Bridgeton pioneer., 1917-06-28
LOCAL OPTION
IN new JERSEY
Democrats May Force the
Issue.
TUMULTY LEADS
Republicans Entirely Willing For
Minority Party to Press
the Issue.
(From the Phila. Ledger.)

Trenton, June 24.-Republican lead
ers in New Jersey, Governor Edge
among them, are perfectly willing
that Democratic organization direc-
tors shall make local option the issue
of the elections in this State next
fall, if that is the desire and the in
iention of Joseph P. Tumulty and 9TH
er minority party lieutenants not d.
rectly affiliated with the liquor in
terests.
In thus disclosing their acquies-
cence the Republican chieftains are
not dlsparaging local option as
principle or campaign policy. 1t
may be that the Republicans them
selves shortly will have something to
say upon the subject in the way of
party announcement. They are
firmly convinced, however, that there
is no issue in the State quite so GER
tain to split the Jersey Democracy
up and down and across and back as
a proposal that the party shall go in
to allegiance with the anti-saloonists.
This conviction is based in part up
on pointed statements made last win
ter by James Nugent, the Democratic
boss in Essex, when he fastened back
from the Bahamas to line up the
Democratic machine men in the Leg
islature against the Kates home rule
bill, which proposed to permit cities
to decide whether or not they should
have saloons. The Democrats killed
the Hates bill, which, without Nu-
gents opposition, would have gone
through. Hudson, solidly Democratic
for years, always has been implacab-
ly opposed to local option. Right or
wrong, the Republicans maintain that
tho Democratic sinews of war in the
last campaigns in Essex and Hudson
came almost entirely from the sa-
looms and the brewery interests
Whether the Democrats respond to
Secretary Tumulty's plea or not, it is
exceedingly likely that a local option
bill with a referendum string will be
en- the Republican legislative program
in the fall campaign. Governor Edge
would have been willing to have such
bill passed last winter. 1t would
then and it will next year enable the
party to play fair with the people,
who insist that the voters can be
trusted to deal with the question ac-
cording to the dominant sentiment in
their respective communities. Big
centers of population like Jersey City,
Newark, Paterson, Trenton, Camden
and Atlantic City doubtless would re-
main wet. Some of the rural coun-
ties would be scarcely more "dry"
than they are now Scores of little
places in "wet' counties probably
would go dry, but it is hardly like
" they would change their politics
on that account
So Secretary Tumulty will have to
act quickly if it is his thought to
make capital out of local option at
the expense of the Edge administra-
ton There is everys2robability. now
that Senator Gaunt, of Gloucester,
the Republican high priest of the To-
cal optionists, who has served nine
again when the Legislature convenes
next January with an option bill in
his inside pocket. He has not de-
clared himself yet, but the leaders in
Gloucester regard him as a candidate
nevertheless. Some of them are say
ing that it would have been a wiser
blyman Ollie West to abandon his
ambition to be county clerk and run
for the Senate instead, assuming that
the farmer-Senator were willing to
step aside, for Gaunt is certain to
have a strong opponent in the person
of Sheriff Bob Mead if he does make
the fight. This arrangement may pre-
vail yet, for Senator Gaunt is far
from being a well man.
Neither the Democrats nor the Re-
publicans thus far have trotted out
any dark horses to oppose the re-
nomination of Senator Collins B. AL
len, in Salem, and that farmer-legis-
lator counts himself as good as re-
elected. In Camden, Harry Sharp,
who, it is expected, will be the Re-