Perth Amboy evening news. [volume] (Perth Amboy, N.J.) 1903-1959, 1906-08-29
CONSERVATION In
Camp of Boss
Strong.
300 PRESENT.
More Voters Hear and Cheer Col.
FOrdyCe Than There Are Re-
publican Voters in the Town
Citizens Urge Him to
Keep 1t Up.

SOUTH RIVER, Aug. 29.-Having
deprived the Fordyce campaigners of
every other available place and thus
postponed, their previously announc-
ed meetings, the Strong lieutenants
in South River found themselves at
the end of their string this week, and,
not owning the streets, could not pre-
vent Col. Fordyce from holding a
meeting there last night.
And such a meeting! South River
cast 631 votes AT the last county cleo
tion. The highest republican poll
was 222. Col. Fordyce had about
300 of them at his meeting last eve
ming. 1t was a case of '17" with a
vengeance, and it opened the eyes of
the Strong clique at South River so
wide their eyelids fairly hung out
on their cheeks.
1t is conceded that. Col. Fordyce
has driven a siX-horse team right
through Boss Strong's grip on South
River, for the crowd showed itself
wild to down boss rule, by cheers to
almost every sentence the colonel ut
tered in his speech. The Strong lieu
tenants were thunder struck, and all
South River last night buzzed over
the showing made by the new idea"
Nobody, not even Col. Fordyce, was
prepared for it.
The meeting was held on Main
street, at the turn of the trolley line.
There the crowd gathered to hear
Col. Fordyce, who was the only
speaker able to be present. He was
by Clarence e. Reed,
secretary of the Young Mems For
dyce Club, who introduced him to the
assemblage. Col. Fordyce mounted
a convenient store box and plunged
into his speech with that vigor and
enthusiasm a large and responsive
audience and just cause can give to
a speaker He covered the whole
range of the MiddleseX fight, pointing
out to the voters how by leaving po-
litical power to be exercised by bosses
alone, they were developing mere
lobbyists and grafters out of suppos-
ed leaders. The crowd cheered the
pillorying he gave this new form of
The colonel showed how
these fake leaders can go to Tren-
ton and sell their power over legisla-
tors to the corporations, who need it
in manipulating legislation, by which
they can shirk their duties, secure il
legal privileges or pluck the people.
Bossism is practiced in Middlesex,
he showed, was nothing more or less
than q private business dealing in
plundered public interests to the en-
boozle his party into believing him
leader and necessary adjunct, sort
of "get-rich-quick" brokerage in po-
litical pull in which the citizens who
the power not only get
out of it, but are victimized
by sham legislation, like the tax acts
of the last session, which, pretending
at reform and equalization, were so
devised as to increase the home and
industrial ratables, without increas-
ing those of the railroads, and then
by the ignus fatuus of lower tax
1
to be paid by the railroads.
Col. Fordyce also showed how boss
ism absolutely closed the door of op-
portunity to the young republicans of
the county, because they could enter
tain no aspiration to honest and hon
orable public service without the con-
sent of the boss, and that implied
promise to do his bidding when com
Col. Fordyce told how he
secured preference because
he was supposed to be amenable to
the boss orders, and when "he would
not do as / told him." was refused
further preferment.
This naturally led up to the fact
that Boss Strong was interested in
getting crooked legislation through
the assembly such as the Morris ca
nal steal, and the twenty per cent.
steel bill, for refusing to vote for
which Col. Fordyce was turned down.
The inference was that an honest cit
izen, especially state Office holder,
would have been against these at
tempts to plunder the people and the
state, and the crowd cheered Col
Fordyce for painting the situation in
its true cOors.
After the meeting Col. Fordyce
met many of those in his audience,
some Of the representative republic