The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-05-13
THE LAST MOVE OF THE WASHING
TON SQUARE RING.


THE Washington Square property-holders
having failed to procure the abolition of the
Building Commission, have made fresh start
by procuring the introduction of bill in the
Senate to suspend the operations of the COM
mission until the next general election, when
the question of its continuance or discon-
tinuance shall be submitted to the voters
of Philadelphia. This bill was in
troduced by Mr.. Connell yesterday
morning, was reported almost Immediately
by the Committee on Municipal Corporations
and was finally passed yesterday afternoon.
This was tolerably lively legislation, to say
the least of it. The anti Penn Squareites are
evidently playing this bill as their last and
strongest card, relying upon the apparent
fairness of it and upon the popular oblivious-
ness to the large-sized snake con-
cealed under it to secure the object
for which they have been laboring.
The primary object of the bill is to get the
subject of the Building Commission before
the House, when it is hoped that maj ajority
can be commanded who will do the bidding
of the ring of property holders who desire to
have the public buildings erected on the site
that has been rejected by the people of Phila-
delphia. If this bill is brought before the
House, it will be an easy thing by the aid of
simple majority to amend it so as to abolish
the, Building Commission absolutely; ;and this is
lust what the men at whose instance it was
passed by the Senate expect to accomplish.
Let the Committee on Municipal Corporations
of the House therefore resolutely refuse to
consent to this or any other proposition to
interfere with the commission, which is en-
gagged in carrying out the wishes of vast
majority of the people of this city in an emf
nently satisfactory manner. The commission
has done nothing, from the day of its appoint
ment to the present time, to justify the
clamor raised against it by men whose inte-
rested motives deprive their arguments aud
vituperations of all force, and if allowed to
carry out the work it has in hand without in
reference, it will give Philadelphia a hand
some municipal edifce that will be an orna-
ment to the city and source of pride to
future generations. The erection of the
public buildings has certainly been delayed
long enough, but if it depends upon the
Washington Square party they will never
be erected at all unless upon that
or some contiguous site; and the only way to
settle the matter is to let the commission go
on with its work without further interference
The people of this city are heartily sick of
the whole controversy about the public build
ipgs, and we appeal to the Legislature to in
terfere no more, but to permit this great
municipal enterprise to proceed in accordance
with the already plainly expressed will
of the majority. If Mr.. Connell's bill
passes and the anti-Penn Squareites suffer
another defeat at the polls, they will start
some new issue and perhaps demand another
popular vote; and so the contest will go on
for years without any practical results. The
whole difficulty can be settled now in proper
manner by the House of Representatives re-
fusing to accede to the demands of the anti
Penn Squareites, and by giving them plainly
to understand that they can expect no aid of
any kind at Harrisburg now or in the future.