Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-04-19
In the ield of
Politics


that President Wilson is doing himself
an injury by coming to New Jersey
to stump for the Davis jury bill. They
point out that the legislators will
never pass any jury bill other than
the McDermott compromise measure,
now that they have sounded the SEN
timent of the State, and that the pas
sage of the latter instrument will be
taken as an indication that Mr.. Will
sons power is declining here. The
President has taken counsel of Sena-
tor Davis, of Salem, who represents
the railroad interests, and has little
idea of how New Jersey feels now
on the jury bill
1t is becoming apparent every day
that the more familiar people become
with the proposed jury law the more
they want a chance to vote on 1t.
Until the newspapers aroused them
as to what the changes really mean
their interest was passive and they
were perfectly content to let the Leg
islature go ahead and do whatever it
wished with thel jury system. The
chances are many of us would not
have known what happened at all,
and, what's more, wouldn't have
given 1t a thought until the day came
when the bill specifically hit us, and
then, individually, we would have
p1oJo Soma Grand anfqf.iae
Fortunately, the bill didn't go
through without the referendum
clause, which puts it up to the voters
to decide whether or not the juries
shall be drawn by Supreme Court
judges. and, fortunately again, the
session went over until May s. In
the meantime the public is reasoning
out just what will happen if the juries
are judge-made, and the result of
this reasoning is evident in the action
of the Essex Trades Council and the
900 men at the Jefferson day dinner
in framing resolutions condemning
the bill without the referendum.
More than 100 of Newark's repre-
sentative men are still in the dark as
to Governor Fielder's reasons for
wanting the judge-made juries bill
passed. They invited him to the
Trade Board dinner the other night
to learn what his ideas are, handed|
him a card with the subjects the
board would discuss: a Constitutions
vi Convention; What 1t Means; How
1t Should Be Conducted and IL
Jury Commission. How Shall 1t BE
Composer" but the governor switched
off on a nice little talk on State
Government and Legislative Prob
LENS
OF course, we are interested in
State government and legislative
problems, but we are more interested
in constitutional conventions and jury
bills; so is the governor 1t is pointed
out now that the governors refusal
to speak on jury reform before such
a representative and non-partisan
gathering is a virtual admission that
his reform would not be received
with much approval
The success of commission govern
ment in Jersey City was a sad blow
to Mayor Wittpenn's gubernatorial
aspirations. While he publicly viewed
it with fayor-commission govern
ment is one of President Wilson's pet
projeets-the result of the election is
taken as a reputation of Mayor
Wittpenns administration. 1t is, so
to speak, another feather out of his
cap.
The President was very much in
terested in the result. His secretary,
Joseph p Tumulty, returned to Jer-
sey City to vote and the President
had Tumulty telegraph him the re-
turns.
Behind all the commotion in the
Essex County Woodrow Wilson
Leagues fight to GUST President John
l.. Armitage is the original charge
that he is using the league to play
individual politics. His attempt to
have the league indorse Wittpenn
was part of deal, it is said, where
by he was to be recommended for
postmaster. President Wilson frown
ed on the whole proceeding on the oc
casions when Mayor Julian A. Greg
DRY, of East Orange, and Prosecutor
Louis Hood saw him. and the next
step will probably be a formal re-
quest from the league that Mr.. Ar
mitage resign on the ground that a
candidate for a Federal position can
not fairlyslead the Wilson followers
through a gubernatorial campaign,
Now that the Progressive National
Committee has inferred Frank A.
Munsey's plan to consolidate the Pro-
gressive and Republican parties, there
is no more talk in Newark about the
proposed combine" The plan was
seriously considered a month ago.
KAISER GAVE STRAIGHT