Perth Amboy evening news., 1916-11-01
QUESTIONS
FOR W|T1PENN
Republican Candidate issues
Open Letter to His Demo-
cratic Opponent.
vpeotc, TO tho EVENING VIEWS.

bpeof1I to the EPENlNG SE VS.
Atlantic City. Nov. In an open
letter written today to Naval Ofhcer
III. Otto Wittpenn, his Democratic op
/ ponent, Senator Walter E. Edge, the
Republican nominee for Governor, de-
mands that Wittpenn become specific
| on the question of corporation taxa
ton and control and stop. CLOSING
over the subject with generalities."
Edge hurls four specific questions
i at the Democratic nominee and calls
| for specific answers. The letter fol-
| lows:
Nov. /, 1916.
Hon. H Otto Wittpenn,
! Jersey CITY,
| New Jersey.
| Dear Sir:
t 1 do not believe the people of New
Jersey are interested right now
either in the local political rows in At
lantic county or in the fact that Hud-
son county contributed more than
sixty ballot-box suffers to the State
Prison several years ago as the result
of an investigation conducted by the
Honorable John j. Gardner Of my
county. Neither do 1 believe that
they are interested in the other fact
that your political associates In Hud-
son county have within year past
publicly charged gross frauds against
tenants in politics. The voters are
interested in knowing what measures
you and / respectively propose to ad
vocate as Governor.
Personally, 1 decline to seek the
great office of Governor by a dema
gogic attitude of indiscriminately de-
| nouncing business men or the corpor-
, ations of our State, big or little. I
! have not hesitated, however. to advo-
cate and make clear my position on
such measures as are fair and in the
| interest of the taxpayers of New Jer-
sey. regardless Of whom they affect.
! On the other hand. I have waited
patiently for you to make your posi-
ton clear on the legislative issues of
the campaign. You have not done SO.
Apparently a campaign of personal
, abuse best suits your plans.
| You have posed as the champion of
the people against 'grasping corpor-
ations," and have intimated that 1
| hold a different view. The facts, as
evidenced by the two state conven-
tions, are to the contrary.
| In the Republican convention, I, as
the leader of my party, secured a
platform pledged to the taxation of
gross receipts of public utility corpor-
ations at five per cent, which will
make these corporations pay over a
millions dollars a year In additional
| taxes.
In your convention a resolution to
| include this samn pledge was voted
down on motion Of James r. Nugent,
the Democratic boss of Essex county,
while you sat In silence and ac-
quiesced.
In your campaign thus far, while
| you have denounced these corpora
tions in general terms, you have
'studiously avoided pledging yourself
or your party to any specific meas
ures of relief.
I propose now to smoke you out on
this corporation issue and to that end
1 demand that you publicly answer
certain specific questions and cease
| the transparent evasion which has
characterized your handling of this
| important question. Your attitude has
reminded me strongly of an old fable
and you are calling stop thief in
order to divert attention from your
| own indefensible position. While you
state, with broad, saving reservations
and provisos, that you favor an in
| creased tax upon the franchises Of the
npblic utilities corporations Of this