Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-10-10
". {. SACKETT IS
Il WILLING TO QUIT
Has Advised State Official Not
to Expect Filing of His Gu
bernatorial Petition.
To the Voters of New Jersey

To the Voters of New Jersey:
Today is the last for fling of gu
bernatorial petitions, and | have ad-
vised the secretary of State that he
need not sit up all night tonight wait
Ing for me to come along with mine.
I have dug down deep enough under
this campaign to find out that | am
about as much wanted In it as a
Candidate for Governor as. say, Col
BY is.
The reasons for our ineptltude are
mot exactly alike, however. That as
to Colby is that he is a supernumer-
airy. That as to me is that turn OF
events has made a misht of me-
Stokes was the first man in New Jer-
sey to declare for Roosevelt; Fielder
is the last man in New Jersey to
kowtow to Wilson, and the row be-
tween them as it has been framed up
for the November poll is wholly be
tween the politicians of the Oyster
BAY cult and those of the White
House stripe. There is no room for
Democrat or a Republican in a
scrimmage like that, ard neither is in
1t as far as I can see. AS my party
eompatriots have been crowded out
of the game there seems to be moth
ing left for me to do but to get out
with them.
/ am prepared, anyhow, to retire
at this stage. because my candidacy
has accomplished all that 1t was
really intended to accomplish I
plunged into the fray to emphasize in
the public mind the two issues of the
day that are of vital import to the
people of the State. There was first.
the danger to individual liberty of
court-made grand juries, and for the
second, the other danger of allowing
a man in the Governors chair to ride
down the constitutional safeguards
against the abuse of the gubernatorlal
functions. to hold on to II,
MY vigorous protest in three coun-
ties against the taking of the jury
drawing prerogative out of the hands
of the sheriffS scared off the Demo-
cratic Estate convention from re-
affirmation of undying devotion to
the policy of transferring the preroga-
tive to the hands OF court ofnclal
who has nothing in common with
them. and that aggrega ton, when II
met in Trenton, didn't dare, either In
speech or platform, to open ITS mead
again in favor of the jury commls- |
sion nonsense. It would have dodged
the constitutional convention altru-
ism, too. if our Bergen friend OF the
big name had not made 1t take back
track in a showdown" If this kind
of craw-fishing is to be Kept up there !
is vet hope of the State escaping |
even George Records referendum
..;;;d:.- when IL energies from the
hypnotic coma into which the good
DR. Wilson threw it during his brlet
stay in Trenton.
The other commanding issue
started out to put in the lllhehsnt
FOR public contemplation-that IN
volving the right of an acting COVER
nor to elect himself to the governor
ship in violation of the constitu-
tion-is likely to be made sufncientlN
conspicuous in the court proceedings
that are to be taken to put an emo
TO, the unwholesome spectacle Even
n it be constitutional, it doesn't look
good to put man in the governor |
Office, invest him with all the rune
tions of a governor, disguise him
with an alias-acting governor or /
ANYTHING else you please-ano leaVe
him free to use all the powers OF the
office that a real governor is FORBID
den to use. to get there second
time.
The morale of such a procedure is
even more open to criticism than the
right of it. The fitness for the office
OF a man who can thus openly DEFY
the spirit of our constitution, even
If pettifogging refinements bring the
procedure within its letter. Is su-
preme topic for popular discussion.
Brother Stokes's State convention
missed big trick when it failed to
emphasize the spectacle with a plank
in its platform for a constitutional
amendment making an acting gov
ernor as ineligible for reelection as
q. real governor already Is.
However, the court proceedings as
70 the acting governors legal right to
employ the States election proc
esses for the securing of a nominal
ton that a real governor cannot even
seek. will draw sufficient popular at
tention to the moral aspects OF the
question; and there is no more use
of my staying afield to Vitalize that
Issue than of my longer standing to
oppose a jury policy so wicked and
hurtful that its sponsor of last WIN
ter have skunk away from 1t in dead
silence.
And so feel that | can retire from
further publicity with all the things
1 hoped to do in the campaign ac-
complished in a way that makes my
continued candidacy unnecessary.
While doing so l desire to make
known to my editorial friends all
over the State my deep appreciation II
of the courtesy and forbearanee with
which they have tolerated me.
(Siened) WILLIAM E. SACKETT II