, and whether dater-
mination is shown by running away from
troublesome situations. De mortuis, etc.
But it is in order to say that the recent
struggle was not a great fight in any
sense of the word. Except in Hudson
where Bob Davis made a great fight,
and Camden, where General Sewell made
one, and perhaps Passaic, where Mr..
Gourley's reduction OF the Republican
majority is remarkable, no fight worth
speaking of was made. In many Of the
counties, things were allowed to drift. in
one or two,-Middlesex, for instance,-it
almost looks as if the Democratic candi-
date for the G~overnorship was sold out.
In Essex, which was to nave been the
storm centre of the Democratic cyclone,
almost every conceivable mistake was
made. 1t is only necessary to point to the
names on the Assembly ticket to show
how victory was sacrificed to personal
seifishness and cowardice, the ballot being
filed up with the names of the old dis
credited hacks, upon whom alone the
Leader" dared rely.
No, no. Mr.. Poet from the wilds of the
west. When Bob" Davis manages a
State campaign, you will have the expert
eiice Of your life. and you will be very
welcome to the enjoyment Of all the ma
jority o get.
Joe" Coult's Queer Intinations.