Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-10-18

Democratic nominations for office. Sub
sequently, the son of Davis, another OF
his political followers, Congressman
Kinkead, turn up as the owners of the
very valuable privilege Of the adver-
Using in the street cars, not only of
Jersey City, but of all North Jersey,
a privilege said TO net these gentlemen
the tidy sun of $40,0 coo a year. Neither
Davis nor Kinkead knew anything
about this business, nor did they get
1t by offering the highest bid. That
it was a political. and not a business
arrangement, is shown by the fact that
when Everett Colby ran for senator in
Essex county, Kinkead refused to re-
ceive his advertisement, at any price.
When this much is done openly, Is 1t
not fair to assume that more is done
secretly?
Similar examples are coming to light
everywhere. Witness the insurance
scandals that Hughes exposed; the
San Francisco traction graft that
Heaney exposed; the Philadelphia a
scandal, where indignant citizens
threatened to hang to the la~mp-posts
the members of the council who were
acting for the gas syndicate; the Pitts
burg graft; the Croker millions, and
his cynical working for his own pocket
all the time;'' witness our own coal
combine and race-track scandals, with
the rumor of the big money that the
Democratic leaders got; witness the re-
cent investigation of the New York
legislative committee, which at the
very beginning unearthed $50, 900 IN
graft payments TO politicians by the
street railways of New York city, with
testimony that this is only a small
item of the huge sums that were ac-
tually paid. Witness Lorimer elected
to the Senate by Democratic votes.
Witness .Tammany congressman COM
ing to the rescue of Cannon when ne
was hard pressed by the Progressivs.
As 10 Party Leaders.
This system is by necessity BIZ
partisan. 1t cannot exist in one party
alone. In your speeches you declare
that the Republican party is allied to
the special interests, and that the
Democratic party has been regen-
Grated. purged from these influences,
and ~reorganized. When and where did
this publication and reorganization
take place? Has the party changed
it's leaders? Have not Smith. Nugent
and Davis been it's most influential
leaders for years, and are they not it's
leaders now? If the leaders are the
same, when did they get purified?
When did they cease to represent in
politics, or be willing to represent, the
special interests? Have you forgotten
the race-track and coal-combine scan
I ia1S which tnnlr u1aea under THAR
leadership? Have you forgotten that
President Cleveland denounced the
action of Senator James Smith on the
tariff bill as party perfidy?" Or, If
| all thai is. too long ago, have vol for
gotten the record of the Democratic
legislature three years ago? DO you
not know that its record was disgrace
full; that the same difficulty was there
encountered in passing all bills aimed
to prevent fraud at elections, to make
corporations give up these special. UNI
just privileges, as is encountered when
the Republican machine controls the
legislature; and that on the last night
of the session, in order to prevent the
passage of some bills opposed by the
bosses and corporate interests, the
speaker escorted to the revolutionary
course of declaring the Legislature adj
| journed, when in fact it had not adj
journed?
There have been individual members
| of the Legislature whom these Demo-
cratic bosses could not control. like
Hendrickson, Tumulty, sullivan and
Kenny. but hat is because we New
Idea men nave waged such a fierce
fight on Davis that he has been COM
PEELED to sprinkle among his legislative
dummies some good men in order to
fool the voters; and these free men
have to some extent thwarted the
plans of the bosses. But lone Of these
men has ever led a revolt against the
boss, and all are in political life by
s%ufferance of Davis.
call his the boss system. | do not
hesitate to call it the most dangerous
condition in the public life of our
State and nation today--an evil that
has destroyed representative govern
ment, for the time being at least,
in it's place set up a government of
privilege. l say a while this system
manifests itself more plainly in the
party that is In the majority, in
reality the minority organization Is
always secretly in the game. This
system. and this alone, accounts for
the Republican Board of Guardians
under whose leadership bills aimed at
corporate privilege are killed or OPP
posed when the Republicans are in
power, and the Democratic over
lords" under whose leadership exactly
the same thing occurs when the Demo-
Gratis are in power.
This is the exact truth. The remedy
is to take away the valuable privileges
which furnish the money and the mo-
tive for c~orrupting politics. Before he
remedy a be applied we must destroy
the power of these bosses, and the way
to do that is to abolish conventions,
take away their power to control cleo
ton officers, adopt the blanket ballot
and distribute it at public expense, n
limit by law election expenses. Why
not use your great powers of oratory
and of reasoning. and the splendid OPP
po~rtunities of your great meetings In
driving home TO the people this plain
lesson?
Records Questions.
In order that your position on this
vital question may be made clear, / ask
you the following questions:
10. DC you admit that the boss sys-
tenn exists as l have described it? II
so, how do you propose to abolish it?
IA. In referring to the Board Of