Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-09-25
POLITICAL NOTES.
PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATURE.

one of the biggest and boldest legaliZed
blackmailing concerns on earth. The
big corporations, the insurance COM
panies, the Standard Oil company, the
brewers, the counterfeit butter max
ers, the pawnbrokers, the lottery pol
icy knaves, the school book trust, the
adulterers of food, trade outlaws and
interests that have shady and under
the rose" dealings, all dread the ap-
proach of a new legislature as the
people of a southern community fear
the coming of the yellow fever season.
They can scent the presence of the
brigands and know that the hour has
come when they will again be held
up" by Quay and his gang and COM
PEELED to disgorge and pay tribute to
them.
And this is how the game is worked:
A new and guileless member is in
duced to introduce bill belonging to
the Snake" family, or better known
as pinch" Then the little joker is
taken under the wing of the old and
experienced machine blackmailers,
who in the meantime have had them
selves fixed on the gilt edge commit
tee to which these Snakes" are re-
ferred by the speaker, who is of course
fully posted and is a partner. The
favorite plan is to allow the queer
bills to pass the house and go to a
senate committee on the promise that
there will be divide of the swag.
This course thoroughly alarms the
victims, who at once hustle to get a
fund together to purchase the strangu-
lation of the measure thus threatening
their interests. Thousands of dollars
are raised on the "camptown" prin-
ciple, and a representative sent to ne
gotiate with the blackmailers. 1t
sometimes happens that the black
mailing cabal saves them this trouble.
as was the case few years ago when
the speaker pro TEN. of the senate
was tracked to the office of foreign
corporation which had it's headquar-
ters In New York city, and which was
invited to come down handsomely.
The guilt of this legislative blackmail-
er became known, and there was
scandal and mock investigation.
The senate committee on finance Is
one of the headquarters for the most
notorious of the gang of Quay black
mailers, and membership on 1t is worth
thousands of dollars each session.
SOit itdlh VI lDt ldNOIlIt interests Oh the
blackmailers, notably the school book
trust and the insurance companies, are
compelled to protect themselves by
maintaining lobbies at Harrisburg, but
Quay, the boss, never undertakes to
purge the legislature of these specula-
tive and highwaymen statesmen, so
that 1t has come to pass that each leg
islature is more disreputable than it's
dreaded and feared. Turn the rascals
out.
REPUBLICAN CLERKS.
General Poo Bah Goblin, the Quay
soldier-statesman of many jobs, was
entirely right, although unjustly criti-
cized for 1t, when he told the farmers
at Williams Grove that the state
treasurer Is only clerk" Under the
Quay machine this functionary is af-
ter all "only a clerk" He is directed
by others and has practically nothing
to do with the cash of the treasury,
which Is farmed out among the DO
litical banks that pay interest to the
boss and allows the money to be used
by him and his family and fayorite
lieutenants for speculating in stocks
and entering into speculative business
deals. William Livesey was a smooth
and obliging Clerk" He was state
treasurer for nine years, and when he
was not state treasurer he was the
state treasurers cashier. He visited
Canada, you will recall. He thought
he would be safer there than In Har-
risburg, particularly If he kept him
SELF disguised ana went under an as
sumed name. He remained In the
queens domains for a long time. He
is now said to be living in Chicago in
strict retirement.
BOYER AND HAYWOOD CLERKS.
Boyer was state treasurer, and il will
be remembered that the legislature
undertook to impeach him because he
had had queer relations with that
colossal rascal, John Bardsley, of Phil
adelphia. Haywood, the predecessor
of the present treasurer, and who was
"only clerk" had his death hasten
ed by worry and fear of exposure. He
entered the office strong, lusty and
happy man, but broke down under the
strain. Had he lived the courts would
have sent him to the penitentiary.
What the people want is treasurer
who will not be "only a clerk" or "a
weak DelHOCFdI IKE square Timber"
Noyes, who was used by the Republi-
can bosses through his cashier, Blake
Walters, and whom the position ruin
ed. Farmer Greasy, if he be elected
will not be "only a clerk" There will
be no specializing with the states
funds and payments held back from
the counties that it may earn private
interest from the political banks And
he will turn the searchlight on the
books and the papers, and what he will
discover will be enough to raise the
roof off the state house.
DOODLE USED IN CHESTER.
The Quay machine, driven to desper-
alton, went its limit to boodleize the
Democrats in Chester county at last
weeks primary, at which the question
of fusion with the Independent Re-
publicans was submitted to vote.
Where the great wads came from is a
mystery, but thousands of dollars were
in the hands of the Quay agents
throughout the county. The machines
cash failed to defeat fusion hnwavar