—]f the adage “when rouges fall out
honest men come by their own,” is true,
the honest folk in Philadelphia ought to
draw a lot of comfort out of the Republi-
can machine scrimmage now in progress
in that city.
——Anybody can see at a glance that
Senator PENROSE looks well in the garb
of a reformer but it would be wise for
those concerned to take a squint under
the mask in order to see whether or not
he looks happy.
—Those Persian natives who relish the
young asafoedita plant as a diet must be
the evolution of the suckers we used to
fish for as a kid when we thought that
asatoedita in the bait can always make
them bite better.
—Many of the highest buildings in
Chicago have recently been discovered to
be seriousiy out of plumb. It has not yet
been revealed whether they got crooked
in the last campaign for United States
Senator in Illinois.
—OtT10 HELL, a New Yorker, applied to
the courts in that city to have his name
changed. He thought O. HELL, in big
electric lights in front of a confectionery
he had just bought, wouldn't look good
and the court agreed with him.
* ~The women have just touched off the
first big gun of their campaign for school
directors. Read it in another column of
this paper. They say “We cannot vote,
but we are influential." So then it is to
be a campaign of “inflooence" is it?
—We presume that the Hon. GEORGE
W. GUTHRIE was among the first to get
registered in Pittsburg on Tuesday. Of
course this is only presumption because
history tells us that the Hon. GEORGE has
frequently failed in this little duty of
citizenship.
~——MTr. JAMES I. BLAKESLIE is having
a “halcyon and vociferous” time traveling
over the State and giving expensive din-
ners to political adventurers but it is not
easy to discover how those who are pay-
ing the “checks” get the worth of their
money out of it.
—France and Germany are strutting
about on their respective frontiers just
now with the proverbial chip on the
shoulder. Iternational peace advocates
are respectfully invited to keep hands off
until the bluster is over and arbitration
can be suggested.
—One of the men candidates for school
director in Bellefonte was interrogated by
a member of the Civic club, the other day
about as follows: ‘“‘Are you running for
school director?” He: “I don’t know
whether I am running or walking.” She:
“Well, you'd better sit down, then.”
—Authorities seem to be hunting hard
to find a location in Centre county for the
new penitentiary. While there might be
some temporary advantage in having
such an institution built in this commu-
nity we are of the opinion it is nota
thing to be very enthusiastically sought
after.
—Think the matter over carefully now.
The time is growing short. Attend the
primaries and vote for the man whom
you honestly think would make the most
acceptable incumbent in the office he
aspires to fill. But if more people vote
for some one else, remember the old
adage about two heads being better than
one.
—The inspectors who examined the
Canonsburg opera house have reported
that the stairway was “wide enough for
all demands of the law.” This announce-
sient has prompted the Philadelphia
Inquirer to suggest that the law ought to
be changed. All the laws that could be
enacted wouldn't have thrown a single
safe guard around that illfated audience
that was not there. The show might have
been in the open and a panic started with
fatal results. What we have to learn is
the lesson of self control and that all of
us will never succeed in learning. The
Canonsburg horror was only a little more
horrible than the average of incidents
that occur almost daily and in every one
of which the element of self control is
found to be lacking in a greater or less
The State Highway Department has
issued an order for the construction of a
State road covering the distance between
Mifflintown and Lewistown, known as the
“Lewistown Narrows.” It is an import-
ant bit of public highway and the depart-
ment was wise in deciding upon an early
improvement. But we regret to say that
' the work is not progressing as rapidly as
| it might. Beyond the decision to con-
struct the road, which was made some
| weeks ago, nothing, we understand, has
| yet been done. Even the surveys have
sions, against any person holding office not been made or ordered, though in
"in this Commonwealth, of any immoral | order to complete the work before incle-
| or dizionest conduct, or who has in any | ment weather sets in, it ought to be in
| way violated his oath of office.” It is progress now.
