Wilmington daily commercial., 1875-12-03
FIRST EDITION.
Ph!lndeIphia's New bridge.
COL. SCOTS UNDERTAKING FOR THE cfTY--A DAN
aERous METHOD OF DOING PUBLIC woRK-cor,
sooTrs ENORMOUS INFLUENCE.

| wiz pSpii oNpEhrAhiNu FOR THE CfTY--A DAM
| aERous METHOD OF DOING PUBLIC woRK-CoI.
| hOorrs ENORMOUS INFLUENCE.
| From an Oecdsisnat Co,rospo,dent
| PHILADELPHIA Dec. l.
| We may complain we please about our
''Rings,' but there is one may over here who
has more power than all the Row and High
| way and "Gas" combinations put together.
rhos. A. Scott s that man. The President of
the Pennsylvania railroad is, humanity and ,sec-
| tonay speaking, invinoible Apparently there
IS nothing that he could ask Of the State or City
that he would not have reasonable certainty Of
obtaining. Anything from SIC, 1000 900 loan
down to SG0, 200 Bridge Contract--in short what
ever he expresses wish for-is his. No Ring,
however powerful, could have forced the objec-
tional abattoir project from PHILADELPHIA, tpro,
1ect condemned by the best sanitary medical au. /.
thorities,. by property holders of the vicinage
universally, anu by all men OF ordinary common
sense. but Colonel Scott may boast "alone did
u. On abstract grounds then may be no need
70 complain Tor what is the use of struggling
with the inevitable? 1t s the mature of power
to rule, and the railroad represented by Colonel
Scott Is the greatest corporate power in the
Northern States, il not in tho country. Yet do
we feel constrained to euter protest. however
unayailing, against certain recent encroachments
The offer Of Colonel Scott to rebnild the Mar.
ket street bridge was doubtless great relief to
the business men, and the general public, OF
Philadelphia. 1t may be admitted that in such
hands the work will be speedily and properly
done, and that there will be no suspicion Of lob
berry. But, for all this, the precedent is bad
one. Undisputed az its resources are, the Penn
sylvana Railroad in approaching task of this
kind is no more to be considered, properly than
the humblest builder in Phladeiphia, and to
award piece Of municipal work in this manner
IS to set pernicious sort OF exsmple. It gives
the favored party a hold and authority which no
citizen, or body OF citizens, should expect by
right, and 1t undermines well established prin-
cple of action in public affairs, that all such
work should be open to the freest competition.
There is even more to be said. The exigency
in Philadelphia just now is peculiar the freight
carriage OF the country is deranged, the Cen
teniiial press must be at once provided for, and
extraordinary measures might, for once in
awhile, be taken but we observe graver indi-
cations OF the hold Of corporation upon civic
the permanent bridge, to be ultimately built at
Market strickland which it ii designed shall be
one of the great engineering works,of the period
shall also be put into the hands OF the
Railroad Company. Ii Philadelphia should do
that thing-at a time when there would be no
question OF urgency to interfere with individual
right-it would justly call for rebuke. The oc-
cason Is yet distant but it is we'll to speak in
season besides, the party OF the other side has
already stated it's case. There ia serious dan
ger i'll allowing corporations to engage in public
work in tho manner here proposed II the
Pennsylvania Railroad should put in its offer for
obtain the award fairly under the regulations,
the city might congratulate itself, but the giving
of such contract out of hand is quite different
thing. /