Gloucester County Democrat., 1912-04-04
SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS.
POLITICS AND COMMENT
Special to this newspaper.

Special to this newspaper
Trenton, April 3.--Presidential pc
titions have been filed with the Sec
retary of State nominating William
H. Taft, Colonel Theodore Roosevelt
and United States Senator Robert NJ.
La Toilette for the Republicans and
Governor Woodrow Wilson and Champ
Clark for the Democrats, to be voted
for at the primary election in this
state May IA. No petition was filed
by the followers of Governor Judson
Harmon, of Ohia. The filing of all
these petitions insures the iveliest
kind of primary campaign.
Governor Wilson's petition contained
more than 10000 signers, and Taft's
petition came next, with $500 names,
the Roosevelt and La Toilette petit
tions each contained about 1900 names
and there were 2,200 signers to the
Clark petition, the number required
by law to sign a petition being 1000.
The Secretary of State must now GER
tify these nominations to each County
Clerk, who in turn must certify them
to the Municipal Clerks and the latter
must print the names on the primary
ticket under the head Choice for
President
United States Senator Briggs, Chair
man of the Republican State Commit
tee, has declined the proposition of
Borden d. Whiting, Chairman of the
Roosevelt League, of New Jersey, that
the Republican Committee and the
State Committee of the Roosevelt Lea
que agree to use their influence with
all delegates to the. National ConveT1-
tion at Chicago to secure their sup
port for the nomination for President
of the candidate who receives tlle
highest vote at the primary election
Chairman Briggs points out that the
choice of the Presidential candidate
of the delegates are indicated upon the
ballot, so that every voter will know
when he casts his vote for delegate
for whom the delegates will vote at
the Convention
$50
With the new Congressional Dis
tricts settled, each party will elect 28
candidates to the respective National
Conventions, four delegates at large
and 2 delegates from each of the IL
Con gressional Districts and each party
will also choose 28 alternates. 1t will
be the first time in the history of the
state that these delegates and alter
mates have not been chosen at State
Conventions, the Geran election having
abolished conventions and provided
for the election at primaries.
> - =. = e
New Jersey being one of the seven
or eight states who have a Presiden-
tial preference law, the election on
May Ia will be of unusual interest as
| it will be test of the strength OF the
various candidates in the two parties
Without doubt, Governor Wilson will
carry the Democratic primaries by an
overwhelming majority notwithstand-
ing the efforts of former United States
Senator James Smith, Jr., to prevent
the election of Wilson delegates. With
three candidates on the Republican
| ticket the situation will be an inter-
esting one.
The regular Republican leaders in
cluding Senator Briggs and former
Gov. Murphy claim that the state Is
for Taft, and that there will be no
trouble in electing Taft delegates.
The Taft cause will profit from the.
fact that there are two Progressive,
candidates. With Roosevelt and La
Toilette both in the field, the Progress
sives will present a divided front to
the Taft forces so that Taft victory
seems assured.
BY attaching his signature to SO
measures Monday evening thereby
making them laws, Governor Wilson
broke all records for disposing of bills
| in one day. The principal measures
iaof state wide Importance approved
were: The Pierce resolution for an in
! yestigation of the taxing system
| throughout the state; the Edge reso-
| luton for commission to investigate
| the question of reorganizing and con-
solidating various State Departments
that are similar in character; the res
| olution for Commission to investi-
gate the question of Grand Jury re-
! forms; the bill making it unlawful to
4 sell fruit or vegetables from baskets
of less capacity than 5-8 of a bushel;
/ the bill empowering the State Board
of Health to condemn meat and other
food that is unfit for sale; providing
for county tuberculosis hospitals; pro-
viding for the transportation of all
Civil War veterans, both Union and
Confederate in this State to the Cele-
/ bration of the F'iftieth Anniversary of
the Battle of Gettysburg in July, 1914;
the Smalley bill for the puridcation of
public water supplies by requiring
contemplated changes in water sys-
tens to be fled with the State Board
of Health; the Davis bill for the con-
servation of the State potable water
supply; prohibiting minors from rep
resenting themselves to be twenty-one
years of age in order to obtain liquor;
requiring physicians to report to the
State Board of Health cases of illness
from lead, phosphorus. arsenic and
other poisons due to certain industrial
pursuits, the State Board in turn to
report them to the State Commissioner
of Labor that steps may be taken to
remedy the industrial conditions that
brought them about; the Colgate bill
requiring automobiles to be equipped