also empowered to summon witnesses, The reasons given by current rumors
administer oaths and compel witnesses to | moreover, are worse than the delay itself,
testify. |if such a thing is possible. Thereis a
The original purpose of the commission | very hot contest on, the gossip has it, for
was to blaze a way by which the Republi- | the Republican judicial nomination in the
can machine might harrass judges who | Forty-first district, composed of Juniata
refused to obey its mandates. One of the | and Perry counties. The Republican ma-
Philadelphia courts had given offence to | chine has always taken a deep interest in
Mayor REYBURN by rendering decisions the judicial succession in that district,
according to law instead of in the inter- though for what reason we are not in-
est of the municipal administration and formed. Judge Shull, of Perry county, is
the machine devised this method of “get- the present incumbent, and is known as
ting even.” Subsequently, however, a the “migratory judge,” for the reason that
difference among the machine leaders led ‘having little to do at home he is available
up to an irreconcilable factional quarrel for service wherever and whenever an
and the offices of the commission have “obliging” judge is needed elsewhere, and
been invoked by one faction to destroy possibly that is why the machine is inter-
the other. That there is abundant rea- | ested in the succession. In any event
ATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION.
NTE, PA. SEPTEMBER 8, 1911.
son for the intervention is beyond ques-
tion. The REYBURN administration has
given the most flagrant example of rot-
ten municipal government of which there
is any record in any country.
The investigation which has thus been
inaugurated is capapie of rendering most
--aluable service, not only to the people of
Philadelphia, but for the entire State and
possibly for the whole country. So far
as Mr. LoGAN M. BULLITT and the attorney
for his committee, Mr. THOMAS RABURN
WHITE, are concerned, we have no doubt
rumor alleges that work on this danger-
ous piece of road is retarded on account
of this judicial contest.
There are several candidates for the
nomination, and singularly enough the
one favored by the Republican machine
is not very popular with the people. In
the process of road construction under
the new highway law, a good many offi-
cials are necessary. Surveyors are re-
quired in considerable number, inspectors
in great force, overseers and laborers and
teams and implements are used freely,
of an honest purpose to abate a great |and this army of dependents make a po-
evil and correct a serious fault. But we | tent force for electioneering purposes. In
have not the same faith in the integrity | the selection of the men, teams and ma-
of purpose of the Philadelphia factionists | terials, in this particular instance, it is
who have procured the activity of the said that the judicial interests of one of
commission or the majority of the mem- . the candidates are always kept in mind,
bers of that body. It is impossible to Thus public interests are subverted to
imagine that either Senator PENROSE or | political exigencies and the people, justly
Senator McNICHOL has turned in for real ' or unjustly, complain.
reform, or that they contemplate such a TT Tr Te
aot 3 : 5 ——1It is noticeable that the leaders of
political renovation as justice requires. |
: | the Keystone party are more concerned
If these gentlemen are in earnest, how- : i
ever, this investigation will result in such : Hout genre Siemgtliee is once tan
an upheaval in politics and such an ex-|
| posure of corruption as has not occurred | It may also be noticed that most of the
in this country since the late SAMUEL J. | Keystone aspirants for office are men who
TILDEN ran down and brought to punish- | have failed, at one time or another, to get
ment the members of the TWEED ring in | office in one or the other of the old parties.
New York. But we apprehend that such Danger for Reformers to Consider.
is not the purpose of the pending investi: en
gation. We greatly fear that the only Our esteemed friends, the reformers of
intent of those behind itis to force the | Philadelphia and Pittsburg, are greatly
REYBURN administration to abrogate its | encouraged by the first two registration
“working agreement” with the machine | days in those cities. They are absolutely
of the VARE brothers and thus make cer- |, certain that the large registration in the
tain the defeat of a candidate for chief reform wards and the comparatively
magistrate of the city whose fondest as small registration in the “gang” districts,
well as first ambition would be to put | indicate a splendid reform victory. Prob-
both PENRoSE and McNICHOL in the pillory | ably they are right and we certainly hope
and inflict upon them all the tortures of | their expectations with respect to the
the damned. | matter may be fulfilled. Butin a friend.
