The Penn's Grove record., 1916-11-10
STATE CAPITOL NEWS
What The State Officials Are
Doing. What The Political
Leaders Are Talking
About

7 LLEnAbIs ANON. Cs-1uE new tTONAfnUE
elected yesterday will be inaugurated IN
this city with appropriate ceremonies on
Tuesday, January 10. This formal in
duction into the Office Of chief executive
of the State will be arranged by a COIN
mittee Of the Legislature. and the main
feature will be the administering of the
oath of office on the stage Of Taylor
opera House by Chief Justice William $.
Gummere, the delivery of the inaugural
address by the incoming Governor. the
handing over Of the great seal of the
State by retiring Governor Fielder aud
the reception in honor Of the accession
at the State House where the head Of
the State Government will shake the
hand of all citizens who wish to meet
him.
The new Legislature will convene at
noon on Tuesday. January 8. and as the
'ne week intervening between this and
the inauguration will be too short a time
TO arrange all the retails for the inaug-
ural ceremony. the preliminaries will he
attended to by the Mercer county rep
resentatives, they usually being chosen :
because Of their being right here ON the
ground where the program must be
handled. 1t is too early now to say
whether or not there will be a military
display in connection with tie Inaugural
ton. In former times every Inaugural
ton was attended by an elaborate mill
tary turnout of the National Guari. but
the later Governors have opposed this
and the troops on duty have been limit
ed to the Governors military staff and
three or fou companies of the Guard.
Governor Fielder will deliver his last
message to the Legislature on the open
ing day Of the session. reviewing the
past years work in the State govern
ment and making whatever recommended
tons he thinks proper. 1t is customary,
however. for the retiring Governor not
to make many important recommends
tons, leaving the new executive free to
outline his own p, licy to be followed
for the ensuing three years.
1t is one of the euriosities of the
New Jersey goverL "rt that once in
every three years the State is without
a Governor for twelve hours. This is
due to the wording of the State Consti-
tuition. which provides that the term of
the retiring Governor shall end at mid
night on Monday preceding the inaug-
u~ratiun. As the Inauguration never
takes place until noon on the third
Tuesday in January, there is the inter
regnum Of twelve hours. OF course this
is not serious and if any emergency
should arise during the time the Presi-
dent of the Senate would take the oath
IF office and become Acting Governor
t,ofl t1,a nan axcou%iua ha1 FORMALLY
taken the oath.
The new Governor will have a lot Of
important appointments to make the
first year of his term. His first APP
pointment will be that of his private
first week of his term he will have 10
secretary, salary $1,000 a year. The
! name a Justice of the Supreme Court.
, as the term of Justice Francis J. Sway
re ends on January 20. next. Justice
Swayze is a Republican. The term is
seven years and the salary $4,000 a
year. On the same date the term of
Circuit Court Judge Frederic Adams. OF
East Orange. will end. and this will
| make another important appointment
the first week of the new gubernatorlal
term. Judge Adams is also a Repubh-
| can. The term is seven years and the
! salary $4,000. The next two appoint
meuts will be State Road Commission
or. to succeed Col. Edwin A. Stevens
Democrat. of Hoboken. term three years.
salary 5000; and superintendent q
weights and measures to succeed VIM.
VI. Waliron. Democrat. of Trenton, sal
ary $500. term FIVE years..
The attention of the political leaders
If the State will now be directed to the
organization of the new Legislature. The
preliminary skirmisbes in this battle
will come next Tuesday with the first
post-election gathering Of the polite
ians at the State House. The first
Tuesday after election is always n OF
the I~iveliest of the year at the Capitol.
1t is expected that next Tuesday will see
the beginning of the struggle for the po-
sition of Speaker of the Assembly and
President of the Senate. During the
next four or five Tuesdays the pohh-
cal situation as. touching these posi-
tons and the general organization Of
the Legislature viii be threshed out as
the leaders and Legislators gather at
the State House. Then the Democrats
and Republicans win call their respec-
tive caucusses for the selection of the
offices to be nominated on the opening
day of the legislative session.
The Governor just elected is the 4Tth
chief executive chosen in this State
since the adoption of a State Constitu-
ton in 1875, including several Acting
Governors who were formally indicted
into the Office for short periods. The
Federalist party had five Governors. IN
GLIDING the first three chosen. Four of
the Governors were Wings and the
Democrats nave had 81 of the Govern
ors. The first Democratic Governor WAS
Joseph bloomfield, who served in 1901
and 1902.
CONTINUED ON AGE ,