The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-10-11
Hosr Voorhees, Got Square.

While the Republican he"spaPeis
this State ard vicinity are having a huge
time he-heing and ho-hoing over what
they call the turning down OF senator
paly in the making up of the new Demo
cratic state Committee. and while they
are INDUCING in merry quips at the sena-
TORS expense, they lose sight entirely OF
the great turning down in their
party. When Candidate voorhees, came
ia announce the MISUNDERSTANDING or the
Republican State Committee, as was ms
right, many good Republicans felt a thin
stream of ice water pass down thelr
spinal columns because he substituted
Charles n. Fowler, of Union, for the
debonnaire Barker Gummere, of Mercer.
Much INQUIRY was made as to why Mr..
Gurnmere had been so recklessly turned
down.. 1t could not be because he was
not eminently fitted for the position, Tor
he ms shown during the six years that
he has been on the committee that ne Is
one of the best politicians in the state,
viewed from the Republican standpoint.
He was first appointed in 1892, by Jonn
Kean. when that eminent statesman was
the candidate for Governor. So thorough
II did Mr.. Gummere demonstrate that he
possessed an those peculiar attributes
which make UP the modern Republican
politician that Griggs re~appointed him
three years later. When the next
three years came around, and Mr. Voor-
hees turned down. Mr.. Gummere, with
q decisiveness that stunned the gentle
man from Mercer, many people began to
ask questions.
But the Republican editors paid no att
tention to these questions, the matter
was one which they did not care to dis
cuss, and when the Dalya incident &C.
Cured they hailed it with joy and made
the best use possible of it, to draw at
tention from the Mercer county mans
case.
Perhaps a little history, not very
ancient, would shed some light on the
subject. Last winter, when the then
Governor Griggs had expressed his inten-
ton to accept the position of Attorney
General in President McKinley's Cabinet,
and it was certain that the President of
the Senate would be Governor for a year,
opposition for the first time cropped out
against Foster M. Voorhees,, who had
been slated for the position of President
Of the Senate. Chief among Mr.. voor-
hees' opponents were Barker Gummere
and William S. Hancock, State Comptrol-
Ter. They developed a wonderful attach
ment for Senator Skirm and began to
boom that gentleman actively.
But still Mr.. Voorhees, strength grew,
and as a last resort Messrs. Gummere
and Hancock hurried off to Washington.
There they had conferences with Messrs-
Hobart. sewell ard Griggs, the great Re-
publican triumvirate of New Jersey.
- LIZ AoAo ASdhCA . tAdt IL WOa1t
never do to allow Foster Voorhees, to
become President of the Senate and Act
ing Governor. The man who was allowed
to fill that dual office would be the next
candidate for Governor, and the party
could never afford to allow Voorhees, to
be the man. The well meaning gem
tiapren from Mercer were told to go home.
Is they were wasting their time. Foster
-eys vas 70 be Acting Governor
and was also slated to receive the Re-
publican nomination for Governor.
It is barely possible that when Mr..
Voorhees, came to name the members-at-
large, this disinterested activity on the
part Of Mr. Gummere to his
defeat may have been in his mind, and
# IS to this that the gentleman from
Mercer owes his emphatic turning down.