Te — (ly spirit we would caution them against
——Of course the candidacy of Senator | over confidence. There is always danger
LAFOLLETTE for the Presidency is a joke | in that for those who make politics a di-
which gives little or no concern to Presi- version rather than a profession, and it
dent TAFT and his campaign managers. is just possible that the registration rec-
Yet viewed from this distance it looks as ords may be deceiving.
if President TAFT and his campaign A falling off in the machine districts
managers are mainly responsible for it: would be encouraging to those who favor
They have seemingly enticed LAFOLLETTE | political regeneration, if it were nota
and his friends into the Republican con- matter of design. In other words if the
vention and when TAFT carries that body | voters in the machine districts have not
by an overwhelming majority, there will been held back in order to give the other
be nothing for LAFOLLETTE and his fol. side a fictitious basis of confidence that
lowers to do but turnin for the ticket. , Will beguile them into negligence on the
Otherwise they might claim that they | last registration day, it may be all right.
were not bound by the convention and But itis asafe prediction that on the
support a Progressive like Wooprow | last day avery machine voter in every
WiLsoN. The Republican machine is a district in the cities will be registered,
shrewd organization and not too con. and itis not nearly so certain that the
scientious. voters opposed to the machine will be
, equally well prepared for the battle of
' the ballots in November next. There are
he will abide by the result of the Key-
stone primary in Philadelphia “unless the
primaries should resultin the nomination
———Mr. GIBEONEY has announced that tricks in all trades.
The machine managers who are pro-
fessional politicians are "on the job” alls
the time. If the voters upon whom they
of agangster.” As there are only two can depend are not registered on the first
avowed candidates for the Keystone ..o..ond day it is for the reason that it
nomination for mayor, GIBBONEY and | :
BLANKENBURG, it will be impossible to) 28 deemed wise ja clay Sie operation
nominate a “gangster.” Still the an-| .oigiration on the evening of the last
nouncement gives GIBBONEY a wide lati- | 4o0 however, every machine voter in
tude. Like Mr. BERRY last fall, he may | every election district in every city in
decide in his own mind that anybody ex- po Grate will be registered. We are not
cept himself is a “gangster.” | 80 certain of a full registration of those
_———_ | who are not controlled by the machine.
——It is charged that Dr. HLL was | They are likely to imagine that success
forced out of the German Embassy by |is possible without such troublesome
Secretary of State KNOX in order to make | operations and the result is that the ma-
an attractive place for the Secretary's chine will have its usual vote and ma-
friend, Ambassador LEISCHMAN. KNOX | jority.
and LEISCHMAN are Pittsburgers and this | =.
little piece of juggling is simply charac. —If you want high class job work
teristic. | come to the WATCHMAN office.
New Rule Sadly Needed.
At the next Democratic State conven-
tion the party rules ought to be amended
so as to forbid candidates for office from
occupying the position of chairman of the
county committee. In Philadelphia the
Keystone party has such a rule and it
seems to work admirably. When the
chairman of the county committee is
“geized" with an ambition to hold office,
he must resign the chairmanship before
announcing his candidacy. The purpose
of the rule is, no doubt, to prevent the
chairman using the organization to pro-
mote his own selfish interests. Such a
misuse of power would be subversive of
justice. It deprives other aspirants for
office of the equal opportunities to which
all citizens are entitled.
In this State, among Democrats, re-
cently, this abuse of power has become
conspicuous. Nearly one-third of the
county chairmen who compose the State
Central committee are candidates for
county or municipal offices. When the
attempt was recently made to reorganize
the party by absurd revolutionary meth-
ods, this aspiring third of the State com-
mittee was persuaded to vote for the
“reorganizers’’ by the promise that they
would guarantee to themselves the sup-
port of the Keystone electors both for
nomination and election. It was a cor-
rupt proposition such as only ambitious
political adventurers would make. But
it served the nefarious purpose in more
than a dozen instances and but for the
fact that the laws of the State stood in
the way the conspiracy might have been
successful.
