Perth Amboy evening news., 1912-08-12
IN
LINE FOR TAFT
State Leaders Plan Campaign
to Save Jersey.
From the NEWS rorrespondentJ

cation and vigorous planning for the
campaign is now the cry among the
Regular Republican leaders of the state
and they are only awaiting the hnal
word as to what the Progressive bat
tie line is to be before launching into
a vigorous onslaught to place New Jer-
sey on the Taft columns. The direc-
ton has gon out from Republican
state headquarters to all the leaders
in the congressional districts, to the
county committeeman n to the others
responsible for work among the rank
and file to get everything in readiness
for a hard fight.
While the party workers are all busy
getting the skirmishing lines deployed
for the conflict, the real fighting will
not begin until after August "a, the
last day for fling petitions for the
nomination of candidates for the leg1s-
lature and for county offices. The rea-
son for this bold-off is that the Regu-
lar Republican leaders are not sure of
the extent of the Bull Moose campaign.
The third party leaders have declared
that they proposed making q contest IN
every county, but the gage of battle
cannot be definitely determined until
all the party nominations have been
made. As soon as the nominating pc
t~itions are all on file and the Republi-
can leaders know exactly what they
have before them, the order will be
given to advance on the enemy. The
organization meanwhile having been
perfected, the contest will then go with
a rush.
The Republican State Committee is
planning to meet at short intervals dur
ing the campaign to give general direc-
ton to the fight against the Progress
sives.. The question of the chairman
ship of the State Committee has not
yet been settled definitely, although il
is practically settled hat United
States Senator Frank O.. Briggs will re
sign as chairman in order to leave him
free in his campaign for reelection
There still is talk of former Governo,
Franklin Murphy as the successor OF
Mr.. Briggs in the craftsmanship, but the
question of who shall be selected as
the party pilot in the campaign is still
an open one.
The open primary on the selection OF
candidates of Congress, new in New
Jersey this year, is going to give tse
state an unprecedented number of as
pirants for seats in the House of Repre-
sentatives at Washington. In severa,
of the districts there are already from
five to ten candidates in the field, in.
suring lively contests at the primary
election of September "a.
In the first district the Regular Re
publicans will renominate William J
Browning, of Camden, while the Pro
gressives are talking Of naming Franz
B. Jones, President Of the State BOARD
Of Equalization of Taxes. The Demo.
cratic candidate is likely to be State
Senator j. Warren Davis, Of Salem
County. These are the candidates be.
ing slated by the respective party lead
ers, but it is likely that other men will.
get in the field before the campaign i:
much older. Some five or six candi.
dates have been doomed in the Second
District, the leaders on the Republican
side being Congressman John J. CARD
ner and State Senators Isaac T. Mich
OILS, of Cumberland and Griffith w
Lewis, of Burlington.
The contest in the Fourth District is
opening up at a lively rate. The forma
withdrawal of Congressman Ira W
Wood on the Republican side has
brought a number of aspirants into tint
field, including County Prosecutor WIZ
liam j. Crossley and Lawyer William E
Blackman, of this city. Friends OF
former Assemblyman Alfred N. Barber
secretary of the State public Utility
Commission, have started a boom fol
him. The only NAM thus far men
toned for the third party nomination
is that Of Assemblyman John E. Gill, OF
this city. The Democratic men being
mentioned for the nomination in the
Fourth District are former Assembly
man George M. LaMonte, of Somerset
and Civil Service Commissioner Joseph
s. Hoff and former A~ssemblyman Al
Ian Walsch, Of Mercer.
In the Third District the outlook il
that Thomas J.. SculIy, of Middlesex
will be re~nominated without opposi-
ton, no other candidate having yet ap'
peared. The only Republican candidate
thus far seriously mentioned is former
State Senator Oliver Fl. Brown, Of Mon
mouth.
In the Fifth District one petition ha,
ALREADY Deen nleu, tnat VI fIeuerloh
w. Park, of Crawford, who is running
as a Progressive.
1t is likely that the republican can
didate will be former Judge William N
Runyon, of Plainfield. There has beer
some little talk of former State Sena-
tor Ernest R. Alderman, of Plainfield
Pas a Republican Congressional candi
date. Other names being mentioned
for the third party nomination in TIM
district are those of former Congress.
man Charles M. Fo Ter and Edgar A
Knapp, of Elizabeth, Congressman vii
liam E. futile, Jr, will probably be re,
nominated by the Democrats without
opposition.
In the remaining districts, which in
clude the populous sections of Nortf
Jersey the candidates will be unusually
numerous. y