The Irish standard., 1905-06-03

to divert millions and millions of dol
lars from the city to a private gas
company, Philadelphia is to have an
other flash of reform, says F. G.. in
the New York Post 1t will be vivid
while it lasts. While it lasts, the H.
Elimination will induce the belief that,
finally, there is to be an end to the
Quaker City anomaly-the anomaly of
citizens with instincts as decent as
those of any citizens anywhere tame
ly tolerating the corruptest municipal
ity in the world One would wish to
speak hopefully. 1t would be fine
and stirring to be able to say: We'll,
you see, blood tells! The most
American OF American cities is at
last going to pick up and pass on to the
rest OF you the torch OF pure govern
ment." But one can judge the future
only by the past. These Philadel-
phians have waved this light several
times before; then listlessly have
thrown it down like burnt match.
Never yet has their opportunity
been so good. Quay is dead; and at
the very FIRST real test the political
Organization which he bequeathed,
and which considered itself, up to
noontime yesterday, as omnipotent, is
utterly defeated and has to cry for
quarter. What would the present
bosses have given then for the counsel
and direction of Matthew S. Quay?
"The men," remarks the Evening Bull
letin, "who are now trying to fill
Quay's shoes, had easy occupation as
party managers while they had the
benefit of his masterful BRAIN" Boss
Durham has not at any moment been
master of Philadelphia politics. He
bowed to Quay as pointed out in "The
Shame of the Cities" and he could not
hold Ashbridge when mayor. Now
public wrath has made, temporarily,
of his "unconquerable organization,
his perfect machine" which excelled
even that of Tammany Hall-public
opposition has suddenly made this
marvel look like a scrap heap.
Says Mayor Weaver: "My unalter-
able purpose was to defeat this ini,
quitous gas lease proposition and to
free the city OF Philadelphia from the
thraldom OF boss rule. My enemies
may throw me out Of Office; but 1
have grappled my arms about the pill
lars of the temple, and if go down
l shall drag with me the ruins of the
structure they have reared" Mayor
Weaver has been an unknown quanti-
ty. Up to near the close Of his term
as district attorney his record was
clean. Then ballot-box suffer, who
had fled the State, was brought back
for trial, and two policemen swore for
him an alibi, so that District Attorney
Weaver could not convict him. Fol.
lowing that came Weaver's nomina-
tion by the machine for mayor. What
phians wondered?
Last week the machine threatened
to bring him into court for malfeas-
ance in Office. Whether there was
anything to bring him to court for is
not shown; he did dare to resist the
lease, and, backed by extraordinary
outbursts of popular indignation, he
dared to turn out of Office the ma
chimes two enormously powerful
heads of department-the director of
public works and the director of pup
lie safety. Ten thousand officeholders
thereby came to learn that their ten
ure depended not alone upon Boss
Durham but upon the mayor. With
public sentiment making him superior
to the bosses, Mayor Weaver is capa-
BILE, of course, of making it impossible
to put the humpty -dumpty machine
together again.
But how long will Philadelphians
disturb themselves about freebooting
politics? They went through just such
an ebullition as the present when, sew
en- years ago, an attempt was made
TO steal the waterworks. There was just