Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1912-06-11
big FOUR" ST|RS
HUDSON COUNTY
Mayor Wittpenn's Political
Combine to Control Has
h Raised a Storm.

CITY, June 11.-Mayor
Wittpenn's action in forming a COM
pination with Mayor Cronin, of Ba.
yonne; Emil Groth. of North Hudson,
n Patrick r. Griffen, of Hoboken.
LOT the purpose of controlling nomina-
ions Tor the smaller Board of Free
hoiders and other offices to be filled
hext November. has aroused a storm
OF protests-from one END OF the coun.
ty to the other.
erohln mas been the political boss of
bayonne for several years. Griffen
Is IN control of the party machinery
III ffopoken and Groth has been in
politics practically all his life. Griffen
was one of the big Five" a combi-
hatlon formed after the death of Rob-
ert Davis to manage the affairs of the
Dennocratie party. In the first crack
at the bat last fall the combination
was repudiated by the voters.
former Sheriff James J.. Kelly and
lax Commissioner James Hennessey.
TWO other members of the d%iscredited
az III lllt tOitllueIlCt VI
mayor Wittpenn and will aid him in
up voters for the new big
-Four" combination. Kelly and Hen
Hessey are the Mayors principal adj
Vlsers on local affairs.
Mayor Wittpenn is telling his
friends the new combination will CON
trol the Democratic political situation
in Hudson County.
L expected" he is reported as hav-
ing said, that some of my followers
would find fault when they learned
that l have formed an alliance with
Hennessey, Kelly and Griffen, of the
old Big Five combination, but I had
to do 1t for my w political saliva
ton. With these three men, who
practically control the county COM
mittee, and Cronin and Groth the
combination will be impregnable. We
will make all the nominations next
fall and for many years to come. OF
course, 1 expect to lose many of the
Democrats who have fought with me,
but this detection will be more than
offset by the Democrats whom Hen
nessey, Kelly and Griffen will bring
with them IN support of the ne
combination
But what will the people say?"
the Mayor was asked. "You know
vol made your fight for denomination
on the issue that the Big Five
should be eliminated from politics."
"Oh. the people don't worry them
selves about these things. BY the
time the next election rolls around
they will have forgotten all about
thu iou,tna 81 LAT .4.axs- -
Anyhow we have formed the COM
bination and the candidate whom we
support will carry the primaries"
Dom be too sure about that,
Mayor" said one OF his friends, "you
can't fool the people all of the time.
Besides l do not think 1t fair to the
Democrats who have been giving
you loyal support that you should
form an alliance with the dlscredited
Big Five whose members you SO
bitterly denounced last fall"
The Mayors reply was that every
thing was fair in politics. Mayor
Wittpenn's new combination has de-
cided not to support any of the mem
bers, of the present Board of Free
holders for nomination for the smaller
board.
We will take care of some of them
In other ways" he said in discuss
ing other phases of the situation.
For instance, / have got to look
after Jim Doody, who is the free
old from my ward. We will give
him a nomination for the Street and
Water Commission and maybe we
will make Jim McCue. the
freeholder from the Third ward, his
running mate. I have arranged it so
that Hoboken, Bayonne, North Hud-
son and West Hudson will have one
freeholder each. leaving five for Jer-
sey City. The candidate for county
supervisor will also be a Jersey City
man. Councilman Neil O'Mahoney.
of Bayonne, would like to have the
nomination for supervisor, but
Cronin doesn't care to have the can
didate from that city. He is willing
to wait two years and take the
s%hrievalty nomination either for him
self or Hugh Mara. Griffen will
name the Hoboken Democrat for
county clerk and Groth will pick the
man who will succeed John McMahon
as register. So you see we have our
plans we'll laid. In Jersey City Hen
neSSeY is content WITH MS JOD as TAX
commissioner. but Kelly will have to
be looked after. l may land him in
o State job.
SHERIFF Wedin, Surrogate Egan and
the Sullivan bunch of Democrats may
give us a fight, but that won't u
us much worry. We will be in pos
session Of the party organization and
the opposition will nave to do the
lighting from the outside, as we have
been doing for several years"
Sheriff Wedin said he was glad he
had not been invited to join the com
bination.
Someone said this corning" re-
marked the sheriff, LAT the new
combine was organized or about to
be organized for the purpose of Sc
lecting men to be nominated for the
new Board OF Freeholders and then
electing them and thus controlling
the new board. That, if true, is
rather O gigantic scheme.
IF I were a candidate for free
holder I'd spend none for the privl-