Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-10-24
FIELDER TO QUIT
AS ACTING HEAD
Of NEW JERSEY
Democratic Candidate Makes
Move Intended to Clear Gov
ernorsIlip Problem.
SPEAKER TAYLOR WILL .
BE ACTING EXECUTIVE
FieIder's Action Similar to That
Set by Foster M. Voorhees,
When in Senate.

Announcement was made today
that Acting Governor James F.
Fielder will, probably on next Tues
day. resign his position as State SEN
ator from Hudson county
This, under the constitution. means
that Mr. Fielder will be relieved of
duties as acting governor and can
continue unhampered in the conduct
of his campa, gn as Democratic guber-
material candidate.
The position OF acting governor
will then fall. to the lot of Speaker
of the House of Assembly Leon r.
Taylor.
In some quarters it is thought
that the governor is following the
precedent set by Foster NJ. Voorhees,.
who while senator from Union coun-
ty and president of the State senate
succeeded to the gubernatoria1 chair
when Governor John w Griggs re-
signed to become United States At
torney- general. VOORHEES, was nom
mated by the Republicans as gov
ernor and then resigned as State SEN
ator to take up the work of his cam
paign
Attorney General Wilson in an opin-
ion recently given decided that Acting
u
office, as the constitutional prohibition
against a Governor succeeding him
self did not apply to his case.
1t is given as the real reason for
Mr.. Fielder's decision to resign as
senator at this time that. under
the constitution, a Governor must on
the second Tuesday in each January
submit his annual message to the
Legislature. In the event of his cleo
tion as Governor he would, under
these circumstances. have a double
and perhaps conflicting duty to per-
form; that is, the annual message
on the second Tuesday in January
and an inaugural message one week
later
Speaker Taylor is but thirt y-one
years Of age, and will be the youngest
acting governor that ever served in
New Jersey. When elected to the
speakership it was even thought that
he would not come under the. consti-
tational age provision in the event of
an occurrence such az is al fsut to
happen. Thirty years is tile age
| minimum.
Mr.. Taylor is a lawyer. with offices
at Asbury Park His home is at
Avon, Monmouth county. In early
years he was a brakeman in the en-
ploy of the Pennsylvania Railroad
COMPANY.
Governor Fielder is touring Bur
| lington county today. and, therefore.
more definite information could not
be obtained from him. AT Trenton it
was said that nothing was known
there of his plans, but it was ad-
mitted that he had expressed a de-
sire to have clear road In the prepa-
ration of an inaugural message, if it
was his good fortune to win the cleo
| ton, as an inaugural message would
be of vastly greater Importance to
the people of the State than an ordi-
nary annual message could pos
sibly be.
Mr. Tavlor was born at Asbury
Park on December 26, 1882. A lawyer
by profession, he was elected to the
Assembly from Monmouth county in
1910 with a plurality of 2,ll5. He was
reelected in 1911 with a plurility of
2,4S3 and again in 1912 with a plu-
rality of 4,709. No other assembly
man in forty years has been given
third successive term in that coun-
tv. He was chairman of the commit
tee on militia during his first term,
and a member of the appropriation
committee both in 1910 and in 1912.