Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-20
FEATURES OF THE PLATFORM

TRENTON. N. J., September 2O.-John
Franklin Fort of East Orange. who is now
| an ex-judge of the New Jersey supreme
court was nominated as the republican
candidate for governor yesterday by con-
vention that in many respects Is without a
| parallel in the history of the party in this
| state. For more than six hours the 1900
| delegates representing regular organiza-
| tons and New Idea followers battled
| among themselves over the adoption of a
| platform and the selection Of candidate
| and then when 1t was all over united in one
| of the most spontaneous and enthusiastic
demonstrations of party loyalty ever wit
| messed In the Taylor Opera House. which
has been the scene of scores of similar
gatherings of all political parties.
| 1t was nearly o'clock In the evening
when Justice Fort stepped to the front Of
| the platform and was informed by ex-
! United States Attorney General John w
| Griggs. the chairman of the convention,
| that he had been chosen to carry the
| standard of the republican party. In doing
| this Mr.. Griggs recalled that twelve years
| ago. when he himself was nominated for
| governor, Justice Fort, as chairman of that
| convention. had given him similar notifi-
! cation. 1t that campaign which
| marked the swinging of New Jersey from
| the democratic to the republican ranks,
where 1t has since remained.
Enthusiasm for Fort.
Justice Fort scarcely seemed to notice
| the 1900 delegates who had risen to their
feet to a man and were Justify cheering
| him. He first walked to the edge of the
stage and handed sealed envelope to Gov.
| Stokes, who was occupying one of the
boxes. For a moment the convention failed
to grasp the significance of his action, but
when it flashed through the hall that he
was rendering his resignation justice
OF the supreme court before entering upon
the political campaign there was an out
burst OF applause lasting for several MIN
utes. This was renewed when Justice Fort
announced soon afterward that he was
longer member of the court, but
prepared at once to enter upon active
and aggressive campaign, IN which he
asked for the support of every republican
in the state.
The hardest fight of the day was over the
adoption of an excise plank in the platform,
the ultimate result being a declaration in
favor of the bishops law, which provides
that saloon interiors shall be exposed to
public view Sundays AS prelimi-
nary to this skirmish William P. Mar
tin, one of the reform leaders in Essex
county. succeeded in eliminating from the
rules a provision that all resolutions relat-
ing to the platform be referred without de-
bate to the committee res -.utions Mr.
Martin was Joined in the fight for an open
debate on the principles OF the platform by
Senator Everett Colby. VINO declared that
the party just SO long as they We're allowed
to debate their principles before a repub-
lean convention.
The Bishops Law
When the platform was presented by the
committee a minority report was offered
substituting for the Endorsement of the
bishops law a plank declaring in favor of
local option. Assemblyman Barber of
Mercer attacked the amendment asserting
that upon the action of the convention
this resolution would depend whether or not
the republican party would elect gov
ernor. The legislature he said did right
when II passed law closing the back
rooms In saloons and preventing the de-
bauchery OF young men and women. Maj.
Carl Lentz OF Essex spoke for the amend
ment. asserting that modification OF the
bishops law demanded by his county
and predicting that the result in that coun-
ty would determine the result in the state
| on election day. He declared that the
else question should be taken out of state
politics and left the municipalities to
deal with they thought best
Sheriff Frank Sommer OF Essex, the New
| Idea candidate for governor. Joined with
Maj. Lentz in the fght. saying that In
doing he was standing true TO the prom
| ises he had made to his county.
After further general discussion a vote
was taken by counties and the local option
amendment was lost by 537 to 810. The
Essex delegation went solidly for local op-
| ton and in Hudson only twenty eight votes
were recorded against II. Passaic was the
| only other county 10 vote as a unit for local
| option. and most of the smaller counties
were solidly against 1t.
Regulation Of Utilities.
George l.. Record of Jersey City made q
determined but unsuccessful attempt to
| insert In the platform two radical amend