Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1911-08-11
Dec ares Action Of Bare
Majority in Dropping
Him Is Illegal.
SAYS w. II. KRAFT WAS
NOT TREATED VIOLENTLY
Charges Colleagues With Vio-
lating Courtesy They Owed
Him as Chairman.


Following the action of fourteen out
of the twenty-six members of the
Democratic State Committee in voting
to declare the State chairmanship, held
by Mr. James R. Nugent vacant, at a
meeting held at the Coleman House at
Asburv Park yesterday afternoon, Mr..
Nugent today issued the following
statement:
THE meeting yesterday of members
of the Democratic State Committee
was neither formally called nor legal
ly held. In the first place there was
no authority for its calling. had
notified those members who we're
desirous of holding meeting and who
had joined in request for me 20 Issue
a call that l would give them and. this
other members due notice of a Meet
ing 1t was my intention to call In the
near future.
Those members who were guided by
some hidden and hostile hand were not
content with my assurance, and in vio-
chairman they, with the aid OF Will
lam X. Devereux, secretary of the COM
mittee. ignored my rights and arranged
for meeting.
II maintain that any action taken
at that meeting was void and of no
effect because OF it's irregularity. l am
not ready at this time to say what my
future course will be with respeo, to
fha Cd Ia4 hon Ia.rA fs.
the State committee But / shall ct all
times consider that the thing that is OF
primary Importance always is the well
fare of the Democratic party.
"Accounts Were Biased.v
THE published accounts of yes.er-
days meeting in several of this morn
ing's newspapers are absolutely biased
and untruthful so far as they relate
to the dispute over the presence of Mr.
William H. Kraft, of Camden. Mr.
Kraft claimed to have proxy from
Mr.. William ]. Davis the State COM
mitteeman from Camden. l called for
that proxy, but Mr.. Kraft did not pre-
sent it. l had a right to question his
presence there, inasmuch as 1 had a
letter from Mr. Davis, which | read to
the committee. repudiating Mr., Kraft
as his representative In the State COM
mittee.
up to this point newspaper men and
others had not been excluded from the
meeting room There were less than
twenty persons present besides the
members of the State committee. While
the dispute was in progress Mr.. Crater,
of Monmouth, made a motion to go
into executive session. Then Mr.. Crater
and several others began jostling the
spectators out Mr.. Kraft was jostled
out with the rest. Certainly no vio-
lence was offered to him. He remained
out and I refused to entertain a motion
to let him In.
Il called Mr.. Wills, of Burlington.
to the chair while l addressed the
committee Mr.. Wills entertained a
second motion that was made to admit
Mr.. Kraft. Then 1, with Mr. Gallagher,
of Mercer County left the room and
Immediately departed from the Cole
man House.
what occurred after that l do not
know. When l left the room those who
were outside crowded in and there was
apparently general excitement. No
body had offered either violence or in
suit to Mr.. Kraft up to the time that l
left"
Mr. Nugent appeared at the Coleman
House yesterday to protest before the
committeeman present the holding of
the meeting in the manner planned.
He called the meeting to orde. and
made an address. Vice Chairman B. p. J
Wills, of Burlington, occupyin~ the
chair while he spoke, but left the room
when Mr.. Wills entertained the motion
l. .
Immediately went to his summer home
at Belmar.
Rumpus Wns Trihing.
The rumpus over pMr. Kraft was an
inconsequential incident of the meet
ing. Among those on the piazza of
the Coleman House Casino, where the
meeting was held. wers Mr.. Richard
Franz, of Newark, former Alderman
Joseph A. Wright Mr. Ambrose Ball,
Mr. William E. Russell, Mr.. Edward
F. Flood, Mr.. Richard Macy, half a
dozen or more newspaper reporters, a
gentleman in an automobile duster,
who had stepped from a machine that
stopped at thes Coleman House and
possibly half a dozen others. No
''strong- arm methods were applied to
anyone; but 1t is fact that when Mr.
Nugent quit the session all those on
the piazza crowded into the hall
Mr.. Kraft. who had previously been
jostled out of the room while he dis
pute between Mr. Nugent as to Kraft's
right to be there was in progress, went
in with the rest. This caused some
over-zealous sympathizers of Mr. sNu-
gent to protest to the State committee
over Mr.. Kraft being allowed to take
part in the proceedings.
There was ldying of words for a
few minutes, and it was very evident
that the State committeeman were
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