Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1910-09-21
LE EWIS LEADS A
DIVIDED PARTY
Of NAL CON TENTS
Both Regulars and Progressives
Realize That Defeat Stares
Them in Face.
BOLT OF INSURGENTS
BLOW TO CANDIDATE
AS Minority Delegates Fled Com
ventiOn Hall Passaic Man
Couldn't Conceal Chagrin.

Vivian NJ. Lewis one of the younger
of the prominent and well-known Re-
publicans Of the State. was yesterday
named as candidate for governor BY
the party assembled in convention at
| Taylor Opera House under circum-
stances differing very materially from
| those which marked the deliberations
of State Republican conventions for the
last fifteen years.
For the first time in this period the
convention adjourned without making
the choice of the convention unanl-
nous. From start to finish an element
of unrest prevailed, and it developed
| into an open revolt when, before the
! result of the one ballot taken had been
announced Senator Hand, of Cape
May, moved to make the nomination
of Lewis unanimous.
Motion Cried Down.
mo! MOI" was shouted from every
section of the convention hall where a
Progressive Republican was seated. all
though they knew all the time that
Lewis, after the change of the Hudson
and Union county votes, had S02 of the
973 ballots in the convention
The number of delegates far outnum-
bered the voting strength of the con-
vention, as one delegate was allowed for
each of 1852 Districts and the result :
was that a large number of the dele
gates had only a fractional vote, and
| in some cases as low as one-eighth
Many, If not all, of the fractional dell
egates were evidently Progressives or
in sympathy with that movement, judg-
ing by the exodus from the hall which
followed the declaration of Chairman
Edmund Wilson that Vivian NJ Lewis
having received a majority vote of the
convention, was the nominee of the
party for governor.
AS result there were many empty
chairs when Candidate Lewis az
peared and made bis speech of accepts
ance, as told of in the STAR yester-
day.
To say that the candidate did not
realize that he was the choice of a
divided rather tfan a united party
would be stating what was not true
Could Not Conceal Chngrin.
Candidate Lewis made no effort %
conceal his knowledge of the real
situation, and could hardly have done
so had he tried. His speech was truly
characteristic of Vivian NJ. Lewis. Fiis
sincerity has never been questioned,
| and everybody knew "Viv" Lewis
meant every word he said. They also
realized that he did not say all he
would like to say concerning the re-
ception he was rendered
Whatever the candidates opinion of
the action of the Progressives in IeaV-
ing the convention hall may have been
he kept it to himself So did Chair
man Franklin Murphy. of the State
committee, and others so far as talk
ing for publication was concerned.
Their private opinion Of the Progress
sives, they added, might not be lit for
| publication.
They contrasted the action of the con-
vention of yesterday with that of five
| days ago when the Democrats, after
one of the most holly contested nom
ination struggles in a score of years,
made the nomination of DIR. Woodrow
Wilson unanimous. and when even the
| delegates who a few minutes earlier
had been bitterly opposing his nom
ination expressed a willingness to stop
and listen to their candidate all night
| Name of Wilson Approved.
| 1t was also noted by those self-same
| leaders that the Democratic candidate
was accorded, theoretically speaking. a
more cordial reception at the Republi-
can convention than was the actual
choice of nine-tenths of all the dele
gates to the convention.
Whenever the name of Dr. Wilson
was referred to by the several speak
ers-and they all used it directly or by
| inference-it was received in respectful
silence or approval.
The name of Lewis was, as might be
expected, literally applauded whenever
mentioned, but few, if any, of the Pro-
gressives wanted to hear his address,
while not one delegate to the Demo
cratic convention was missed when
Candidate Wilson appeared and mace
his address of acceptance.
The action of the Progressives was
severely criticised by the Regulars
after adjournment. While unable to
muster more than lis of the voting
strength of the convention, the Pro-
gressives, as the leaders declared, were
permitted to monopolize the talking
time of the convention as well as hav
ing kept the subcommittee on platform
in session more than twenty four
hours. Then. failing to have their
views accepted or candidate nominated,
they left the convention hall, just as
Chairman Osborne of the league inti-
mated $4,000 voters who espoused the
Progressive cause at the primary might
leave the party on election day. IL
ignored