Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-11-10
CHAPTER Nv
Fly JOSEPH p. TUMULTY

N
~ Harvey was defeated in the
first sllirmish to advance the
cause of Woodrow Wilson, he con-
tinued to pursue his purpose to force
his personal choice upon the New
Jersey Democracy. The approach
ing gubernatorial election of 1910
gave the colonel his opportunity and
he took advantage of it.
Rumors began to circulate that
the machine run by Davis, Smith
and Ross, the great Democratic trl-
umVirate of the state, were determ1n-
ed to nominate the Princeton presi-
dent at any cost. Young 1nen like
Mark Sullivan, John Treacy and my
self, all of Hudson county, repre-
senting the liberal wing Of our par
ty, were bitterly opposed to this
effort. We suspected the "Old
Gang was up to it's old trick of
foisting upon the Democrats of the
state a tool which they could use
for their own advantage, who under
the name Of the Democratic party
would do the bidding of, the corpo-
rate interests which had, under both
the regular" organizations, Dem
ocratic and Republican. found in
New Jersey their most nutritious
pastures. At a meeting held at the
Lawyers club in New York, young
err Democrats, like Judge Silzer, of
MiddleseX, and myself, "plighted our
political troth" and pledged our I'M
dying opposition to the candidacy of
the Princeton president. AS a re-
suit of our conference, we set in
motion the progressive machinery
Of in n Intensive effort
to force the nomination of Judge
Silzer in opposition to that of Wood
row Wilson.
AS soon as the Democratic boss
of Hudson county, Bob Davis, one
of the leaders in the Wilson move
ment in north Jersey, was apprised
of the proposed action on our part.
he set about to head it off, and as
part of his plan of opposition he
sent for me in an effort to Wean me
away from the Silzer candidacy. l
refused to yield. Upon being interro-
gated by me as to his interest in
Woodrow Wilson, Boss Davis stated
that if we nominated Woodrow Will
son there would be a big campaign
fund put UP for him by Moses Tay-
lor Pyne, a trustee of Princeton
university. Never before was the
ignorance of a boss made more man.
ifest. AS a matter of fact, at that
very time, there was no more I'M
placable foe to Woodrow Wilson in
the state of New Jersey than Moses
Taylor Pyne, a leading trustee Of
Princeton university who headed the
opposition to Mr.. Wilson in the
Princeton fight.
Boss Davis Philosophy
Years after this incident the presi-
dent and I often laughed at what
must have been the surprise and
discontinue of Boss Davis when he
finally learned the facts as to Moses
Taylor Pyne's real feelings toward
Woodrow Wilson. Previous to the
gubernatorial campaign I asked
Boss Davis if he thought Woodrow
Wilson would make a good governor.
His reply was characteristic of the
point of view of the boss in dealing
with these matters of moment to
the people of the state. "How the
hell do I know whether heRl make
a good governor" he replied. HE
will make a good candidate and that
is the only thing that interests me-"
Shortly after, those of us who
banded together to oppose the bosses
in their efforts to force DR.. Wilson
upon us, began to feel the pressure
Of of the organization's influence.
Many of our friends left US in de-
spair and in fear of the power Of the
machine. The movement toward
Woodrow Wilson in the state was
soon in full skiing. The Davis-Smith-
Nugent- machine was in fine
working order on the day and the
night of the convention.
I was not even a delegate to the
convention, but l was present and
kept in close touch by contact with
my friends with every phase of the
convention fight. Colonel Harvey
was again on the scene as the gener
alissimo of the Wilson forces, quietly
and stealthily moving about, lining
up his forces, for the memorable bat
tie of the morrow. There was bitter
but unorganized opposition to the
favorite son Of the state machine,
Woodrow Wilson. The convention
itself presented an unusual situa-
ton, and demonstrated more than
anything I ever saw the power Of the
"old gang" to do the thing it's mas
tiers had in mind. AS 1 look back
upon the great event Of this conven-
ton, the nomination Of Woodrow
Wilson for the governorship of New
Jersey, I feel that destiny was in.
scrutably engaged there, working in
mysterious ways its wonders to per-
form, working perhaps through
strange, incongruous instrumentali-
ties to bring the man of destiny into
action, led by those who were oppos-
ed to everything Woodrow Wilson
stood for, opposed those who were
yearning for and striving for just
the dawn Of political liberalism that
his advent in politics heralded. The
conflict Of the Trenton convention
about to be enacted was an illus.
tration of the poets line, Where
ignorant armies clash by night"
The Old Guards Mistake
The successful side of the conven-
ton was fighting for what they least
wanted; the defeated against what
they most wanted. Here in this con-
vention, in truth, were present in
aggressive action the incongruities
of politics, and in full display were
witnesses the sardpnic contrasts be-
tween the visible and the invisible
situations in politics-all the Old
Guard moving with Prussian pre-
clSIon to the nomination of the man
who was to destroy for a time the
machine rule in New Jersey and in
augurate a new national era in politi-
cal liberalism, while all the liberal
elements of the state, including fine
old Judge Westcott, of Camden, and
young men like myself, were sullen,
helpless. Every progressive Demo-
crat in the convention was opposed
To hn
MAN, and every standpatter and Old
Guardsman was in favor of Wood
row Wilson. On the convention floor,
dominating the whole affair, stood
ex-senator James Smith, Jr., of New
TarSaU tho oF Tho