Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1923-03-02
SENATOR BRIGHT HEADS COMMIT
TEE TO CALL ON GOVERNOR
(From the Philadelphia Record.)

Trenton, February 28.@The show
down between Governor Silzer and the
Republican majority of the Senate on
the appointments to the State High
way Commission came tonight in n
of the most dramatic situations in the
legislative history of New Jersey. A
committee of three, representing the
Senate majority, served notice on the
Governor that General Hugh L. Scott,
one of the foremost military figures
in the country, and Walter l.. Kidde,
of Montclair, a famous engineer,
would not be confirmed as members of
the Commission because they were not
Outstanding Republicans" The Elk
ecutive promptly served notice on the
Republican Senate that these men had
consented to make sacrifices to serve
the state and he was going to stand
by them to the end.
Senators Stevens, of Monmouth;
Mathis, of Ocean, and Bright of Cape
May, were the members of the COM
mittee that took part in the confer
ence. They attempted to convince the
Governor that the anne of General
Scott and Mr.. Kidde should be with
drawn and Senator Collins B. Allen,
of Salem, and Walter l.. Pomeroy, of
Bergen, be substituted, because the
latter two we're the kind of Republic
cans the Senators could stand for.
They did not utter a word against
either of the Governors appointees
except that they were not the same
kind of Republicans that Abraham
Jelin, of New Brunswick, and Percy
Stewart, Of Plainfield, were Demo-
Gratis.
The Governors attitude is summed
up in his closing remarks to the COM
mittee: Gentlemen" he said, " 1 tell
you what my purpose in this is. Per-
haps we have different view points.
My purpose is to build good roads and
build honest roads. l do not care who
builds them; I do not are whether the
Democrats or Republicans build them.
l want good roads built. l think the
things that prevent the building of
good roads are:
First, the injection of patent paw
lHSy anu oCCOho LIZ AiJOCSAOh VI ~
tics. 1 think both things destroy the
efficiency of any board, both things
prevent the building of good roads
and, therefore, 1 think we are APP
preaching the thing from a different
view point. I think these foul men
fill all these qualifications. If these
four men cannot build good roads in
New Jersey no four men can.
''Then there is another reason. |
am certainly not going to ask two men
who have accepted my invitation to
permit their names to be used and
then desert them. These men had not
the slightest desire to become road
builders. Both of them made sacri-
fees in order that the state might be
benefited. Both men said they were
willing to do it if I thought it was a
matter of public service and certainly
under these conditions 1 will never
withdraw them unless you have some
stronger reasons than that which you
have given me-"
Insisted Upon Open Hearing
Wu6u Iu0 COlllllIIICO Alob OOO6hS "
take the matter up with the Governor
he would not talk until he had sent
for the newspaper correspondents.
The Senators told him that they
wanted a private conference, but his
reply was that the time had come in
this highway matter for full publicity
and if the newspaper men were not
present there would be no conference.
The Senators finally agreed.
The Governor was then told that IL
members of the II Republicans in the
Senate had decided to ask that the
names of General Scott and Mr.. Kidde
be withdrawn and Senator Allen and
Mr.. Pomeroy substituted. The Gov
ernor asked why. The reply was that
they were not as outstanding Republic
cans as Jelin and Stewart were as
Democrats.
What does Republicanism or DEM
ocracy have to do with the road ques-
tion?" snapped the Governor.
The answer to this was that the
committee was not there to discuss
that, but simply to ask the withdrawal
of the m
Senator Bright suggested that it was
to be a bipartisan commission, COM
posed of two men of each party.
isn't General Scott a Republican,
and Mr.. Kidde a Republican," asked
the Governor.
"There has been some question
about that" replied Senator Bright.
"But these men say they are" an
swered the Executive. General Scott
said that he voted for Senator Freling-
huysen and Senator Edge. That is
pretty good Republicanism, isn't it?
Do you want a better Republican than
that?"
Replying to question by Governor
Silzer, Senator Stevens made it clear
that no reflections had been cast upon
the ability or integrity of the two ap-
pointees. 1t was simply a case of the
Governor not naming the particular
brand of Republicans to suit the Sen
ate. There the conference ended.
g.