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By J. Owen Grundy
About the same time as the C.I.O-Free Speech fight, in 1937, the Clean Government Republicans in Essex County, led by Arthur T. Vanderbilt, (who later became Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court) decided to field Rev. Lester H. Clee, State Senator, as its gubernatorial candidate. The Hoffman-Hague Republicans put up State Senator Clifford R. Powell, of Burlington County. A hot Republican Primary contest was assured.
The Essex "reformers" feared that Hague would send "One Day" Republicans in to defeat Dr. Clee as they had Judge Carey, nine years previously. John Longo took the initiative in formulating a ticket composed of raw recruits, uninitiated young novices, to run for county offices. They were bracketed under the catchy slogan: "Young Democrats Marching with Roosevelt." Vincent Ferro was one of the candidates.
Longo handed nominating petitions to each of the candidates, in addition to others, to seek signatures. When he attempted to file the signed petitions with the County Clerk, old George Landwehr, the deputy, tried to dissuade him, but Longo insisted and they were filed. Before the ink was dry, Hague had his prosecutor's detectives, as well as all the ward leaders out, going from one house to the other, interviewing, "intimidating" the signers, and securing affidavits. When they had a sufficient number of sworn affidavits saying that the signers thought they were endorsing Hague candidates, or that "it is not my signature," or some other reason, the prosecutor took the affidavits to the Grand Jury and secured an indictment of Longo. Since he had made the mistake of taking the oath to the validity of all (all underlined in the original) the signatures, even those which had been secured by others and not signed in his presence, John Longo was legally responsible.
Longo's trial for "false swearing" in which he was represented by former Congressman Vito Marcantonio, took eight days. It resulted in his conviction and sentence to nine months, at hard labor, in county penitentiary at Laurel Hill. The Longo case became a cause celebre and attracted national attention. The question did not become one of Longo's technical guilt or innocence, but rather of the persecution of a youthful Hague foe for doing something that in Hudson County had been for many years common practice. Throughout Longo's ordeal, my family and I stood by him, as did many of the previously mentioned as activists in the C.I.O-A.C.L.U crusade.
But things began to change. Franklin D. Roosevelt was making his bid for an unprecedented third term and needed strong support in New Jersey. He convinced Hague to accept his Secretary of the Navy, Charles Edison, (the inventor's son) as his candidate for Governor. At a Sea Girt rally, Edison declared that he "would wear no man's collar," but Hague took this for campaign oratory. Jimmy Cromwell, husband of millionaire heiress, Doris Duke, was the candidate for U.S. Senator.
The Republicans, feeling the country would reject a third term for any President, mobilized for victory. The G.O.P. controlled legislature merged the two election bureaus, (removing both Ferguson and Stoebling,) and named Ferguson aide William E. Sewell as head of the joint office, as it is today. Sewell loaded his payroll with Republicans and anti-Hague Democrats, including former Secretary of State Joseph F. S. Fitzpatrick, Dr. Arthur J. Wilson, the late George Creegan, Charles S. Witkowski, Longo, and others. It was in this campaign that T. James Tumulty made his debut, becoming chairman of Hudson Young Republicans. He, Longo and Grundy made a strong oratorical trio on the stump. They campaigned for State Senator Robert C. Hendrickson for Governor and U. S. Senator W. Warren Barbour, seeking reelection.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt defeated Wendell L. Willkie. Cromwell was trounced by the popular Barbour. But, Edison defeated Hendrickson.
This Web version, edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2003
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