Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-10-27
TERMS OF THE DISPATCH.
PITTsBURG. MONDAY. oCr. q, 1890.
THEIR LAST SHOT.


tison. which appeared simultaneously on
Saturday in a Harrisburg paper and the
Delamater organs OF Philadelphia. The
substance of ,he story is that in 1888, three
bills were passed for the purpose of faVoring
the completion of the South Penn road.
Judge Jeremiah S. Black is stated to have
considered that there was snake in these
measures, and on presenting his views, was
asked to prepare a veto message. While he
was preparing the message, the story goes.
be was offered fee by ''Wm. S. Whitney"
presumably VIM. c. Wilmington behalf
of the Vanderbilts, to argue in favor of the
bills before-Gov Pattison. When the veto
message was presented to the Governor, the
story continues, the document was highly
approved by Senator Gordon, who was pres
ent; but at the end Of the interview, two
men called to see the Governor, one Of whom
was Attorney General Cassiday and the
other was not recognized by Judge Black
But it is a significant part Of the
story that some power in finance
was so interested in the matter
as to have this person shadowed
by a detective all the way back to New
York, and it is asserted that he was Mr..
Whitney. The next dav the bills were re-
turned TO the Legislature, not with a veto
message, but with the Governors signature.
These are the direct allegations. The inti-
nations which are nowhere allowed to
reach the degree of actual assertions, are
that the Governor was Influenced pecuniar-
iIy.
Two things are significant in connection
with the publication of this story. The first
is the contrast between the way in
which the assailants of Delamater have
brought out their charges early in the cam
paigu and courted investigation, and thu
wav in which this has been held back to
within ten days OF the election and then
brought out with all the earmark; of a roor-
back. The existence of this story was init
mated by Pattison'5 opponents before his
nomination.; but the Republican managers
have shown their conviction that it will not
stand the test of full scrutiny by carefully
keeping it quiet until the present time,
when there is little time to sift the
manufactured inuendos from actual fact
Besides that, instead of anyone taking
the responsibility of the charges and re-
questIng, as Senator Emery has done, that
he be taken into court if they are false, there
is in this entire effort a scrupulous care to
avoid responsibility on the part of every one
connected with it. No direct allegation
against Governor Pattison's integrity is
made in it, and the entire effort in that way
is to base the inference of dishonesty on
things which dead men are alleged to have
said.
The other significant thing about this
publication is the fact that while simultane-
ouslv published In the Delamater organs in
the Eastern end of the State it is carefully
Kept out of the organs in this section. The
reason of this is obvious. The people of
Pittsburg sre well versed in the history of
the South Penn, because it was a matter of
vital importance to this section. They know
that the real issue in connection with
that entire enterprise was whether the pub
lie right of building competing lines and
developing the industries of our State,
should be asserted, or should be crushed ont
II.
They know that at the time when Governor
Pattison signed these bills, this was a legiti-
mate enterprise in which the public pros
perity was interested, and that it was pressed
forward we'll to completion until the time
when it was strangled by bargain of cor
poration magnates. They know that the
prompt and vigorous action of Governor
day brought that betrayal of public rights
to a dead halt at the end of their
term; and it is notorious matter at present
that under the Republican administration
Of this State this corporate conspiracy has
been suffered to proceed unchecked until
little pains are taken to conceal the fact that
the Constitution and the mandates of the
court are alike deied by the corporations
which crushed out the South Penn. This
knowledge is a sufficient reason for the Re-
publican managers to make a great spread
over this story in Philadelphia and Harris
burg and to keep it perfectly quiet in Pitts
burg.
What is to be recognized as a fact in this
story is that Governor Pattison signed the
bills in question. OF these three measures.
two-that extending the time for the compile
tion of the road and that permitting the
change of its termina!-were fair and neces-
sary for the success of a legitimate enter
prise. The third, that permitting the in
crease of capitalization to $500, 900 per mile,
can now be recognized as an error; but
there were many reasons for considering it
at that time. The South Penn
road was being built through a country
expensive construction with
bridges and tunnels in some localities cost
ing from half a million to a million per
mile. The limit of $4,000 per mile fixed
by the general railroad law, was obviously
to shut out competing railroads
from Pennsylvania, where, when that law
was passed, the cost of construction was
often greater than this limit Finally, as a |
measure of capitalization, the corporation !
with which the South Penn was to compete |
carried, on something like 400 miles of main |
line, S175, 900, 900 of capitalization, or $780,
300 per mile. 1t is quite probable that |
Governor Pattison was sufficiently impressed |
by Judge Blacks view to ask him to pre- |
pare veto message, and that later, he was
by Attorney General Cassiday
That the public interest in the construction |