Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1912-10-05
.WAKELEE TAKES
SHOT AT WILSON
Asserts Governor Pays Court
TO Railroads in Delaying
Death-Tra Fight.


Death Trap Fight.
Openly charging Governor Wilson
with paying court to the railroad In
t~erests, Edmund w. Wakelee. chair
man of the Republican State Com
mittee, in a statement today, at
lacks the Governor for his failure
to call a special session of the Legis-
lature to draft a law for the elmina-
ton of grade crossings; but for a
change Of heart experienced by the
Governor. Mr.. Wakelee says, after
he had received a letter from n of
the railroads affected, such a law
would today grace the statute books.
Special attention is called by Mr..
Wakelee to the Pierce bill for the re-
moval of all crossings at grade, which
was passed by the Legislature and
later vetoed by the Governor. Had
the latter not been seeking the
presidency and calculating his
chances Mr.. Wakelee declared there
is little doubt the bill as he had
previously led the legislators to be-
lieve he would.
According to the newspapers" con-
tinued Mr.. Wakelee, Governor Will
sen says he has not had time to con-
slider the decision of Chief Justice
Gummere setting aside the Pierce
grade crossing bill. Apparently Gov
ernor Wilson never has time for the
affairs of the State of New jersey,
although he has had time to think
up a pretext to shift the responsibility
Of preventing the grade crossing bill
from becoming law to the shoulders
of the Republicans.
"Since April 2, the date inscribed
on his veto of the Pierce bill, there
have been many accidents at grade
crossings in this State, and these have
resulted in the death of thirty per-
sons, while f1fty-four others were seri-
ously injured. Yet the only thought
the Governor has time for is that the
decision of the chief justice balks Pro-
lessor Princes effort to pass over his
veto the bill intended to prevent these
accidents.
This Pierce bill to emove cross
ings at grade passed the Legislature
on March 20 last. During it's various
stages the Governor frequently ex-
pressed his sympathy with the bill,
and on the evening of its passage
congratulated Senator Prince or the
latter's work. The Governors veto of
the bill was dated April 2, three days
after he had expressed his approval
of 1t to Its author.
When the veto was received in the
Senate 1t was accompanied by a letter
addressed to the Governor from Rob
ert w. DeForest. vice-president and
general counsel of the Central Rail
road of New Jersey, whose aides had
lobbied against the bill throughout its
progress. Whether this letter accom-
panied the veto as a result OF mad
v%ertence or because 1t was expected
to have an i~ntimidating effect upon
members of the Legislature is imma-
terial. Its terms suggested the lam
guage used in the veto.
ut is utterly vain for the Governor
to try to throw the blame for the
failure of embarrassing legislation
upon the Republicans. They did pass
a bill and a fair. well-drawn bill, to
put dD emu W IN dhhbCiOuS oiOSS-
ings. Governor Wilson vetoed that
bill. II the Republicans. through mis-
understanding of a hitherto uncon-
strued provision of the constitution,
failed to pass the bill over his veto,
they at least tried to do so. The re-
sponsibility for the recent deaths and
maimings at the crossings they
sought to abolish does not lie at their
doors nor upon their con%sciences.
Whether Governor Wilson thought
the friendship of the railways more
important than the killing and in
juring of eighty-four innocent people
is for him and the voters to decide.
Had he not been seeking the presi-
dency and calculating his chances
there is little doubt that the Gov
ernor would have signed that bill, as
he led Senator Prince to believe he
would. The DeForest letter changed
his purpose.
1.-THE Republican Legislature passed
a grade crossing bill. Governor VIII
son vetoed it. The constitution did
not permit the Legislature to legally
pass the bill over his veto.
"Why did not Governor Wilson call
a special session of the Legislature
to consider this important matter"