The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1901-01-29
CURSES FOR
VOORHEES,
Our Too Too Good Governor
the Blacklist Of Black
Sheep With His
Own Moral
Party.
PUBLIC BE-DAMNED POLICY
Nomination of the Notorious
Gummere for Chief JUS
tice of the Supreme
Court Raises q
Cyclone.
PUBLIC BE-DAMNED POLICY
Especial to .arhe Jersey city News."]

Especial to s"The Jersey City News."1
TRENTON, Jan. 49, I90l.-It is seldom
that Governor of the State of New Jer-
sey has been so harshly criticised by
members of his own party as Foster
Voorhees, was by the politicians that
thronged the State House last night.
Severely criticised" under the circum-
stances. is an exceedingly mild and polite
manner of expressing it, as strict regard
for truth would lead one to say "soundly
cussed" would be more appropriate and
would more accurately express what real
" took place. The cause of this was the
nomination of Supreme Court Justice
William G. Gummere to succeed Chief
Justice Depue, who has resigned, to take
effect next November. AS already stated
in THE Jersey City News Mr.. Justice
Depue resigns because in November he
will have completed his thirty-fifth year
on the Bench and he thinks that is long
enough for him or any one else to be
upon the Bench. Mr.. Gummere is one of
the youngest members of the court and
was appointed by Governor Griggs soon
after his election. He is a son of the late
Barker Gummere, at one time Clerk of
the Court of Chancery and one of the
leaders of the New Jersey Bar. Previous
to his appointment young Mr.. Gummere
was one of the counsel of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Company and his close
connection with many corporations raised
a strong protest against his appointment.
Then when ne had been on the Bench
only a short time he rendered the now
famous decision in the Graham case in
which he held that the life of a child
is worth not over dollar.
Mr.. Gummese married daughter of
the late Chief Justice Mercer Beasley
When that venerable and illustrious jurist
died about two years ago, Mr.. Gummere
was a candidate for the Office, but was
turned down by Foster Voorhees,, who
then had the appointment in his gift as
Acting Governor The story which was
told then was that Barker Gummere,
brother of the Judge, one of the bosses of
Mercer county, Comptroller Hancock and
several of their friends tried to side-track
Voorhees, who was then working tooth
and nail to secure the Republican noni-
nation for Governor. These gentlemen
made a hasty midnight trip to Washing
ton, where they called on General Sewell
and tried to persuade him that the only
way to save the Republican party from
Gire disaster was to nominate some one
for Governor other than Foster M. Voor-
hees. Mr.. Voorhees, was acquainted with
these facts, and sgot hunk by turning
down Mr.. Gummere and nominating his
personal friend and old legal instructor,
William j. Magic, since made Chancellor
by the same Governor.
Whatever resentment the Governor
may have felt toward the Gummere
family, it is evident that he has for
gotten, or else pressure which, for
reasons well known to himself, he is un-
able to withstand has been brought to
bear against him. Those who were the
loudest in their condemnation of his APP
pointment declared that it was the latter,
and say that that pressure was part of a
plot to down Mahlon H. Pitney, the
.schesty'' young man from Morris county,
who now presides over the Senate as a
candidate for Governor next fall. Color
was given to this by a persistent rumor
that Mr.. Pitney is to be nominated before
the session is over to fill the vacancy on
the bench caused by the resignation. of
MIR. Justice Depue.
What the Republicans denounced so
vigorously and picturesquely is the poll
tics of the appointment. Tlrey declare
that it is simply suicidal and will cost
the party thousands of votes when they
will need them most
Wait until you fellows get out before
the people with the d-worth-a-dollar
ISSUE" said one prominent Republican to
Democrat last evening. That echoed
the sentiment Of many of the working
Republicans. They declare that. on the
eve of an election, when the party will
need every resource it can command to
win. to honor so signally man who has
been denounced and rebuked by the peo-
pie from one end of the State to the
other because of an action in favor of a
big corporation and against the common
people is a most fatal error. They look
upon it as altogether too fragrant a speci-
men Of the Public be d-n' policy, and
they freely predict that it will be too
heavy a handicap for the party to over
come at the next election.
None are more severe in their condem-
nation of the Governor than those who
have been supporting Mr.. Pitney for the
Republican nomination for Governor next
fail. There is a large number of them,
and many have so committed themselves
against Franklin Murphy, in whose in
terest they claim the deal has been made,
that they see themselves out in the cold
entirely Many of them are inclined to
denounce Mr.. Pitney, who, they say, has
sold them out for a mess Of pottage, and
when Republican sees his prospects of
getting frozen out of the public crib ex-
ceedingly good. his feelings can be better
imagined than described. The adherents
of Mr.. Pitney predict nothing but disas-
ter to the party if Mr.. Murphy is nomi-
mated instead of the young martinez
from Morris They say Mr.. Murphy is
not popular with the masses, and, as a
vote -getter down among the people, Mr.
Pitney Is head and shoulders above him.
OF course all this is viewed with COM
placent eqnanimity by the Democrats
and such of The leaders who were ait the
state House list nii:l5t freely declared