There is quite as much moral turpitude
in packing a party committee as there is the
in stuffing a ballot box. Bribing com-
mitteemen to vote for or against a meas-
ure is as obnoxious to political morality
as buying votes atthepolls. Yet GEorcE | before
W. GUTHRIE. VANCE C. MCCORMICK, A.
M. PALMER and their co-conspirators in
the treacherous attempt to disorganize
the Democratic party, committed both of
the offences. The so-called reorganization
committee was packed for a purpose and
members of the Democratic State Central
committee were bribed, by the promise
of support for office, to support the con-
spiracy by their votes. SAMUEL SALTER,
of Philadelphia, is no morea criminal than
these respectable millionaires.
——The esteemed New York World
imagines that the record of the govern-
ment’s relations with the Beef trust is
scandalous. Of course it is, but in the
language of the late Boss TWEED, what
is our contemporary "going to do about
it?” The Republican machine is a huge
and premeditated scandal.
Senator Catlin’s Broad Field.
Now that the CATLIN Commission has
begun business it would be a great pity
for it to discontinue operations before its
work is completed. Of course the Com-
mission has a large field to cover and it
may be doubted if it will be able to
thoroughly clean up Philadelphia before
the expiration of the present year. Ac-
cording tothe best evidence attainable
every department of that municipal
government is reeking with corruption.
The announced plan is to take these de-
partments up in turn and expose and
renovate them in order. The Depart-
ment of Safety is scheduled for first
attention and afier that the others will be
taken up in regular sequence and treated
as they deserve.
. But when the last of these "sinks of | The
iniquity” has been probed, the last of the
evils in that city abated and the last of
the official criminals justly punished, the
CATLIN Commission will still have plenty
of work to perform. There lies Pittsburg,
for example, putrid in vice and "stinking |
to high heaven” with corruption. Why
should that vile spot be permitted to con-
tinue its offences against decency and
order? Scranton was nearly as bad until
the form of government was changed by
the Legislature, and those responsible for
the evils there ought to be brought to
justice. Wilkes-Barre and Harrisburg |
are little better. Why doesn’t the Com-
mission take cognizance of these facts? |
According to newspaper accounts and !
gossip in the capital and hotel corridors, |
Harrisburg is even in worse condition
than Philadelphia. The present Mayor
is a candidate for the office of City
Treasurer and openly declares that the
policemen and other municipal employees
must not only support his ambitions but
invoke every available expedient, legal
or otherwise, to compass the results he
desires. Immorality has become ram-
pant in that little city under the shelter
of a vicious official protectorate and all
these agencies of evil are being used to
NO. 35.
Fighting Without Ammunition.
|
From the Altoona Times.
President Taft has set out to wage war
on the Democrats and Reputli-
during the extra session. He -
izes these ater a dealing with the
public interest “in lighthearted way and
with absolute ignorance of the effect of
the | and with a willingness to
business interests to political
exigencies.
But it is like fighting a battle without
ammunition. President Taft's criticism
may create sound, but it will have no
E
Jogic of the situation is with the Demo-
The President says the tariff must be
Democrats and insurgents. On that both
ts i t
sides are agreed. But when
put to the test of deed, how
out for each? The allies
laws and Taft vetoes
that the hard
such
it work
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feeabial :
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cans for their efforts at tariff revision
character:
effect. The cold, penetrating
So say his opponents, the |
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4
| SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE.
. =—The peach orchards of the Schuylkill valley
: will yield large quantities of luscious peaches
| thisyear. One man alone expects to send 6,000
. baskets to market.
—The bondholders of the Clearfield Steel and
‘Iron company purchased the Hyde City steel
: plant a few days ago, and the plant will likely
| soon be leased. Stock holders are losers.
i =—Thomas W. Patterson, of DuBois, for along
| time despondent, was successful, despite the
| vigilance of his children, in taking his life oneday
; last week. He used carbolic acid and died in
| great agony.
| =W.R. Foster, of Wells valley, recently had
| two cows bitten by mad dogs. When the second
| due showed signs of hydrophobia, al neighbor
| climbed atree and shot the animal from that
| vantage point.
—Jeff Stone, of Irvona, recently completed his
| twenty-fifth year’s work as a brickmaker. In
that time he moulded 34,875,000 bricks, or enough
to lay thirty-five miles of brick street. His
average is 4,500 daily.
