The Tucson citizen., 1902-10-29
NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA.

seems able to find out is why New
York City is held up to higher stand
ard of political morality than Phila-
delphia is. The fame of Tammany is
not confined to this continent. 1t long
ago reached Europe, and the misgov-
ernment of the greatest of the Amer
ican cities Is a byword on both sides
of the ocean. Philadelphia is one of
the largest and most important cities
in the world. And yet it's misgovern-
ment att0acts no more attention than
if it were some country village, where
the constable is bribed to permit a
hogpen to remain.
For years the taxpayers of New
York were robbed by the city govern
ment, and the police from time to
time have been in league with crime.
But it may truly be said that the peo-
pie of New York have been able to get
the kind of city government they de-
sired. The elections have been gen.
orally fair, and when the people got
tired of Tammany rule, all they had
to do was to vote Tammany out, and
Tammany went out. This has occurred
twice in recent years. But in Phila-
delphia it is entirely different. The
peculation of the city government is
ON a vast scale. Everybody knows it,
and everybody quietly submits to be
robbed of his money and cheated out
Of his vote. One of the city officials
not long ago refused a public offer of
$4,000, 900, to be paid into the city
treasury, for a franchise, and then
gave it away free to one of the con-
trolling ring Of the Republican party.
This is a sample transaction for
Philadelphia, although the figures are
not ordinarily so great. In any other
city such peculation would cause a
political revolution at the next cleo
tion. But in Philadelphia it makes
no change in the usual Republican ma
jority. The only inconvenience which
the protests of the press and people oc-
casion to the gang which has pos
session of the city government is to
require the ballot hoxes to be stuffed
more diligently than usual
John Wanamaker said some time
ago thatFth has not been a fair cleo
tion in Philadelphia in twenty-five
years, and he might have gone far
ther back than that. The Philadel-
phia Municipal League declares that
at the election for governor in 1898
there were in Philadelphia between
10000 and $4,000 fraudulent votes
polled. The Philadelphia Press, the
leading Republican paper of the city,
of which Mr.. Charles Emory Smith,
postmaster general in Mr.. McKinley's
cabinet, is editor, said this is short of
the actual facts, and that the number
Of fraudulent votes polled in the city
at that election was not less than
$4,000.
It is said that there is no practicable
way of restraining this fraud, because
after the ballot boxes are stuffed and
the returns made out, that is final.
The return judges will not permit the
boxes to be opened. 1t is also charged
that the Ring" is so Indifferent to
public sentiment and so sure of their
ground that no attempt is made to
conceal fraud, and the number of votes
returned from some of the precincts
has almost equaled the entire popula-
ton.
AS long as the ballot box is safe, as
long as the result of an election in
dicates the will of the people, there is
hope for better things. But with
fraudulent elections there is no longer
government by the people, and that is
the worst possible political condition |
into which community can fall.