Gloucester County Democrat., 1907-10-10

Exposures of Horrible Abuses In
State Institutions Go Unrebuked.
What Some Newspapers Say.
Trenton, Oct. 2.-Political history is
Jersey this year than ever before. At
no time in the history OF the state has
a campaign been opened under such
circumstances and conditions as the
campaign which practically opened
this week and which will be in full
swing before the end of next week.
With the Republican party in the re-
markable attitude of condoning and
approving of the horrible abuses shown
to exist in various state departments.
the silence of its candidate for gov
ernor as to what he would do with the
officials who have been convicted be-
fore the Hahn committee of murder
and other crimes, the inactivity of the
governor and other officials who could
act if they We're not bound by some un-
seen and apparently mysterious infiu-
ence, have all tended TO turn the tide
lof popular Indignation and distrust
against the Republican party, and men
in a position to judge say that the
result of the campaign is going to be
one of the greatest political upheayals
that the state has ever seen.
Judging from the political zephyrs
that come to Trenton, the prediction of
a great Democratic tidal wave over
the state is not exaggerated. One of
the remarkable indications of this is
the state of political affairs in Essex
county. There the followers of the
new idea movement are daily coming
out in large numbers against the Re-
publican ticket and expressing their
indignation over the desertion of Colby
and Sommer to the machine ranks.
The followers assert that they will not
go after their leaders into the Repub-
lican machine fold and keep political
company with such members of the
I'D gang as Baird, Dickinson, Kean
Sllinn and the Others They assert
that Colby and Sommer should have
stood by their standards in the Re-
publican convention to the end and
that the subsequent promise by Colby
and Sommer to support Fort was sur
render of the new idea movement and
an attempt to betray all the followers
of the new idea principles Into tho
hands of the enemy. They refer to the
bitter and impassioned speeches of
Colby and Sonmer delivered before
the convention and declare that il
these leaders were sincere they could
not consistently stay in the Republican
convention and agree to support the
Republican machine nominees.
Speaking of the Colby -Sommer sur
render, one of the new idea followers
who visited Trenton this week said:
mo more dastardly betrayal Of a
political following was ever attempted
than the effort of Colby and Sommer
to turn the new idea movement TO
Fort Fort. as Colby and Sommer we'll
know, is the representative of the ma
chine and the friend of the corpora
'tions. He never was anything else.
He never will be anything else He
stands for the whole gang who have
disgraced the state and the party. 1t
is inexplicable how Colby and Som
mer could go into the same camp as
Dickinson, Baird, Kean and Shmn aft
er all they said about them and after
all that is known about them. 1t looks
as though Colby and SoInmer either
got tired fighting and were glad TO
take any kind of recognition that the
machine would give them or that they
have been playing a double game with
their followers from the start Oil
and water viii not mix. Colby and
Sommer could not honestly join the
machine forces and retain their re-
spectability in politics.
"There is this consolation: The men
who made Colby and Sommer possible
are intelligent and alert They cannot
/ be betrayed with hmpunity. They will
resent the action of the men whose
leadership they followed. and they win
wreak vengeance on election day.
The sentiment against Colby and
Sommer is reflected in the newspapers
published in Essex county. The New
ark Sunday Call, one of the most in
tfuential of the independent newspa-
pers Of the state, in referring to the
new idea movement last Sunday said:
THE practical disappearance of the
Colby movement since the Republican
state convention has been the most re-
markable change in politics for many
a day in New Jersey. The former
leaders, Colby and Martin, are in the
closest relations with the candidate
and We're leading figures at the recep-
tion to him at the county committee
! headquarters on Friday night. Sheriff
Sommer, their candidate for governor,
Is a member at large of the State com
mittee, and apparently most of the
Colby men in the county committee
are now in full accord with Chairman
| D9lrymf}ip and the organization gem