Bridgeton pioneer., 1916-12-07
GOvernor-Elect Gives Very
Little Encouragement.
THE LEGISLATURE
Local Option Will Loom Up in
Both Houses-Cumberland
Has Live Senator,

4 LeuSer, yesterday morning printed
the following story in his paper:
Ocean City, N. j., Dec. 3-Profes-
sional job hunters, seeking easy
berths on the score of Service rem
dered the party might as we'll stay
at home and save carfare to Trenton,
no matter what part of New Jersey
they live in. That was the message
| Governor-elect Walter E. Edge left
with some of the men upon whom he
is going to depend for counsel during
the next three years, when he started
yesterday for the South.
Governor-elect Edge knows those
who served the party during the cam
paign which gave him an astounding
majority. He went into the fight fo-
the nom nation without regard to the
| wishes of the Board of Guardians
which ran New Jersey in the old days
and without anything which resem-
bled machine. If there was ma
chine back of him in his winning fight
for the office Mr.. Edge built it him
self.
| The men whom the new Governor
will put into important places when
he has the appointive power are of
known ability in professional and bu-
siness lines. He already has given
proof of his purpose, disconcerting in
| that he intends to appoint man from
outside of New Jersey to be Adjutant
General if the man will accept the
| appointment.
South Jersey is gong to have an
important part in the local option bat
tie during the coming legislative ses-
sion. Governor-elect Edges position
upon that issue is perfectly clear. He
will take no hand whatever in the
fight, but if a local option bill is
passed, he will sign it unhesitatingly.
1t is freely conceded by anti-option-
lists that bill similar to that of last
year, giving eeach municipality the
right to say whether it shall be wet
or dry, will pass the Senate during
the session, probably by the same
vote as last year All of South Jersey
senatorially speaking, is for local OPP
ton, with the exception of Camden
and Atlantic Counties.
There is another story to tell with
respect to the House Twelve mem
bers from Essex and twelve from
Hudson are pledged to vote against
local option. The five members from
Passaic always have been against op-
ton. With two more votes from At
lantic the ants will have thirty-one
votes, which is enough to defeat any
option bill, So long as the line re-
mains intact.
| Home-rule bills are certain to be a
subject of contention. Local option
lists will be against this class of leg
islation for fear that cities may be
| given power to make further conces-
sions to liquor. Liberals will fight
them TO. avoid raising of the liquor
| question. South Jersey probably will
| interpose no objection to Governor
elect Edges plan to repeal the Egan
act and start the good-roads move
ment all over again.
South Jersey will have live mem
ber in the forthcoming session in the
| person of Senator-elect ]. Hampton
Iithian, of Cumberland, who succeeds
John A. Ackley. The new Senator
was born in Greenwich township of
his home county and is only forty
three years old. He, was graduated
from the West Jersey Academy,
Bridgeton, in 1890, was admitted to
the bar in February, 1895, and became
| a counselor three years later Sena-
| tor Fithian was associated with Geo.
| Hampton, one of the best known Dem
ocrats in South Jersey, from 1895 to
| 1915, as junior member of the firm of
( Hampton & Fithian. He was appoint
| ed Prosecutor for Cumberland in 1899
| and reappointed in 1904 and 1909,
serving fifteen years.
Senator-elect Emerson Richards, of
Atlantic, will see Governor Fielder
| this week and urge him to insert an
item of $4,000 for the building of a
dredge for New Jerseys inland water
/, way in the new budget bill now being
formulated. Senator-elect Richards
holds that the State is bound to main
tain the waterway at its full depth of
| six feet quite as much as to keep the
! highways in repair. He regards the