The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-03-30
THAT PETITION
edition.

SEVERAL gentlemen are now on their way to
Harrisburg with petition said to contain
20 900 signatures, asking for the repeal of
the law creating the Building Commission.
If this petition is acceded to, the whole con-
troversy with regard to the location of the
public buildings will be reopened and the
popular verdict last October will bo sot aside
in most unjustifable manner. This is just
what the petitioners desire, however; and the
Legislature, before giving any serious con-
sideration to their arguments, should take
some means to find out exactly how far they
represent the wishes of the vast majo-
rity of the people of Philadelphia.
The petition is said to contain 10000
signatures. How many of them are dupli-
Gates we are unable to say, but careful exa-
minatiou might disclose some curious facts in
this connection, and it might also show that
many of the signatures are in the same hand
writing.
Admitting them all to be genuine, how
ever, it should be remembered that 81, ,625
voters of the city of Philadelphia decided
that Penn Square was the proper location for
the public buildings, in opposition to 32,S25
advocates for another site. The anti-Penn
their petitions as many names as they had
voters at the October election; and under
these circumstances it is impossible to see
that the Legislature can, with any propriety,
give them a hearing. The accusations of
corruption now being brought against the
Building Commissioners are utterly without
foundation, and the investigation which was
started in so much haste, an with such
grand flourish of trumpets, has miserAbly and
ridiculously failed. The commissioners are
engaged in carrying out the wishes of very
large majority of the citizens of Philadelphia,
and the Legislature viii do a great
wrong if it deliberately undoes all that
has been accomplished, and reopens
controversy that every one is heartily
sick of for the sake of giving little ring of
dissatisfied property-owners a fresh opportu-
nifty to annoy the public at large The anti
Penn Square organ says, "The pending
question is not where the citys public offices
shall be located. 1t is, Shall the taxpayers
continue to be domineered over by Mr.. John
Rice and his colleagues?" We differ with
our contemporary. The site of the public
buildings is the whole matter in controversy,
and Blr. Rice and his colleagues have GER
tainly not domineered to any given extent. as
yet, over the taxpayers of Philadelphia 1t is
TO enterprising men like Mr. Rice, and some
other members of the commission, that our
great cities are indebted for the
architectural ornaments which make them
attractive and if the commission of which
Mr. Rice is chairman will put up handsome
architectural pile upon Penn Square, some
of the men who are now eager in their de-
nunciations will be the warmest in theil
praises. Every great public improvement
must expect to meet with the opposition o.
the old fogies, and those especially interested
in maintaining the old order of things but
improvements must and will be made whether
the fogies like them or not, and the public
buildings will be erected upon Penn s. Iare
in spite of the 10000 names attached to the
petition now on its way TO Harrisburg.