Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-02-25
Registration frauds In Philadelphia.

Registration Frauds In Philadelphia.
The G. o. P. always arrogates to
itself all virtue, all intelligence, all
patriotism and al purity EsE in election
matters. Once in awhile this sort
of talk becomes so rank that more
or less decent Republican paper grows
sick Of it and takes a fall out of the
Grand Old Hypocrite. Under the above
caption the Washington Star, a bright
Republican organ, says:
PhiIadelphia's latest demonstration of
the evils of corrupt city management by
political machines is of a decidedly in
teresting character apart from the spec
tacle afforded of the machine made mayor
conducting an apparently rigorous inves-
LEGATION into the charge that the city POI
lice are the agents of wholesale false reg
istration. Such fraud rebounds OF
course to the benefit of the bosses who
selected the mayor, and his activity in the
premises suggests several possibilities
u that he has revolted, which is unlike
"; 20 that the machine believes the pub
lie must be placated by a show of reform
and that it can easily spare few thou
sand fraudulent votes, or 90 that it is
tired of the tribute demands of the crea-
lures whom it uses to pad the election re-
ton, the fact is that Mayor Weaver is
now probing into certain fragrant in
stances of padded registration rolls.
1t has been demonstrated beyond der
NAL that from the residences of one police
lieutenant and fifteen patrolmen no fewer
than 217 voters are now registered. From
the two story home of one policeman sew
enteen men are recorded as voters. This
is only a starter. Other policemen who
have acted as the hosts of scores of other
alleged voters are on the list for exam
nation These sixteen have just been
vigorously questioned-in privately the
mayor, and upon emergence from the aw-
full presence they almost uniformly de-
clared that henceforth they were '.out of
politics"
It is significant thar, according to the
Philadelphia papers, the policemen who
have already gone through the mill seem
relieved because of the prospect that
henceforth they will not be engaged in the
business Of allowing their own residences
to figure on the registration books for the
repeaters and fioaters. There is direct
charge that these city underlings are
merely the creatures of the bosses, who
compel them, through the fear of dis
missal, thus to serve the machine and, on
occasions to come forward and swear to
the residence of the registered voters.
| The total depravity of the Philadelphia
machine has long been a subject Of wide
spread comment. 1t has been often COM
pared to the Tammany machine, with the
| difference that Tammany has had its
| hard bumps, while the Philadelphia ring
has not of late years been broken, de-
spite many efforts by citizens to do so. If
| through a spasm Of machine conscience
or a fit of machine fear OF prosecution or
sudden display Of nerve by the mayor
| the voting lists can be purged of fraudu-
lent names there may even yet be hope
Of relief for Philadelphia.
| Let readers remember that that edi-
torial is not from a flannel mouthed
Democratic paper, but from simon
pure Republican journal.
Divers suggestions are being made
as to what our attitude should be to-
ward the Russians and Japs while
they are scrapping. That's dead easy.
1t should be one Of strictest neutrality.
holding ourselves in readiness to sell
both everything they want to con
sumo, whether it is barrel OF beef 81
a sixteen inch gun. Any other post
ton is idiotic.
| The Russians claim that the jar
violated the rules of military etiQue
| by torpedosng her battleshsps bet
declaring war Likewise Je1an s.
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