Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-09-03
ANSWERS GIVEN
BY KATzENBACH
Replies to Governor Fielder's
Criticisms on Primary
Law.

Mayor Frank s. Katzenbach, Jr., OF
this city, a candidate for the Demo-
cratic gubernatorial nomination, to-
day makes answer to the criticisms
of Acting Governor Fielder of speech
delivered by Mr. Katzenbach at Cam
den recently, when he declared that
to make the primary law success It
must be kept open so that equal op-
portunity should be afforded all can
didates.
Referring specifically to President
Wilson's success in eliminating for
mer Mayor Wittpenn as a candidate
for the Democratic nomination, Mr..
Katzenbach says that any such
method which prevents the voters
from exercising in the open under
scrutiny all the names presented Tor
consideration is an Interference with
and violation of the spirit of the
direct primary law. Mr.. Katzenoachs
statement is as followsD
The Statement.
1T have read with interest Acting
Governor FEEDERS comments upon
that portion of q speech delivered by
me at Camden in which I stated that
TO make the direct primary success,
TO make 1t corrective of former
abuses, It must be kept open; to
every candidate must be offered equal
opportunities The acting governors
criticism, succinctly stated. Is that I
have not entered sufficiently into the
spirit of the primary law, or the re-
suits desired to be accomplished by
1t. to know that the primary purpose
of the direct primary act was to give
to the voters nominees made such by a
majority vote of their respective
parties, and that, as there was no
method provided in the act to attain
such an end, President Wilson kindly
consented to supply this defect in
the law by issuing the statement
which eliminated Mayor Wittpenn
from the present contest. confess
not to have known before that the
change from the system of delegates
and nominating conventions to the
direct primary was primarily for. the
purpose of securing nominees who
would be the choice of majority of
the voters of their respective parties.
'I was under the impression that
President Wilson had stated accu-
rately the purpose of the direct pri-
1918, at Newark that the whole OBJ
ject of the electoral reform which we
have worked so hard for. thank God,
so successfully, while I was governor
of New Jersey, was to state to them
(the voters) to make their own selec-
ton, not personally conducted, not
suggested by people who undertake
to make the government of the State
their own private business, but to
exercise in the open under scrutiny
all the names that are to be consid-
cred In SO great a connection"
Cannot Agree with Primary Views.
IT cannot agree with the views of
the primary law entertained by Act
ing Governor Fielder I believe that
the spirit and purpose of the direct
primary law is to permit the voters
to make their selection of candidates.
to pass upon the qualifications and
abilities of all those who present
themselves for public service, and
that any method used to prevent the
voters from exercising in the open
under scrutiny all the names pre-
scented for consideration is an inter-
ference with and violation of the
spirit of the direct primary act.
Statement Remarkable to Him.
The acting governors statement is
to me remarkable, In that 1t is an in
dictment of the direct primary; in
pose of the direct primary act is to
secure a majority candidate; in
that 1t admits that the defects In the
law are such as to make Ii impossible
to attain this end; in that 1t justifies
and commends the interference of
President Wilson in his behalf. The
argument of the acting governor sug-
gests some questions. How is a ma
jority candidate to be obtained, even
with only two contestants, when pri-
mary election returns show that not
t.alf nf fhn rotn nf q M
party express at the primary their
choice of candidates? Why is 1t so
desirable to have a majority candi-
date when our elections are usually
decided by plurality vote? Why,
when believing that the primary pur-
pose of the law Is to obtain a ma
jority candidate should the acting
governor have been the third one to
signify his intention of entering a
contest In which a so-called majority
vote would have been rendered be-
tween the two who had already ex-
pressed their intention of being can
didates. especially In view of the as
surances. publicly and privately
made. that he would not be a-candi-
date?
"why, if the system of preferential
voting would In a measure have COR
rected the defects in the present law,
did not the acting governor, as a
senator. aid In the passage of the
preferential voting bill introduced last
winter in the Legislature? Would
the acting governor suggest, in view
of the admitted defects in the present
law, the enactment of a law by which
nominations should be made by the
leader of the party?' Such law
would at least save the expenses Incl
dent to a primary election.
Talks of Wilson Letter.
THE statement of Acting Governor
Fielder Is also interesting. in that 1t
characterizes the letter from Presi-
dent Wilson, debating as the leader
of the party his choice for governor,
as fair and unprejudiced.' and the
position of the President 'unanswer-
able as to it's logic
WAS 1t fair to make any choice?
Less than three months before the
President, with full knowledge that
three candidates had signified their
Intention of entering the primary,
publicly stated that he had no choice
Ind that his labors had been to tell
the people to make their own choice.
The President had not In the mean
time been requested by petition or
otherwise by the Democratic voters,
to my knowledge, to select for them
candidate or to request a candidate to
withdraw from the contest. Was it
fair to Mayor Wittpenn for the Presi-
dent to support the candidacy of Mr..
Fielder on the ground that Mr.. Fielder
had backed the President SO con-
sistently that he had no ground to
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