—Several counterfiet §1 bills, excellent imita-
| tions of real money, have turned up in Altoona.
| By a strange coincidence, both specimens of the
| spurious money were discovered at the Mountain
; City Trust company on Saturday.
| —Building coal barges is still an important in-
| dustry in Forest county, thirty of these, 26 feet
in width and 170 feet in length, having floated
. past Oil City on their way to Pittsburgh on the
| present rise in the Allegheny river.
t
i =—Richard Meddlycott, a ladiwhose home isin
| Shamokin, placed a revolver cartridge on the
| tr ley track to see what would happen. When
| the shell exploded the bullet struck the boy in
the face, inflicting a terrible wound.
is | —The Lock Haven school board yielded to pub-
! lic sentiment and leased the school building
| for so many years occupied by the Bethel African
Methodist church to that congregation, at
arental of §1 per month. But they must not
build a parsonage on the plot.
—Farmers in northern Pennsylvania“and south-
ern New York are becoming famous for their
blooded cattle. Arling Cobb, who lives out from
Ulysses, has just sold his herd of thirty-five Hol-
stein calves for $7,500. All were re~istered and
among the very best in that section. The aver-
age price was $214.18,
—Miss Ferona McEwen, of Irvona, is receiving
sympathy of a host of friends in a great sorrow,
She was preparing to go to Los Amgeles, where
she was to have been united in marriage to John
Rykmans, foreman of a leather plant, when news
of hisdeath reached her. He died in an effort
to save some of his workmen from a horrible
—As the result of a quarrel over a game of
cards at the home of William Pierce, near Wash-
ington, Mre. Pierce was shot and instantly killed,
her mother, Mrs. Irene Hicks, and her husband,
William Pierce were fatally wounded, and Robert
Brown was beaten into unconsciousness. Stew-
art Palmer,who is charged with the bloody deeds,
is a fugitive.
Ne able to yustvah en ; over Dona sity of Kaooh is Hil Sted oer thie
vestigation o municipal anonymous letter trial. Among those
affairs in Philadel the | who were favored with specimens of these scur-
event. ‘['o become enthusiastic now rilous letters was the Rev. Paul S. Leinbach, pas-
be much li about the catch | tor of the First Reformed church, formerly pas-
the tor of Grace Reformed church, Altoona. He re-
y reporled that the in- | ceived in all from forty to fifty letters, none of
be which he made public.
of Jepariments of the government —A silver cased watch, the property of Peter
from w the Vare brothers prof- | Plough, near Davidsville, Cambria county, was
got
itable contracts. The public would like
to knew something about other depart-
ments and McNichol's contracts. It would
be interes too, to learn why Phila-
delphia mem! of the House ted,
in the 1909 session, a bill that would have
ven contracts to the lowest !
dders instead of to the contractors’
combine. The thrilling speech of Mr.
olds, of Philadelphia, against the
villainous scheme of awarding contracts
to the lowest ible bidders still
ri in the ears of some Pennsylvanians,
and they would like to learn the secret of
that eloquence.
Senator Penrose is behind the probe,
and will direct it. He declars that: “Under
no circumstances will the scandalous per-
sonal obligations and financial operations
of certain city officials be carried into
another Mayoralty term.” That sounds
quite as good as Senator Quay’s platform
of State-wide reform which he erected
when the antis were after his scalp six-
teen years ago. It is not to be pessimis-
tically reckoned that the promises as to
revealing Philadelphia scandals will not
be carvied out. Ie Io be hoped that
ev. epartment of the government
will be investigated. In the meanwhile
let us be calm.
La Follette and the Presidency.
From the Springfield Republican.
It is an idea firmly and tenaciously en-
tertained by many people who are not
children in political experience and knowl-
edge that Mr. La Follette will some time
actually run for the , not mere-
ly for a nomination, even if he has to
break away from all party restraints in
facing his candidacy before the people.
his “destiny.” He never will be content
still an open question whether this will
happen next year, or some other year.
present with a futile campaign for a
nomination: but, in that case, he will
make his contest against President Taft
a mere ut of his strength in prepara-
tion for 1916.
In Substance a Bribe.
