The Penn's Grove record., 1917-03-23
STATE CAPITOL NEWS
What The State Officials Are
Doing. What The Political
Leaders Are Talking
About

~AeAAA =Aa14AkE n U0NT FHfFn
a clear sky this week came the leffar
from Joseph +. Tumulty. secretary to
resident Wilson. To Secretary Of State
ihomas r. Martin. one of the Demo-
cratic leaders of Hudson county. epdars-
ING local option and urging the Demo-
crafts Of this State to throw off tbe in
huenee Of the liquor interests. To say
that State political leaders were sur-
prlsed it putting it mildly. The TumHltv
letter in connection with the notice given
Monday night by Assemblyman Rupvon-
OF Union county. that after "A bours
ne would move To relieve the Judiciary
committee of the Hates local option bill.
makes a local option law more of a pos
sIbIhty than ever before in the history
Of the State. The Hates bill has passed
the Senate and has since been bottled I'D
IN the House Judiciary Committee bv
the votes Of Leader Oliphant. Of Mercer.
chairman Of the committee. and Dairy
niple. Of Fassaie. and Johnson. of Essex.
all being Republicans. Mr.. Runyon. the
other Republican member and Assembly
man Geran. of Monmouth. the Demo-
cratic member have been in favor Of re-
porting it.
The 10 Republican As~semblymen who
voted for the Gaunt-Mackay local option
measure. are ready to support the Hates
aiil. and if the Tumulty letter should re-
suit IN the l. Hudson Democrats voting
for It. it Would receive just the required
II votes to paws it. As Governor Edge
declared during the campaign that he
would sign a local option bin if one
reached him. there is no doubt of his ap-
proving this measure.
Secretary Of State Martin. when asked
1bout the TumnltY letter addressed to
him said it appealed to him as taking a
very broad view of the matter. He was
not prepared to say what action the
Hudson Assemblymen might take. The
show down will como on the motion of
Runyon to force the Hates bin from the
committee. The demand of Runyon for
4 roll call on his motion viii prevent
Speaker Schoen from steam rollering the
motion through in favor of the liquor
members as he has done on other ques-
tons during the past two weeks.
Charges were made today by local
optionists that the liquor Republicans in
the House directed by Leader Oliphant
and ex-Assemblyman f. Morgan Barra-
dale. secretary to the majority. are going
50 far as to threaten the local option
members with boycotting their bills and
denying them all good committee assign
ments next year if they persist in favor
ing the Hates bill. As~semblyman Amer
man. Of Somerset county. a strong local
optionist. declared that Barradale and
Assemhlyman Kellam, Of Camden. told
him he better take his name off the pc
tition prepared TO force from committee
the woman suffrage bill under the ffteen-
rule.
''They told me l would have trouble
with my bills and would not get good
committee assignments next year if l
left my name on the petition Mr..
Amerman said.
Assemblyman Bramhall. of Essex. who
voted for the Gaunt-Maekay local option
measure. was likewise threatened and
took his name off the suffrage bill pc
tition. They cot after Assemblyman
Badgley. of Essex. the same way. This
shows the desperation of the liquor Re-
publicans were in when the Tumulty
letter came like a bomb into the Legis-
lative camp.
3 =
The Hates bin is different from the
Gaunt-Mackay local option measure and
arrives at home rule by another route.
The Hates measure. Senate %. permits
municipalities to initiate ordinances for
the regulation of the saloons as well as
on other questions. Such proposed or
dinanees are to he submitted to the gov
- HI - -a+sF..r rsu-aI h- EF
teen per cent Of the legal voters. upon
which action. the ordinances must be
submitted to the voters at the next gen.
eral or a special election. as may be de-
termined after a hearing on this ques-
tion. If a majority of the legal vot-
ers vote for any ordinance it shall be-
come a law.
The Gannt-NIackay bin required the
fling Of a petition with the Governing
body signed by thirty per cent Of the vot-
ers. following which the vote would he
taken at a general election upon the
question whether or not the saloons be
allowed to continue. The majority vote
deciding the issue. Under this bin no
other question could be submitted. while
under the initiative principle Of the
Rates measure. any public question may
he handled.
The Hates Local Option bill was report
ed adversely on Wednesday and the report
was sustained by a vote of 30 to u. That
killed it.
Governor Edge yesterday had an
hours conference with Gen. George ".
Goethals. who has been offered the po-
Sition of State Engineer to handle the
S15A00000 road system. the proposed
Hudson and Delaware River tunnels. the
New York Harbor development and other
big State projects. The meeting follow
ed the passage by the Senate Monday
night Of the bill providing for the APP
pointment Of the State Engineer. Gen.
Goethals left the State House without
stating whether he would accept. but it
IS thought likely that he viii DO so.
.
There was reported in the Senate yes