Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-11-12
IDEEKMAN FAVORED
FOR SPEAKERSH|P
Democratic Senators and AS
sembIymen, With Officials,
Gather at Trenton.
STATE CONTROLLERS JOB
! WILL Go TO EDWARDS
Slocum to Preside Over Upper
House-Difficult Tangle
Ends in Harmony.
fspeclaI 90 the Newark star.i

t6pEcAal AmG ANE%f0AA-
3 TRENTON. Nov. 12.-What might
shave been a nasty battle for the Sc
election of a man to fill the shoes OF
ssActing Governor Leon r. Taylor, as
ssneaker of the House of Assembly,
twas narrowly averted yesterday at
sfbe first governors day since cleo
esion at the State House. Early In the
s,norning. when the newly elected
saoemocratic senators and assembly,
linen began to arrive to pay their re-
eAnects to the governor-elect, and the
Popular young assemblyman from
Monmouth county. who Is now trans
rncting the business of the executive
safice. the indications were that the
qsnea kership would resolve itself INTO
e merry fight and tend to promote
tgissensiop rather than harmony III
Ihe Democratic party ranks
y Almost everybody present was
4ither n candidate for speaker or else
mad some fir end In whose interests
he was working. In fact, as Henry
Kuhlke. assemblyman from TUCSON,
Iacetiously put 1t. he was Tue oh on ,
1ne in the State House corridors VINO
WAS not O candidate. huhiAe q"
fnitted that himself.
AS a aoroliary to the contest ior
Abe speakership was the d.scuSsioii
az lust who the legislators IN Joia'
session Would choose as successor 70
| Edward /. Edwards. of Jersey CITY,
for State comptroller. Some tnous. ~ y.
Edwards should be rewarded VIII
another term. while still others a.
ivanced the names of different cana
! dates. among them that of II. OTTO
Wjttpenn. 1t was evident early In
the day. however. that the speaker
.khip and the comptrollership were
running hand in hand.
neekman Has Following.
u Chief among the aspirants sor
Speaker were Assemblymen Azarl IN
M. Beekman. of Somerset county,
I and Walter l.. McDermott, of HID
son. 1t was apparent that Beekman
( had a strong following, II be ns ru-
.inored that State Treasurer Edward
! u Grosscup. State Secretary David
S. Crater and Commissioner of Bank
h ing and Insurance George M. La
. Monte were behind his candidacy.
4 n While McDermott also had a strong
Z! backing 1t was said that former
! Mavor Wittpenn would probably be
4 against him. and then. too, II was
!. irumored that there might be oppo-
. sition to Edwards for comptroller If
fMcDermott was chosen. they both
~ De1nE HUDSON county men.
4 Governor-elect Fielder while declar-
/ ing that he thought the legislators
We're capable of working out the
speakership problem for themselves,
indirectly expressed preference for
4 Edwards for comptroller and added
sthat he did not think there would be
'Hany contest. AS to the talk that Witt
,tIenn would not stand for McDermott.
/ that seemed to be dispel1ed early in
! the afternoon when the former Jer-
sssey City mayor made his appearance
+ f0ff-the scene and was observed shak-
Ting hands not only with Mcpermott,
I but. with his former foeman, Thomas
LIE Martin, of Hudson. who was de-
sfeated at the primaries for State sem
.ator, and who was one of the most
serdent advocates of McDermott's can
! sdidacy.
NJ Hold Many Conferences.
4 Then the various little conferences
/. began to multiply and it soon became
srerarded as a certainty that Reekma n
.swould be the choice for speaker and
; lMeDermott for majority leader ~&ith
Edwards the unanimous choice for
Z comptroller. When the future and
(. former lawmakers departed for their
shomes this was regarded as certain
land there did not seem to be a dis
! Rsenting voice.
III SeVeral wondered now lne Essen
4 tdeegation of nine would stand in the
sfmatter, and the opinion was generally
siexpressed that there would be no OPP
itposition from that source to either
ikEdwards or McDermott In regard tc
I Beekman for speaker there was more
fkdoubt as Ii was known that at least
tstwo of the Essex men were in the
race for the speakership themselves
(. y John J. Farrell, executive clerk tc
The governor. suggested the move
, plan of having each of the thirty-sev.
I EN- Democrats in the House act al
! Speaker for a day. Farrell. In porinl
aver the laws. declared he could flnt
< Aothing which said the speaker mus
I be elected for the entire session
The average length of the session II
; thirty-seven days and this would giv'
! zach man a turn as speaker. Thu