Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1882-07-13
Why PattisOn is Strong.

1t is conceded on all sides that Mr..
Pattison is very strong Democratic
| candidate for Governor-stronger even
than his party. 1t is known that he
will lose some socalled Democratic
votes. There are q few ragged-edge
Democrats who have the best reason for
opposing Pattson. They know that he
is inherently and resolutely honest,
aud honest Governors and Controllers
are not to their liking. They are mere
tenders to the Republican boss, and
can be commanded at any time for the
Republican machine ticket when their
aid is needed.
But the fact that Mr.. Pattison is not
the favorite OF corrupt Democrats, is
one of the chief elements of his popular
strength. The open, malignant opposi.
ton of few Democrats co. Republican
Bosses of Pattison's reelection in 1880,
made him thousands of honest Repub.
lican votes, and the Republicans who
then sustained him are more than graf
fled with their work by the blameless
official record made by the Controller
There have been times when a union
of Democratic and Republican Bosses
was omnipotent, but now there could
be no surer prosecutor Of defeat than
such a combination in favor of any can
didate. Pattison and Stewart are not
threatened with such peril, but Beaver
is not entirely safe from it,
There is another reason for Pattison's
popular strength in the present quick
eued demand for reform, that has thus
far played only an unimportant part in
the campaign. The Republican State
platform congratulates the party on its
honesty and economy in the national
! and State administration" and this is
one of the years in which the people
are carefully reading party promises
and severely testing them. The Re-
publican party came into power in this
State in 1861, and the cost of the State
government then was 947,9ll.S3, ex.
elusive of interest and reduction of debt.
The Republican administration of Gov.
ernor Curtin, even with all the enor.
mously increased expenditures of war
and the highest imitation of values
known in this age, increased the State
expenditures to only $l,43l, ASCOT, in
| 1865. In 1866 the Cameron machine
entrenched itself in the Republican
citadel and for fifteen years it has been
supreme in every channel of Republi
can power in the state. With it came
reckless profigacy; the creation of
offices for favortes the lavish waste OF
public money to reward partisan
henchmen and the absolute subordina.
tion of Republican integrity and man.
hood to the cohesive power of public
plunder.
In 1870 after three years of machine
rule in the State, the annual expendi
lures in time of peace, had grown to
S2,228, ,970.27, being an increase Of
Sl,2Sl n05S.44 over the exposes when
the party assumed power, and an in
crease of $797, ,436.60 over the expendi.
lures under Governor Curtin with the
extraordinary demands of war to meet
But the proaigacy of Boss government
was not content with the expenditures
of 1870. The Auditor Generals report
shows that the cost of the State govern
ment for 1880, including its share for
the Legislature, foots up the enormous
amount of $4,962, 5.59-the fraction
over its millions being more than the
entire cost of the government in 1860,
when the Republican party first attain
ed power. This expenditure does not
embrace either interest or principal of
public debt. 1t is simply the regular
annual, and presumably legitimate, ex-
penditures of the State government.
There is legitimate increase in schools
and judiciary, made by the constitu.
ton, but that is little more than half a
million, and the other expenditures are
mainly or wholly the creation of ma.
chine legislation.
The people Of Pennsylvania have
lately been carefully reading and con.
sidering the record made by Controller
Pattison in Philadelphia, and they have
learned that his entry into the Controll.
er's Office dated the beginning of the
practical reform that has changed the
city from a 1926 tax rate and three
millions annual increase of debt with
little or no improvements, to a $l.95
tax rate, an annual surplus of million