Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-10-20
Stokes STEALING
!. THUNDER" --RECORD
Progressive Leader Challenges
Republicans Claim TO Au-
th0rsIlip of Laws.
REFERS TO PRIMARY AND
CORRUPT PRACTISES ACTS
Says Instead of Pushing Them
They Used Every Means to
Defe at Them.
IsneclaI to the Newark start

4 IsneciaI to the Newark Star.l
4 JERSEY CITY, Oct. 20.-George l..
fRecord, one of the Progressive party
Headers, today se1tt a long letter to
<forrner Governor Edward c. Stokes,
5challenging him to- prove his state
Iments that the Republican party is re-
{sponsible for the primary and corrupt
tpractises act. He says Stokes was
=i,ne of the reactionaries who opposed
1.-THE measures and denounced them
jpublicly and privately to such an eX-
3tent that Senator Avis, father of the
4original primary law. quit the Re
Hpublican party in disgust and became
h New Idea man. Mr.. Record also
3cals attention 10 Governor Forts dis
IL greement with Stokes over progress
Isive principles when the former was
|covernor. which ended in a row. His
Iletter follows:
Hon T.. G. Stokes:
Sir-The series OF political addresses
/ which YOU are making are so fflled
. with Misrepresentation of recent po-
| litical history that in the public IN
Iterest | cannot let them go unchal-
| lenged. In this letter [ take up your
statements in reference to the prt-
/
+ nv utter amazement you claim credit
for the Republican party for the
/ passage of these acts, whereas the
facts are that the Republican lead
f ers sought by every possible means
to defeat them. 1t was my fortune
to be intimately connected with the
fagitation that led up to- the passage
of the laws upon this subject, and to
have a part in the framing or those
laws, and to be present when they
were passed, and I therefore speak
with knowledge and authority in the
statement of the facts. When Sena-
tor Colby was State senator from
Essex county after his sensational
overthrow of the Lentz machine, he
made a fight in the Senate for the
establishment of the direct primary
system of making nominations for
all political officers from Governor
down by the direct vote of the party
voters and the abolition of the party
convention. and the blanket or Aus
tralian ballot.
Supporting Mr. Colby were Wlllam
|P. Martin and the Essex New Idea
essemblymen, and a powerful and
growing faction of the Republican
party in several counties. In Hudson
Mayor Mark M. Pagan was leading
this faction Colby Martin and others
in Essex had just broken the power
of the Lentz machine. Hon. James u.
Blauvelt in Paterson was leading a
vigorous party faction in support OF
the same principles. All of these men
were denounced publicly and private
~ by the Republican State leaders,
and every influence at their COM
mand in the press and in the Repub-
lican political organizations was used
for their overthrow. In the face OF
this formidable demand by power
full faction of the party, the response
ble State leaders, including yourself
finally with great reluctance passed
fhe Avis act, which extended the
principle of the direct vote to the Sc
lection of party candidates for State
Senate. assemblymen and local Of
kicers.
Bosses Force Ont Legislators.
call your attention first to the
uoint that Senator Avis, who fathered
This act. promptly fell into disfaVor
with the State leaders who con-
trolled the Republican party, and last
wear left the party and is today a
supporter of Senator Colby as can
djdate for governor. He is a con-
spicuous illustration of the very sig
nificant fact, upon which | shall take
occasion to comment later. that every
Republican who has taken any con-
spicuous part in any reform leglsla-
hon has been practically driven out
of public life and out of the Repup-
lican party by the party leaders VINO
are now in control of the party and
your active supporters for the gov
ernorship. Notwithstanding the Re-
publicans for several years had con-
troll of both houses and the governor
ship, they refused to make any FUR
Aher changes in the primary and cleo
fion laws.
During Governor Forts term he
repeatedly urged upon the Legisla-
ture the adoption of the direct vote
system of making nominations, ana
his recommendations were uniformly
ignored. and he ended in an open row
with the party leaders because of his
attitude upon this and similar re-
nessuavs. He was practically driven out
he Republican party because OF
httempt to make the party stand
these reforms by the very political
3ers who are now your active
hsors He has publicly denounced
in particular as one of the men
o opposed him in all these re-
Inns while he was governor.
Machine Suppressed Bills.
During these several years the New
6iea Republican Assemblymen from
ssex county repeatedly introduced
md advocated bills to establish this
Eeforn. but these bills were uniformly
Euppressed in committee by the Re
uubIican machine. James G.. BlauVelt
and Henry G. Whitehead, as assem-
blynen from Passaic county, also
Joined in this fight Mr.. Blauvelt in
troduced and advocated a primary
and election law which is identical
with the Geran law in all Of its es-
sential features. but he was unable
TO get any help from the men who
controlled the Republican party, and
his bill was either suppressed in com
uittee or defeated upon the floor by
! - ,.otae of all the ReDubliCan