Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-11-25

ture, and the man OF wealth. among
them who would enter protest against
the iniquity would be looked upon as
"class anarchist" I will go further
and say that II in New England a man
of the type Of Folk Of Missouri, car
be found who will give over six
months to turning up the legislative
and Boston municipal sod Of the last
ten years, who does not expose to the
world a condition Of rottenness more
rotten than was ever before exhibited
in any community In the civilized
world, 1t will be because he has been
suffocated by the stencil Of what he
exhumes. -"
The Whitney machine for the, man.
ufacture and moulding Of legislation
was complex but efficient. 1t achieved
It's wonders in broad daylight. Consid-
ering what 1t did and how 1t was done,
the astonishing fact Is that no outcry
to speak Of was ever raised at its per-
formances. It was vastly bolder than
Tammany, and made fewer excuses
for what 1t grabbed. But its chief en-
gineer was a leading citizen, and his
assistants all gentlemen Of great re-
spectability and admirable antecedents
and In Boston social and civic dictions
are shields behind which much may be
concealed.
Corrupting Legislature is5not some
thing a man may do with fllip OF
his finger and thumb. However bold
the operations, the covenances must
be observed. When really large de-
signs are entertained, the manipulation
begins before the preceding election
and has had his lawyers at work
throughout the country, seeing candi-
dates and ascertaining their feelings.
So a certain per centage Of votes are
signed and sealed in advance, ready
for delivery at the proper time. But
there Is always a crowd Of new men,
who must be taken care Of on the spot
and these must be approached with
tact. Some amateurs have fanatical
notions Of honor which interfere with
their own and the interests Of the
franchise grabbers. To deal with all
these contingencies, to take care of
captured votes and to shape legislative
proceedings along safe lines require
the services Of almost an army of
men.
At the head Of Whitney's forces was
his lawyer, George H. Towle. big of
brain, ponderous Of frame, and with
the strength Of an OK. A man Of ter
rife temper, he knew not the meaning
of the word fear. Nothing aroused
him to such frenzy as to have to do
with a legislator who unnecessarily
haggled over the price Of his vote or
influence. On such occasions, when q
lieutenant had reported that Senator
This or Representative That would not
come into camp, Towle. with an oath,
would simply say: Take me to him,
and I'll have his vote in ten minutes,
or there'll be occasion for a new elec-
ton In his district tomorrow"
Second in command was Mr.. Patch
Towle's secretary and factotum, his
exact opposite IN every way: Where
Towle was brutally straight to the
point Mr.. Patch was as smooth an in
triguer as ever connected himself with
secrets by way Of keyholes and tran-
SONS. It Is q Beacon Hill tradition
that for years Towle on final payment
day would have the members OF the
Massachusetts legislature march
through his private Office and, hand
ing each Of them their loot, would
proclaim: "Well, you're settled with IN
full, aren't you? That represents your
vote on = and on -" Then ne
would loudly identify the bill and the
particulars of the service. while be-
hind a partition with a stenographer
would be Mr.. Patch, who, after the
notes had been written out, would
witness the accuracy Of the stenog-
raphers report. When the legislature
same story goes, would be requested to
call on Towle to renew acquaintance
ship. Then he would allow them to
look over his memoranda "just to
keep 'em from being too proud" as he
gently phrased it.
Subordinate to Towle and Patch was
long line Of eminently respectable
lawyers known all over the common
wealth as "Whitney's attorneys"
These men participated at nomina-
tions, Grated at elections, and took care
of the finer preliminary details. The
first line Of attack was composed OF
practical politicians Of various grades
senators or representatives, and
local bosses-who were known as
"Whitney's right-hand men," Below
these were the ordinary lobbyists, the
detectives and runners, who kept
tabs" on every move and deed, day
and night, Of the members Of the leg
islature. This was the Whitney ma
chine, and 1t worked together with that
fine solidity and evenness which can
be attained only with lots Of practice
and much success. In comparison
with this competent organization, an
average "Tammany gang" Chicago
combine" or a "St. Louis syndicate"
would look like broken down snow
plough in August.
1t is seldom the public Is given an
opportunity Of seeing a picture, drawn
to life, Of the legislature Of one OF the
greatest states in the Union in the
act of being bribed to grant the vota-
ries Of "frenzied finance" for nothing,
those things which should and do be-
long to the people, and for which the
SYSTEMS votaries would willingly pay
millions Of dollars II they were COM
pelled to. I shall dwell on the per-
formance that ensued at this juncture
Of my story long enough to present an
outline Of the process.
Headquarters for Whitney's Pipe
Line were opened at Youngs Hotel,
Parlors 9, 10 and II. Rooms 6, Z, g.,
second story front. Parlors 9 and 10
were the general reception rooms,
while II was for the commander him.
self and the holding Of important and