The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-02-14
IT Is ONE SIDED.
Congressman McEwan to
Fight a Republican
County Committee
Change.
WOULD MAKE WOOLLEY CAR
Proposed New Method of Naming
Trustees-ls Sam Dickin-
SOD Alarmed ?

Tonight's meeting of the Republican
County Committee, which takes place at
Bergen Hall, Grand street and Ivy place,
Jersey City, promises to be as interesting
and perhaps as exciting as the last at
which Congressman McEwan gave the
Dickinson faction such a fright when the
votes cast for Chairman were being
counted
At that meeting Chairman Frank Hig-
gins of the committee previously appoint
ed to revise the constitution, submitted
a report which was not read, but printed
copies of which were afterwards distrib-
uted. The new work embraces the
amendments which have been added from
time to time. and is otherwise similar to
the old constitution, except in one partic-
ular,, and adherents of the Congressman
are inclined to regard this as a very inn
portant particular.
On the printed proof slips of the pro-
posed constitution, adjoining Section 2 of
Article XIV, the word appointed" is in
| terlined in red nix. This section applies
to the board of trustees, who according to
a subsequent section, shall have the
charge and management of all the real
and personal property of the County Com
mittee, with full power of expenditures
incident to such management" etc.
This, it is said, the McEwanites will to-
night vigorously oppose.
The Board of Trustees is at present COM
posed of twelve members, as follows
S. D. Dickinson, F. w. Angel, M. Schultz,
jr., P. r. Wanser, hos. McEwan. jr.,
E. w. Woolley, E. w. Demarest, John r.
Virgins, John ]. Erwin, Joseph McComb,
Thomas M. Coughlin and Charles Eich-
horn. The only anti-machine men among
these are McEwan, McComb and possibly
Demarest. The terms of the first three
Dickinson, Angel and Schultz, all of
whom are opposed to McEwan, will ex-
pire next month.
Section 8 of Article Is of the present
constitution provides that
AT the first meeting in March of
each year there shall be elected by
ballot three duly qualified members of
the County Committee as members OF
the Board of Trustees, to serve four
years each.
The adoption, at tomorrow nights
meeting, of the new constitution will
pave the way for the reappointment by
| Chairman Woolley of the three named
without having them risk the perils of an
election by the committee which is not
now considered as safe, as it was before
| McEwan exhibited his remarkable
strength in his run for chairman against
Woolley at the last meeting.
McEwan was succeeded at the last meet
ing as First Vice-President, and the adop-
ton of this resolution would result in time
in the total wiping out of his influence in
! the controlling portions of the organiza-
ton, for a year from this March, the terms
of Wanser, McEwan and Woolley as trus-
tees will expire, and the latter can be re-
! lied upon not to give his former antag-
onist an opportunity to again assert him
self.
The followers of the Congressman will
| bitterly right. the adoption of this section.
ut certainly looks as though they
were afraid of u.s." said a McEwanite to
a News reporter last night, "else why
would they try to work in this little
Joker. They won a month ago why are
they now afraid to again submit to the
will of the county body instead of striv-
ing to sneak their representatives into
the Board of Trustees by the back door
of appointment"
The opponents of the new constitution
say it is intended as the final nail in the
/ collins of those who had the temerity to
bolt the machine and vote for McEwan
for chairman. 1t c~entralizes all power in
Chairman woolley and the Executive
! Committee which he appoints. They
! claim that by the adoption of this con-
| stitution the committee as a body will
be absolutely shorn of all power in the
| conduct of the affairs of the party. The
Executive Committee will have entire and
| absolute control of conventions, primaries
| and the custody of the enrolment books.
Absolute power of expenditure of all
moneys is vested in the same committee,
while the trustees are also empowered to
use as they see fit all moneys in the hands
of the treasurer.
Both of these bodies, if the new con-
| stitution is adopted, will be the creatures
of the machine, the McEwanites argue,
and therefore they have determined to
fight it to the bitter end. Truly this even
ing's session promises to be an interesting
one.