The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-10-17
JOE FOLK IN
 PHILADELPHIA Missouri Governor Scores the GrafterS. B0ODLERS ARE FORTIFIED Public, When Aroused, Can DiSlodge Them, However. Reformer from the West is Given Rous- ing Welcome Wherever he Ap-
 pears In the Pennsylvania
 Metropolis.
B00DLERS ARE FORTIFIED

|
 Philadelphia. Oct. 1e.-The great bat l tie between the local Republican organ | ization and the City Party. the munich | pal refor n organization recently form | ed here, was enlivened today by the visit of Governor Folk of Missouri. who came to lend his voice in the interest of good government. The Missouri Governor tonight addressed large and 1 enthusiastic audience In the Academy l of Music. He spoke under the auspices | of the City Club, which claims no con- nection with the City Party. Governor l Folk had an exceedingly busy day and 1 his reception wherever he appeared 1 during the day and evening was a flat | tering one.
 The crowd thatt attempted to gain | entrance to the Academy tonight was l so great that the doors were closed be- I fore the meeting began. Several thous- ands of persons who could not get in | were addressed by City Club speakers | While the curbstone mass meeting was l in progr sss, Governor Folk arrived and I the assemblage would not permit him I to enter the building until hc had ad- I dressed them. He made a short speech. | When he entered the academy, the en- 1 tire audience stood up to welcome him. President Durham, in explaining the objects of the Club. said the organiza- l ton was allied with no party; that 1t | neither endorsed nor named candidates. I but stood really to help any genuine | movement for good government. He I brief speech introducing Governor | Folk.
 Governor Folk spoke in part as fol- lows:
 | Speech of Folk.
 'The most conspicuous fact of nut nicipal governments in the United l States today is that the government Is by the few and not by the people. | There is more aggressive rottenness and less aggressive patriotism in our l large cities than anywhere else If I the patriotism can be made as aggres- sive as the rottenness. the problem of good government would he solved by the people taking the government into their own hands. If corruption exists 1 in Philadelphia the people are to blame: if corruption is to be eradicated | the people alone can do it. The fight you are making here is battle which | will be felt by every town. city and 1 State in the land. The benefit of victory for good government will be l universal and the evil effects of a de- | feat will demoraiixe those who believe in good government by the people. The average man does not appreciate the solemn duty he owes his city, his State | and his country.
 The moral revolution now sweeping over the land means the patriotism | that comes from the heart, not from the head. Many men would be willing. if need be, to give up their lives for their city or State if they are needed sometimes, and this kind of patriotism cannot be too highly commended: but the man who is willing to live for his l city and State every day is the man that is needed just now. There may be as much patriotism in giving ones time to the betterment of civil condi- Al office and in purifying the ballot as in barring ones breast to the bullets of an enemy There never was a time when the Sneed for patient men in pub lie affairs was greater than now. We need more men actuated alone by the desire for the public good and fewer of those who are in politics merely for | revenue.
 Philadelphia at Last Awake. | The strength of the lawless ele- | ment Is great but 1t Is as nothing when 1t comes in contact with a public conscience thoroughly aroused. Phil l adelphia at last seems to be awakened and though the gang has been strong, | 1t is being shattered beneath the shafts of public opinion under the leadership 1 of Mayor Weaver. The public can l overthrow civic evil whenever 1t wants to and get just as good government as | 1t deserves, or as bad as 1t permits 1t | to become
 "The law-abiding people are fin the majority in Philadelphia, and there is
 hardly a community in this country of | which this cannot be said. They are
 usually quiet, however, while the law less are so vociferous as to deceive
 many as to their number. They may | bluff and bulldoze, but they are cow ards, and if resolute1y fought, they
 can be overcome. They are always
 active. however, while the average
 good citizen becomes alive only occa- 1 sionally,
 "The moral resolution that is now
 sweeping over the land is merely a | revival of the rule of the people. Four
 wears ago the laws of bribery in all oT inc states were considered as prac-
 ticaIlv dead letters. Not because the
 offense was so common. but because 1t
 was uncommon for officials to be prose- | ruted for 1t. When the prosecutions
 wara commenced in St. Louis, members
 of the House of Delegates claimed this
 hriberv had been going on so long they
 were entitled to notice to quit being
 nrosecuted Some of them argued that
 the members of the House of Delegates.
 hayInp been taking bribes from time
 jmmemorial, had acquired right to
 do an and 1t was just as proper for
 them to sell their votes as for the mer-
 chant to sell his wares
 stJere was a crime worst than any l other. for their onense only violated
 tbe law, while bribery strikes at the
 foundation of all laws. Yet the law
 sarouncinR it was not enforced; brib-
 arv became the usual and expected
 tbir1 all over the land; corrupt men
 saasted and fattened at public expense; ,enS became merchandise on the mar
 ket and all this time the public con
 science was asleep n, wnen saw tne thsv reVela hsd
 hosr murdered; they saw the offense