The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1899-09-21
POLITICAL NOTES.
PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATURE.

ElNANIN I ILN ANA IlINrlolIA "
The legislature of Pennsylvania is
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 maxi
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 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 a bill belonging to
the snake" family, or better known
as a 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 a divide of the swag.
This course thoroughly alarms the
victims, who at once hustle to get a
fund together to purchase the strangu-
1att ,,ft l,,,, !,
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 a 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 a
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 it is worth
thousands of dollars each session.
Certain of the favorite interests of the
blackmailers, notably the school book
trust and the insurance companies, are
compelled to protect themselves by
maintaining lobbes 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
predecessor and comes to be more
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 it, when he told the farmers
at Williams Grove that the state
, treasurer is only a 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 po-
, litical banks that pay interest to the
boss and allows the money to be used
r by him and his family and favorite
lieutenants for specializing in stocks
and entering into speculative business
; deals. William Livesey was smooth
t and obliging clerk" He was state
. treasurer for nine years, and when hi
: was not state treasurer he was the
| state treasurer's 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
| Cnmo6 II, A.,
: queens domains for long time. H,
!, is now said to be living in Chicago il
a strict retirement.
BOYER AND HAYWOOD CLERKS.
: Boyer was state treasurer, and it will
a be remembered that the legislator
d undertook to impeach him because h
had had queer relations with tha
colossal rascal, John Bardsley, of Phil
adelphia. Haywood, the predecesso
y of the present treasurer, and who wa
G "only clerk" had his death hasten
e ed by worry and fear Of exposure. H
q entered the office a strong, lusty an
l. happy man, but broke down under tn
&c strain. Had he lived the courts woul
n have sent him to the penitentary
l. What the people want is a treasure
IL who will not be "only clerk" or
III WCdh DclhoSiat lIhG Dqudlt lulDtT
it Noyes, who was used by the Republi
can bosses through his cashier, Blak
Of Walters, and whom the position ruin
D. ed. Farmer Greasy, if he be elected
l. will not be "only clerk" There wi
10 be no specializing with the state
le funds and payments held back fror
er the counties that 1t may earn privat
Id interest from the political banks. An
Is he will turn the searchlight on tn
m books and the papers, and what he wi
at discover will be enough to raise tn
In roof off the state house.
pit DOODLE USED IN CHESTER.
40 The Quay machine, driven to despei
ID alton, went its limit to boodleize tn
y Democrats in Chester county at las
r weeks primary, at which the questio
to of fusion with the independent RI
m publicans was submitted to vot
1.