Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1900-05-18
The Attempt TO BuIIdoze John WaDa
From the Hartford Courant

From the Hartford Courant.
Ex-senator Quay and his friends are no
fonder of John Wanamaker than he is of
them. One of the eX-senator's friends,
Samuel II. Ashbridge is Philadelphia S
mayor; another, Abraham L. English, is
its director of public safety, and bosses its
policemen. The good Scriptural names
given them at baptism do not seem to have
"struck in" John Wanamakers son
owns and edits a Philadelphia daily news
paper, the North American. This paper
has made itself disagreeable to Ashbridge
and English. Last December they sum
moned John Wanamaker to the city hall,
making a pretext of other business, and
asked or ordered him to muzzIe the North
American. He refused, telling them he
had nothing to do with that publication
and was not going to interfere with his
sons management of it.
Last Thursday morning English sent
word to John Wanamaker that he was
coming to see him. Twenty minutes later
he arrived. With him was George &.
Pierre, commissioner of city property.
English explained that he had come to talk
about the younger Wanamakers paper.
1.-THE mayor and have stood it now for a
year." he said, land we are not going to
stand it any longer" John Wanamaker
prudently called his private secretary into
the room, and then repeated his refusal to
NEEDLE in his sons private business. at
was your money that paid for the paper"
said English. 81 want you to answer me,
yes or no, whether you intend to stop the
North Americans attacks" John Wana-
makers reply was 81 will not interfere
in any way whatever" To this the direc
tor of public safety rejoined
Very well, then; want to give you
notice that for eight months we have been
looking up your personal record from the
time you were postmaster-general. We
have followed you throughout Washington,
Philadelphia, New York, and even in
Europe, and we have fortified ourselves
with affidavits against you, and since you
have been attacking other people, we will
now take our turn on you.
John Wanamaker ordered the director
of public safety out of his private office.
The next day he wrote out the whole
story for the Philadelphia newspapers. In
predatory note he said:-
When a powerful citp official, the chief
counsellor of the mayor, controlling the
police fierce of a municipality, threatens a
citizen with deliberately concocted and
scandalous attack on his character, unless
he silences the criticisms of newspaper
upon the acts of public officials, the occur
renee is more than a private grievance-it
is an incident of far-reaching and menac-
ing import. No more insidious and terror
izlng form of blackmail could be devised
The threat of the chief-Of- police of a
great city, speaking for mayor and munic
ipal administration, cannot be dismissed
as idle. 1t is a monstrous and audacious
attempt to intimidate and coerce by an I'M
lawful and revolving abuse of power. To
he silent under such circumstances would
be an encouragement TO lawless and trucu-
lent officials vested with authority with
which they can harass and Cypress. 1t
would embolden the perpetrators of such
practices and put weak men at their mercy.