Gloucester County Democrat., 1912-07-11

the resignation of the Governor. The
Senate then would probably choose
a president problem, and Senator J. A..
C. Johnson, of Bergen County, is be-
ing mentioned for this place. Sena-
tor ]. Warren Davis, the lawyer-min-
ister of Salem County, who was one
OF the aggressive members last ses-
sion, is being mentioned for the floor
leadership.
among the Republicans as to the or
ganization of the Senate in case that
they retain control, but it is more
than likely, however, that Senator
Edge, of Atlantic, who was the Re-
publican Pilot last session, will be
the candidate of his party for the
Senate Presidency. Senator Leavitt,
of Mercer, will again be candidate
for the Republican leadership, and
with the tendency towards Progressiv-
ism this year, his friendliness for for
mer Governor Stokes may not be a
bar to his selection as it was last
winter 1t may be, though, if Sena-
tor Edge be chosen President that
North Jersey will claim the leader
ship This might throw the office of
party pilot to Senator Pierce, of I'm
ion, or to Senator Colgate, of Essex.
Senator Leavitt outranks both in
length of senatorial service.
If Governor Wilson should re-
sign this summer, the offices above
mentioned will be filled by the new
Governor to be elected in November,
and not by President Prince, as act
ing Governor If Governor Wilson
shall not retire until March 1, he will
of course, make the appointments
himself.
There is another element in the
political situation, which is that if
the next Senate should be Republi-
can, it could refuse to confirm the
Governors appointments, knowing
that he would soon resign, and thus
throw the offices into the hands of the
Republican Senate President, who
would become acting Governor
These contingencies all hinge on the
election of Governor Wilson as Presi-
dent and the latter one is considered
a remote possibility.
The decision of the Roosevelt men
of New Jersey to put a full ticket in the
field this fall is leading to much spec
ulation among State House politi-
clans. There are many things to be
worked out before the third party
movement gets to a point where it
means anything substantial in the
way of results, and the Geran cleo
ton law in its provisions regulating
the primary election will have the
determining effect upon the Republi-
cans who favor Colonel Roosevelt.
The Geran law makes it pretty
clear that those who join third
party, even on national issues, can
not participate in the Republican
primary for the selection of candidat-
es for Congress and for the Legisla
ture, at least not if the votes be chal-
lenged A voter who is challenged
in the primary polls must first of all
swear that he is member of the
political party in whose primary he
wishes to participate. The voter who
leaves the Republican party to join
Colonel Roosevelt's National Progress
sive movement will have to swear
that he is still a Republican. More
over, the voter challenged must swear
that at the last general election at
which he voted, he voted for ma
jority of the candidates of the party
to which he claims he belongs. This
would not be difficult, but there is still
aonther requirement, namely, that the
voter must swear that he intends to
support the candidates of his party
at the ensuing election.
= :
This means that the Roosevelt men,
if challenged, in connection with at
tempting to participate in the Repub-
lican primaries, will have to bind
themselves under oath to an inten-
tion to support the party's candidate
at the November election. This would
permit them to the support of the
Taft candidate in case the leaders
won out in the primary election. Also
it is question whether it would not
permit them to the support of the
Taft presidential electors in case Taft
presidential electors are chosen by
the Republican State Convention next
fall
- - =
Another interesting phase of the
muddled situation, is the possibility
of the Roosevelt men winning out all
along the line in the September pri-
maries on the legislative ticket, thus
gaining control of the State Conven-
tion, which is composed of the mem
bers of the Senate and the candidates
for the Senate and Assembly. Hav-
ing control of the State Convention,
the Roosevelt men would nominate a
set of Roosevelt electors to run on
the Republican ticket, who if they
won, would cast their votes for Col
onel Roosevelt for President. If this
should happen, the Taft Republicans
would be forced to nominate their
electors by petition, the same as the
Prohibitionists and Socialists. While
the primary election laws seem to
protect political parties from the
domination of those who owe no al