The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1906-11-23
III H0N EST GRAF TEBi
a Glimpse Into BE FlItlire Of lip-
lieipaI ownership.

a TIslrab NaH sketch y = "Prnetieai
Pelftieiant-Ths Prs5la OF "A Al
around essrvant Of The People, Vile
eeen His cpporsHpitiss s1d Took
fEh"
tEIonest graft" WI reach its highes:
leyei when as predicted By the en-
thuaiasts, The PRINCIPLES OF municipal
ownership ire accepted by Sew York
and the ely controls the trolley lines,
the electric light and gas Works and
all the ferries as well as the water
works and the police. the fire and the
street departments.
Then such patriots as George Wash
Ington PlunkItt, for many years or
ganization leader Of the Fifteenth dis
tl,ict IN New York, VIII reap rewards Of
greater magnitude tllan they have ever
been able to gather under the present
order OF things.
Perhaps you have never heard about
Mr.. Plunkitts honest graft schemes.
Z re told about them himself In a book
published last year, which was intro
duced by paragraph ihdOrsfng him as
n veteran leadersof the Organizations
signed by Its greatest chief, ~
P1unkitt was sore because there were
some objections to graft being made
out of the city by men like him. and In
the arst chapter of his book he uttered
IA vigorous protest. 'Blackmailln, gam
blers, saloon keepers, disorderly PEG
pie. etc. he admitted to be wrong
That was "dlshonest graft 5,s.1-I
But" he added, there's, an honest
graft and I'm nm example of how II
works. a seen my opportunities and I.
took 'em''
?. Mr. PIuhkfttss explanation. of how he
did these things wiz Illuminate the,
possibilities OF future municipal owner.
ship days, If they ever come.
eIucidaffng the. ways he, was'
clipped orr at various times by men,
bers of his party-the party in power
when new bridges, new parks, new
streets were to be opened, SO that he
might invest in real sestate likely to
rise in price from the improvements
contemplated, he adds: 81 haven't con-
fined myself to land. Anything that
phys is In my line" Then he gives n
specific instance:
Learning that the city was about to
repave a certain street and so would
have several hundred thousand old
paving blocks to sell, he was ION hand
to buy" and he knew just what they
were worth" But newspaper tried
to do him'f<"nd got some outside men
from BrccSn ard New Jersey to bid
against him. zIr. PIunllitt's own words
tell the story best:
WAS I done? Not much I went
to each OF the men and said, How
many OF those 100000 stones do you
want?' One said 10000. and another
wanted $4,000, and another wanted TO-
600. said, All right; let me bid for
the lot, and I'll give each of you all
you want for nothIn'-'
They agreed, of course. Then the
auctioneer yelled. How much am bid
for these fine PAWN stonesT
1.-TWO dollars and fifty cents shys 1. |
Two dollars and fifty cents"
the auctIoneer. oh. that's n
Joke. Give me real bid
HE found the bid was real enough. |
Ny rivals stood silent. got the lot for
$50 and gave them their share. That's
low the attempt to do Plunlzitt ended,
md that's how all such attempts end"
It is hardly necessary, in the light OF
his authentic statement OF honest
yaft's'' workings, to enlarge upon the
extended Opportunities that would
.ome to tho men of the Plunkitt stamp
we're the dream of municipal owner
hip to come true. PlunkItt says most
politicians who are accused of Robin
he city get rich the same way he did.
They didn't steal a dollar from the
lily. They just seen their opportunities
md took them"
While in the legislature Plunkitt In
reduced the bills that provided for the
parks of New York the Har-
en- river speedway. the Washington
ridge, the One Hundred and Fifty
fifth street viaduct, additions to the
fuseum OF Natural History and many
Their important public improvements,
lie is now millionaire. Under the
proposed order of things, with city con-
rol of everything. he might become a
Millionaire.
Under municipal ownership of all
,ublic utilities in New York-and in
most other eltIes in fact-polIticians
Ike PIunkitt. who at different times
las been elected state senator. assem-
lyman. county supervisor and alder
nan by his fellow citizens,j besides
ervIng as police magistrate for one
ernl, and who boasts of his record In
Hing four public ofaces in one year
md drawing salaries from three OF
hem at the same time, would flourish
Ike whole grove OF green bay trees.
Go Slow on City ownsrshiP.
Until politics In America Is purified
ar beyond its present condition any
arge experiment in government own
- aNa.Tile I