The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1882-09-01
REcoLLEcrroNs OF DICKINSON.

RECOLLECTIONs OF DICKINSON.
Previous mention of Dr. Pattison's early
education in Dickinson College recalls q fact
or two that may as well be put down right
here in refutation of the assertion made here
and there in certain stalwart organs, that
'ehfthertO Pennsylvania has invariably elect
ed Governors born in the State" Now. TO
begin with, without hunting up the baptis
nal record of them all, John Dickinson,
whose name that college bears, according to
jefferson cone Of the most accomplished
scholars the country ever produced" was
himself native of Maryland, lived for a
long time in Delaware. and was in 1882
elected executive of Pennsylvania. And he
was succeeded in the Office Of Governor of
Pennsylvania by Benjamin Franklin, who,
until now when objection is made to the
Providence that gave Pattison his birth in
Maryland, was always supposed to have been
born in Massachusetts. and to have wake
from Boston to Philadelphia, whereuntO
pattison was brought when barely old
enough 10 walk to school, and where, ever
since he was six years old he has been alike
by his education, profession and public ser
vice a Pennsylvarian.
Surely the men who worked '1fI1e Beavers
to put Grant in nomination for third term
at a time when he had been altogether out of
the country for four years. and who ap-
plaudpd to the echo CoukIing's exclamation
'ff it be asked whence comes our candidate.
he halls from AppOmattox'' should not now
make serious objection to the like Indian
but less savage sounding QuinticO, which
! PATHS on bade "hail and FAREWELL by proxy.
. E Of ha rroD,
/ before he could cleverlv articulate. Nor is
! the Camoronian cry of ''fOreigner," against
/ the city controller Of Philadelphia, altogeth-
/ er consistent with even the old straight out
and-out Know Nothingism, which is sought
/ TO be rehashed it seems, In the coming cam
paign, and to be served up with a altogeth-
| er new infusion Of a peculiar kind Of State
rights And. what is more remarkable,
/ this, the whole and sole objection that has
been raised against Controller Pattfson as a
man, ORIGINATES at and IS sent out from the
head quarters Of the Cameron State Central
/ Committee, the chairman Of which, and
would-ike-t to -have-been candidate for Gov
/ ernor, was himself born tout west in Ohio.
IN POLITICAL LIFE
Upon Pattison's Introduction into political
friends for Clerk Of the Court of Quarter
Sessions, he gracefully gave way to an older
and more experienced lawyer. Henry & Ha-
CERT, Esq, whose nomination he helped to
secure. Afterwards, when his name was
presented to the State convention, in 1877.
for Auditor General, although then but little
known outside the city, Mr.. PattisOn received
the next highest vote to that by which Mr..
Schel was placed in nomination
A little later in the same year, 1877. Pob't
Emory Pattison was nominated for Citv
Controller Of Philadelphia and was elected
bv 1852 majority. He was e-elected in 1880
by majority OF 1888, in a Presidential
campaign that gave President Garfield %, ,8S3
majority in the city.
BY way of explanation Of this rapid rise,
it has passed into history that at the time Of
Mr.. PattiSon's first election, the business
men, property holders, workincmen, and the
people of Philadelphia generally. were first
waking up to the fact that for years they
had been going behind In their municipal af.
fairs. There had been a steady and alarm.
ing increase in the tax rate the department
expenses, and for ten years there had beer
an average annual addition to the citv debt
]
travagance prevailed. There was reckless
waste in the appropriations, criminal neglect
in the collection of taxes and hideous and
open corruption in disbursements
THE REvEL OF THE RING
While the population Of Philadelphia in.
creased only one-ffth and the value Of If.
property scarcely one-third, its debt wa,
doubled and the interest on its obIioations
required an annual levy Of one per cent or
the property. On Januarv I, 1873. the an
nual deficiencies, counting the deficienc,
loan of S5,193, III, had reached s17. .os7. os7
1t cost the city OF Philadelphia hundreds n
thousands of dollars annual interest ON its
unpaid and overdue warrants. One.fftb NJ
the city taxes were uncollected and vvent
INTO the hands of the delinquent collectors
where enormous expenses we're. added fo,
the benefit of speculating politicians, who a
the same time allowed political friends an
tirely to escape their municipal oblioatfops
The poor and unfortunate were nIrrdaro,
! for the enrichment Of rapacous partisans
with millions of taxes collected from +b,
people there was complaint Of ma -adroinie
tratlon IN nearly every department ana tn,
CITY seemed to be at the mercy of the spoils
man. The reform movement which ba,
since been organized had not vet crvstaIizef
into the Committee of One Hundred. M,
any other well defined scheme. Caven wa,
. defeated for Mayor and the Reformers baf
scarcely yet been able TO effect an entrance
} of the wedge.
RECORD OF OFFICIAL INTEGRITY.
Almost from his first induction into the of
nee of Controller, Pattison invested il will
a degree of Importance which the law ba,
+ gwen to it but with which none of his prede
: cessors had measured it. He adopted ant
! maintaiEed wide view of the obligations a
! the office and declined to hide behind tech
nicalities that brought disgrace upon hi
predecessors. He refused to consider tn,
! ofhce merely clerical, but investigated claim
E and enraged partisans by refusing to be 2
: mere machine to depete the city treasury. :
In this inasxible purpose he recognized n,