The sun., 1873-09-19
Cleaning Up for the Centennial.

Philadelphia is fine town, and has
great many worthy, sobcr-sided, law-ahd-
ing citizens-as many probably in proper
tion to her whole population rs are 20 bc
found anywhere. These good people, rs
everybody knows, propose to get up
grand show in 1876 in honor of the one
hundrcdth anniversary of American indc-
pendence. They have asked the whole
country TO subscribe money to ii, and have
invited all the world and the rest Of man
kind, after proper cash settlement with
thedoorkceper,t to come nunder the canvas
and look nj il. They propose to make it
an exhibition OF the products Of the world
-vaster than the great fairs OF London,
Paris, and Vienna. And We sincerely wish
that they may do even more than they
promise, and be rewarded accordingly.
But we fear that there Is serious inn
pedimcnt to the complete success of this
magnificent scheme. The moral rcputa-
tion of Philadelphia, owing to the fact
that hundreds Of thousands OF good people
allow themselves TO be governed and plum
d,red by few irresponsible and unparal-
lclrd scoundrcls, has grown terribly bad
at home ami abroad. Tho fame Of such
politicians as BILL MANS, BILL KEMBLE,
BILL BUM, BILL MCMULLIN, and
others of like principles and deeds, Is
! c.ttine TO be worldwide. Tho lava beds
OF the Modocs contained no darker lurking
/ place of villains than the law Office of
MASN, the shaving shop OF KrMnLE, or the
/ barooms aud faro banks of MCMULLtN.
Intelligent foreigners are beginning TO
wonderland they will wonder the more
the more they learn-whether it will be
! prudent TO trust their persons in n city
governed by such a crew a. this. What
Kind of safety, they reason, can there be
i'm place where the prosecution of Grim
iual offences is committed TO II fellow no
turou- ly guiltyof crimes enough TO send
him to the pcnitcutary for life, even had ht
the years of METHUsELAu; What chanc,
is there of justice, should outrage bcfal
the stranger before Judge who rules
that mscrcants have right to wear THEN
pistols in his court, while respectful,
Quakers are rudcly forced to take OF theii
hats thcre2 What protection is ther,
against murder where leading politician.
--mcmhcrs Of the ruling Ring-have no
toriou,ly planned and abctted the murder
Of their cnemics, and some Of these las
officers OF the United States, whose onl,
offence was the strict performance OF the
duty? Whose pocket is safe whore pick
pockets swarm in all places of honor am
profit, aud have the keeping of the yer
fountains of justice? Even he who care
nothing for purse or life, if he has any ten
dcrncs- for his own dust, must shudder a
the thought of the Coroncr's corpse
lIct and OF being sold, rs drowned an
! numbered strangers are in the City O
{ Brotherly Love, TO be cut to pieces by tn
dissecting knife.
q OF course foreigners eXaggerate some
t what the actual dangers of IA visit 10 Phil
k alclphla, and may come there in 1876 wit
IS comparative safety in spite of all In
e KEMnLEs MAINS, BUNNs, or MCMULLTy
t But then they cannot know this. The cOl
n Tuption Of the city smells afar, even aero,
/ the sea; but you have to walk its streets t
B.; behold how much that is fair aud pure i
Il life dwclls within them.
d Therefore we suggest that rs FIRST ste
It toward making the Exposition successful
II something more bo done than tn.
physical purihcaton-thc cleansing of sey
~ ers and the rinsins of guttcrs-whch
le now urged with such vehemenGe by Il
of press of Philadelphia, Let there be
al cleaning ont of State House row. Let Il
H. honest people of all parties band togcth,
le and see If they are not stronger than Il
robbers. Let the mild-mannercd Modo
oh of court council, and shaving shop he p
e. under the heel Of the law. II this IL II
ch done. and done soon. We fear for the Ce