The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-02-02

the millionaire from his just proportion
| and so throw heavier burden upon the
pockets of the impecunious-I say IL
you will put the whole matter in simple
and transparent shape before the less
prosperous classes Of your city and
show them that decent people will look
more carefully after their interests
than the rascals and blood-suckers will,
that are befrlending them now, you will
win from them all the backing that
your cause needs and deserves.
Arrogance Of City Officials.
Il urge 1t upon you also that you
should let 1t be part of the civic gos-
pei of this community that every citi-
zen should count himself to be a prvi-
legged and active member of the city
corporation. That Is part Of the genius
OF our American institutions. II there
is any one thing that makes me angry
to the extent Of causing me to wish
that l could write new dictionary
that would give me words that would
do justice to the way felt II Is to have
the official classes spurn our inter-
ference, and complain Of us for ex-
ercis!ng our God-given right Of keep
ing tab on them. We are where we
are because We have not kept tab on
them.
"A year ago or more / put detectives
on the track Of some Of our police JUS
tees. Studying up their history as
they make 1t day by day, but more
particularly night by night 1--WE like
to have full obituary records in stock
against their providehtial withdrawal
from the field of their sublunary ac-
tivity)-I say l put detectives on the
track of some members of that sport
Ing fraternity known among US as the
police bench, and Superintendent
Byrnes of the police force got wind of
1T 1t is one of the remarkable features
of that gentlemans administration
that, while he Dis as innocent as cana
ry of what his own officers are about,
ignorant that they are buying cap
taincies, peddling female virtue just
! as your policemen are, and playing the
guardian angel to the bunko-steerers;
that while he never seems to know
| anything of this, l never do anything
but he is Immediately on to It, That
Is one Of the ways he takes of showing
what he calls his sympathy with my
cause). Well, as l was saying, / put
detectives on some of our police JUS
tices, and Byrnes came out and notified
the public of the fact, as though he
| imagined 1t was going to embarrass or
humiliate me.
Public Billet Doux for Mr.. Byrnes.
IL thought 1t was a good thing to do.
| My wife and l look after the servant
girls in the kitchen, and it never oc-
Cured to me that was doing anything
| essentially different in keeping an eye
| out for the servants that we are en-
ploying and helping to pay the salary
of in the police courts. So l sent
Byrnes public billet doux through the
press and told him he was right; that
] had my emissaries out on the track
| Of the justices, and that when circum-
| stances seemed to me to warrant 1t
| should put one ON him. If he was
| straight IT would do him no harm, and
| If he was crooked 1t might do him good.
1T would be useless and out of taste
| to relate the love passages that have
transptred between Byrnes and my
| self; but l wanted to make that refer
ence as an illustration of the principle
| that no citizen is doing his whole duty
| as a citizen who conceives of a public
| officer as being anything other than a
| servant of the popular will and an in
strument for the execution of public
| choice. Officers are our representa-
tives, not our substitutes. You cannot
| deposit your vote in November and
then retire into the shell of your own
t..N
able ground for expecting that the gov
ernment will be administered accord
| ing to the principle which your vote
| was intended to express.
"The sense of personal responsibility
| for the quality and trend of the munich
pality one may happen to belong to
| should be counted the axis of all civic
virtue. That is the best that simply
| indulges in discussions of civic account
| ability. Any man in this city who
| knows official crookedness and gives
no sign Of it to that extent is himself
criminal and ought to be blacklisted.
| No Confidence in Politicians.
| with special emphasis let me urge 1,
upon you to pray to have your reform
movement delivered from the influence
and participation Of professional poll.
ticians as you would pray to have II
delivered from the devil. And am not
speaking jestingly. l entered into this
work in no spirit OF jest three years ago
and certainly there Is not anything OF
| 1t in me now. We are dealing with
matters here that concern the deepest
interests of yourselves and your chill
| 1t,ay hat hra hs
veal of your city but extend out an6
forward and intertwine themselves
with the destiny of the nation. Every
thing in all this business depends or
the solidity and everlasting immobil
| ity and the unmarketable righteous
ness of the men you tie to. Therefore
skip this sort of creature l have JUS
| designated as you would skip Satan
| Never give them your confidence, never
repose upon them any of the weight OF
a critical situation. Make none of then
sharers with you in your movement.
| IF l We're to mention the hardest
lesson that l have had to learn during
the past three years 1t would be thai
of the damnable dangerousness Of &
professional politician. You know what
l mean by that term; we are in nc
need of botherlng to give a definition
| you have specimens of your own that
you can lean your mind upon while
this species of creature Is being dis
sected.
THE professional politician is the
peoples natural enemy. He takes 6
technical satisfaction in manipulating
the popular interest without having any
sensitive appreciation of the signiti
canoe for good or evil which such in
terest involves. He is like a man play
ing at chess: he enjoys handling thu
pieces without those pieces being rep
resentative to him of any other value
than what attaches to them as gam
ing implements. 1t is not intended by
any means to say that every man wht
officially concerns himself with thes,