From the Springfield
A suitable law in
Pennsylvania would t Senator Pen-
t is in the man’s blood. He believes in |
until he has made the great race. It is!
Senator may be satisfied for the!
lost last September, while Mr. Blough was dig-
ging potatoes. In the spring he kept a sharp
lookout for it, but in vain. A few days ago the
plow turned it up, little the worse for its long in-
terment. When wound it began ‘running. same
as ever, The field had been plowed three times
‘and harrowed ten tin.cs vefore it was unearthed.
—William A. Reams, one of the best known
men in Clearfield county, died last Sunday at his
home at Osceola. He was a member of one of
i the pioneer families of that section, having been
{ born 75 years ago in a log cabin on the site of the
present town of Philipsburg. He was one of the
most noted hunters in that region, and probably
! killed more dear and bear than any other man in
| this part of the State.
| =The terms of imprisonment of Ex-Auditor,
| General William P. Snyder and Ex-Superinten.
| dent of Public Grounds and Buildings James M.
| Shumaker, sentenced to-two years’ imprison-
i ment for participation in the capitol conspiracy,
| will expire in a little over a month. The men
have been model prisoners, and the recommenda-
tion for five months’ commutation for good be-
! havior, the usual amount on a two-year sentence,
: has been approved.
—The new silica brick plant tobe erected at
Mount Union, in which the principal parties in”
terested are Wilson Kistler, P. P. Griffin, R. P. M*
Davis, of Lock Haven, and Rembrandt Peale, of
New York, will be called the Mount Union Re-
| fractories company. Other parties interested are
| F. D. Halstead, formerly with the Queens Run
| Fire Brick company, of Lock Haven, and C. V.
! Hackman, of Mount Union. The latter will te
. the superintendent of the new brick works.
. —The big Bear valley colliery, near Shamokin,
| will be closed down fora period of three months
| in order to flood the workings to extinguish the
i fire which has been raging there for many months
| past. During the past several! weeks a large
force of men has been at work erecting a mam”
1 moth brick and cement dam. In the eventof a
| prolonged suspension of Bear valley almost 1000
men and boys will be thrown out of employment,
as the colliery is one of the largest and best opera-
tions in the region.
i =—The Reading system is to have a round house
' that will be 2 world beater. Its engineers have
completed plans for the biggest round house in
this or any other country. It will be located in
the new yards at St. Clair, Schuylkill county. and
will be erected at an approximate cost of $300,000.
Within its limits thirty-six engines of the latest
design can repose and puff away under ful
stearn. The most remarkable feature about -he
new round house is that it is to be built entirely
of cement, roof and all.
~The case of the Commonwealth against former
lose Congressman Joseph C. Sibley, of Franklin, who
was charged with conspiracy to debauch the vot-
ers of Warren county in the congressional elec-
tion of 1910, will never be brought tu trial and it
has been stricken from the records by a nolle
It Fails to Surprise.
From the Kansas City Star,
' effect that Senator Penrose had decided
: $0.oppose La Follette as the Republican
Another Canal to Fortify.
From the Boston Globe.
August Belmont says the United States
| government gught to take over the Cape
| canal. Sure—and fortify it, and es-
| tablish a neutral zone, and abolish the
. =—jJames G. Kauffman, a former letter carrier
of Johnstown, who was indicted by the United
States grand jury at Erie on a charge of opening
i day. Kauffman's attorney, John W. Dunkle,
| plead for leniency for the prisoner, as he had al-
ways had a good reputation and also because he
promote the political expectations of the mosquitoes, and have the President’s pic- sortie tise Tuage Ore ep emg SREBSY She Hi to aye
Mayor. Senator CATLIN ought to level
his guns on that seat of vice before he
shuts up his shop.
Subscribe for the WATCHMAN.
ture taken, standing on the steam shovel.
‘ Hunting parties throughout the
, county are beginning to make their plans
| for the annual hunt this fall.
risoner asked that he be sent to the Somerset
| county jail if sentenced to imprisonment. Kauff-
| man was arrested in June by Postoffice Inspector
: Pearce, and shortly after his arrest he confessed
to taking two letters.
=