Perth Amboy evening news., 1912-12-05
THE DEMOCRATS MISTAKE.

The Democratic party of New Jersey re-
ceived a severe setback on Tuesday when the
assemblymen-elect, in caucus, decided on Leon
r. Taylor, of Monmouth county, for speaker.
There may be no objection to MIR. Taylor,
personally, although the EVENING NEWS
has been rather sceptical as to his position
in the present progressive movement ever
since he trimmed with the Smith-Nugent
"ring" in opposing the election of James e.
MARITIME for United States senator-but the
fact that he again joined hands with James
Nugent, the unspeakable boss Of Newark,
Tuesday, and allowed himself to be known
as the Nugent candidate for the speakership,
made it impossible for any self-respecting
assemblyman to vote for him.
If any assemblymen had promised Taylor
their votes, believing he was a Wilson man,
those promises were nulli6ed by Taylor, him
self, the moment he decided to cite up" with
Nugent and thereby permit himself to be
classed as the Nugent candidate. The Demo
cratic party has only succeeded in recent
years because the people have had confidence
in believing that Woodrow Wilson would
clear the party Of the Nugent machine. The
machine has been thoroughly discredited and
the people do not propose to see it get back
into power.
Had Wilson been on the ground Tuesday,
or had all his friends been actively at work,
Nugent would have been badly defeated. He
must be given credit, however, for being a
keen-sighted politician. The man favored by
the Wilson men for the speakership is a local
option advocate. AS a result, he was not
favored by the brewery interests. Among
Wilson's strongest supporters, however, are
former Senator Hinchcliffe, of Paterson, and
General Collins, of Elizabeth, both of whom
are brewers. They were conspicuous by their
absence from Trenton Tuesday. Evidently
they did not wish to personally oppose the
Wilson man for speaker, and at the same
time they did not want to appear as favoring
a local option candidate.
With the Governor absent, Nugent made
the best of his opportunity and began to make
advances to Taylor, who was formerly an ally
of the Smith machine, and who readily fell
in with the Newark boss's proposition. The
result was that the fight conferred down to
the old contest between Nugent and Wilson.
A great many Of the assemblymen who are
thorough Wilson men, and who had given
their promise to Taylor, believing that he was
a Wilson man, hesitated to break the prom
Use, and as a result the Monmouth candidate
was able to win by the small margin Of one
vote.
1t is gratifying to the people Of Middlesex,
however, to know that the assemblymen from
this county, although having originally favor
ed Taylor because Of being a close neighbor,
could not stand for his alliance with the
Nugent machine and, at once, broke way on
the correct supposition that no promise held
under such a condition. Taylor has been sail
ing under false colors. He has proven him
self too small to resist the temptations of
Nugent, He has even shown himself willing
to sacrifice his friends for his own success.
Under the circumstances Taylor becomes one
of the most discredited men in the Legislature,
and it is to be hoped that when he again APP
pears before the people they will teach him
a lesson that will have its effect throughout
the state.
AS speaker of the House, Taylor becomes
the dummy of Jim Nugent. He does not
begin to measure up to the position. Through
him Nugent once more becomes a power in
the legislative halls. He will be unable to.
accomplish very much, however, and such men
oc Tov1or and othor 1oO,clo+oro uvbo 90 IoJ,b
erately defed public opinion will pass out of