Evening star., 1920-01-13
NEW JERSEY TREND
STRONGLY TOWARD
PROGRESSIVE IDEAS
Called "Hard-BoiIed State"
But May Be Leading
Double Life"
BY n. O. MESSENGER.

~.
NEWARK. n. J.. January 13.-They
call New Jersey the hard boiled
state because il is 80 "set" in some
of its ways: such ways, for example,
as uncompromisng insistence upon
remaining wet" when everybody else
has gone dry. and fighting woman
suffrage when vii, ;iays and Homer
Cummings are walking the floor
nights figuring on now to convince
; the women of the rest of the land
that the democratic party or the re-
publican party is respectively the
+ first and truest friend of votes Tor
, women
Yet New Jersey. outside of few
of the old hard boiled ones. like
| "Davey" Baird down in Camden and
Jim Nugent up here. is progress
sive state. 1t went two to one for
| Roosevelt as the candidate for the
| republican nomination against Tart
and showed it's resentment of the
| treatment accorded Roosevelt by
going for Wilson in the election.
/ Three Governors in Ten Days.
! There seems to be only one con-
! clusion. New Jersey must be leading
double life. But what can you ex-
| pect of a state that has three govern
ors within ten days?
| It's a fact according to what they
! tell me over here. when Gov. Edge
went to the United States Senate the
president of the New Jersey senate.
Mr.. Runyon, became acting governor,
On Tuesday the Legislature meets ana
the new president of the senate. Car
ence b. Case, becomes acting gov
ernor. Then week hence, after the
legislature has been in session, the
newly elected governor. Mr. Edwards:
becomes the executive by right OF
, suffrage.
If you are interested enough to fol-
low along and read what ensues you
will not envy him his office. 1t Will be
remembered that he was elected TO the
governorship practically on the pat
form that, if elected, he would MAKE
New Jersey wet as the Atlantic
ocean," In the light of the decision o.
the United States Supreme Court on
the Volstead law and the decision OF
Monday. refusing New Jersey the right
even to bring suit to test the constitu-
tionality of the national prohibition
law. they are asking here where Gov
Edwards is going to start his pre-eiec-
tion promise to make the stare as We
as the Atlantic ocean. 1t LOOKS 10 the
people hereabouts that Holland. pro-
tected by her dikes from the invading
Atlantic, furnishes a good simile Tor
New Jerseys legal emba ankments
against the inundation promised by the
governor.
or course. that was before election
| and ought to have been taken. not only
with a grain of salt, but as much salt
| as there is in the Atlantic. but he got
away with it.
| Fortunately forestf1e- governor-elect,
perhaps, a rumpus will be started in
| the legislature at the outset which may
serve to distract attention momentariiy
| from his failure to turn on the splgot
| In the campaign he promised also TO
turn out the boards controlling chari-
table, penal and correctional institu-
tions, comprising a number OF desir'
able positions.
Gov Edge with a desire to put these
boards upon progressive ana penen-
ciaI basis had sent out of the state to
bring in number of men whose hearts
were in the work, under the famous
Burdette Lewis, which naturally cre-
ated resentment among Jersey men.
Now the plan is to endeavor. in the
week intervening between the assem-
bling of the Legislature and the in
aueuration of the governor. to pass
| a bill through the republican legis-
| laure to provide that the incumbents
shall be removed only for cause, after
hearing.
Ratification of the woman suffrage
amendment will come up for bitter
wrangling. James r. Nugent. the DEM
/ ocratic boss of Essex county. control
ling twelve members of the assembly.
is dead against it, The republicans
! have hinted at a referendum. but ef-
| forts will be made to ratify 1t out
right.
Presidential Politics.
On presidential politics. the repub-
| licans of New Jersey appear to be
! for Gen Leonard Wood. The reason
| is obvious-the prevalence of the old
progressive republican vote in the
state Edgar A. Knapp of Elizabeth. a
| former rough rider: former Senator
Everett Colby. the great progressive
| leader, and former Gov. Stokes are
declared to be favorable to Gen. Wood.
However, William p. Nerdon of Hud-
son county is for Senator Hiram
| Johnson, and Senator Edge is very
friendly to Senator Harding. while
there is some Lowden sentiment The
other boomers. however, do not really
! hope to make any headway against
the Wood sentiment.
The democrats. SO far as can be as
certained. are not very enthusiastic
| about anybody and may go to San
| Francisco unpledged. OF course. the
! Nugent faction will hope to send men
there who. while not pledged for any
! one in particular. will have their
fingers crossed against any man pro-
posed by the Wilson administration.
On the league of nations the same
sentiment exists here that has been
reported in these dispatches from
other sections of the country. Boiled
down, it means they want the demo-
Gratis and republicans to get to-
gether. ride over the last ditch" men
in each faction and ratify the treaty
with reservations.