The sun., 1897-11-04
LO|TERER'S LETTER.
Fat Contracts Under the Fig
Philadelphia Loan Bill.
HOW ABOUT THE FIFTH WARD?
Brutality of College Foot Ball.---Politi.s :
cal Notes and Querics.---GOssip
of the LObbics in
Philadelphia.

iloI II OVER, ui!'t tlc l. iitI Di.i S''
through by means that are not crpditab'
to those interested, and now that the
have gained their point and saddled {
gotten the chance to saddle Sl2 900, 900 {
debt on the already ovcrburdened taS
payers, the friends of the loan bill ar
going about in a more or less shame
faced way as if their consciences wer
already beginning to tingle little. o
course, with Sl2,0O0,o0O to be....lispense'
it means some very fat contracts, an(
everybody is getting ready to figure ou
Just where they can get their work in fo
some of the fat.
There were some peculiar features con
nected with the passage Of the Joan bill
and some circumstance which even the
shlewdest of the politicians can moi
readily account for. In the wards
directly controlled by Martin and hi
henchmen it is easy to understand how
the voters could be whipped into line.
B 1t take the Tenth ward anil the Fifth.
How was the trick turned in those two
bailiwicks. The men who carry those
wards around in their vest pockets were
both against the bill and they did not
hcsitateto declare their intentions to ham
,ner the life out of it on Tuesday. But look
at the results. For the Tenth Ward a
little bird whispers contracts and it is
known that there are men in that ward
who like to get a chance at the public
crib. But it is not SO easy to explain
away the tumble in the Fifth. jim An
derson for weeks was loud in his profess
tations as to the way he was going to
knock the life out of the Loan Bill and
yet the ward returns $500 majority in
favor of the Bill. OF course no one be-
lieves for minute that that much OF u
majority was cast for the bill, but it was
counted for it anyhow and they have
some pretty good counter down that way.
But how did they turn the trick? That
what is bothering the people who know
it all or at least who want to make lis bc-
lieve they know the most of it all. And
even the most ignorant Of us know for
moral certainty that Jim is not in the
game for his health.
One of the pIums that the free library
faddists expect to get away with is some
thing like cool 81 900, COO for the pur-
chase Of Il building for Il library ON
Broad street They have their eye on
the Lppincott mansion at Broad and
Walnut streets, but they may get fooled
IN that place, for Mrs. Lippincott has
been offered more money than That for
he place and refused, and they tell me
hat she has enough coal and provisions
IL the cellar to see her through the win
er She is likely to refuse when the
lpNt offer is made to her by the free
ibrary gang
BY the way the reason these people .
want the city to put upa 81 600 900 for
he library is because DR., Pepper left
500, 900 for free library building pro-
;ided it was erected below Market street
md to get the S2OO,oOO the city is to be
obbcd OF Sl,OOO,OOO. OF course when
he site is secured for this amount that
Won't end the matter Why, bless you,
10. Then another bill will be run
through for Il $l,OOO,OOO or 50 more to
omplcte the building, for no one would
hink for moment of putting
100000 library building on u $1,000,
% site. That would never do.
Everybody is looking forward to the
lg foot ball game with the Indians on
he University grounds on Saturday.
his game as practiced by the young col
.ge men is the most brutal sport in the
iorld, outside, perhaps, OF bull-fghting,
ut the very best pcople(?), as we cal
ne upper classes here, patronize the
ame and that silences the newspapers {
nd the ministers and all others who s
'ould be likely to criticisc the so-called !
port. Compared with the average ;
'ot ball game prize fight is Il very tame
fair. l have witnessed many prize
ghts and lots of foot ball matches, and I
le latter is by far the more ruliianly
nd brutal, At the game between Penn
'lvania and Lafayette Rhinehart, of the a
tier team, was knocked senseless and r
as dead to the world for over seven d
inutcs, and had he gotten the same |
ow in boxing match, even though O
is opponents fist was covered with a fl
g glove, the man who struck t.
i'm would have been landed in II q
'ison cell Yet cowardly drive from t,
Pennsylvania mans knee did the bust
'ss for the big Lafayette player, and no c.
le as much as said a word. | am not n
king any sympathy for Rhinchar, as e