The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-01-10

and is Independent al its uie,rs on all ioca
questions.
S.udfesfn N unfcipal Corruption, MOL
We propose to devote such editoria
space as we can afford today to the frs
part Of a brief and necessarily INSULT
cient presentation of the Incredible cor.
ruption of Ph~iladelph,a's city govern.
ment. a condition which has grown "
under an unbroksn succession of Repub.
liean officials, who have had undivided
control of the affairs of that city since
1892. The facts have been brought te
light through an investigation, held by
q select committee of the Pennsylvania
Senate. of which Senator Andrews is
chairman.
We go into this matter not for the
purpose of proving the Republican party
unspeakably bad-though it plainly is in
Philadelphia; not for the purpose OF
proving Tammany Hall spotless-for we
know how great her faults were; not
for the purpose of arguing that two
wrongs make a right. Our primary pur-
pose IS to show how completely munich
how utterly ms and unreasoning
are political revolutions based upon mere
revelations of local wrong-do.ng. Sec
onGarily, we hope that in a study of
some of the facts which we will nave to
mention, some persons may be moved to
see how much of the evil of the day is
~islation.
Before passing to the array of facts,
which is to make up the main body of
this article, we cannot refrain from ex-
pressing our wonder at the slowness of
the Democratic press of the country in
almost completely ignoring this unpar-
alleled revelation of guilt. We do not
know what can be the matter with the
Sun" If these disclosures had taken
place in q city voting a Democratic ma
jority and ruled by a Democratic organi-
cation. the Republican press from Maine
to Oregon and from Michigan to Florida
would have had hundreds of columns of
the disgusting proofs of Democratic tur-
pitude. Hysterical headlines and edito-
rails would have marked every new de-
velopment, and sensational pictures
would lave given viyidness to the lesson
offered to unthinking voters to shun the
Democratic party as the party of har-
lotry. bribery and inebriety. This was
what took place during the Lexow hear
ings. The Republican papers are very
silent about the Andrews hearings. This
is natural. but why are the Democratic
dail.es equally dumb?
We lave watched the reports of these
hearings in the Philadelphia papers since
their opening with great interest; but
the following presentation is not based
directly upon these. 1t is a condensation
from a s.x-colurnn review OF the results
of the first fourteen sessions Of the COM
mittee. which appeared last Sunday, the
9Th inst, in the Philadelphia Inquirer"
The Inquirer" Is a Republican paper of
the deepest dye, so the facts as stated
may be safely regarded as well within
the truth.
The Investigation was brought about
By the efforts of the Citizens Associa-
ton Of Philadelphia and it is proper to
say that it was brought about without
n of the obscen.ties which d.sgraced
the efforts of the Rev" DR.. P~arkhurst.
The first session was held in Philadelphia
on November u, 1895. AT it A. T. Freed
ley, who is cooperating with Silas W.
Petit as the counsel of the committee,
made an address on that occasion, in
which he outlined what he proposed to
prove He subsequently, proved all, If
not more, han he promised. Mr.. Freed
ley said, among other things, shat on
January /, 1887, the annual costs of our
municipal departments was under So, co.,
600. On January /. 1896, that annual cost
was over s29.0 600. 200. On January i, 1887,
the annual total expenditure of all kinds
reported by the Controller to be un-
der 81, 0oo,Oo On January l. 1896. that
annual amount was over $50, o00, 000.''
In proof of this Nj. Freddy put in
evidence the reports of the Controller of
Philadelphia showing the nnual cost Of
the various municipal departments Of
that city since January /, 1885. They
read like the figures in a nightmare.
Here they are:-
lsss...... ........ ~. ..........s 1885, g7