The Ellensburg dawn. [volume] (Ellensburg, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1906-12-07
AN HONEST CRATER
A Glimpse Into the Future of Mu-
nicipaI Ownership.

A Thumb Nail Sketch Of "Practical
poliScian"-The Profits Of an All
Around Servant Of the People, Who
Seen His Opportunities and Took
EN-"
"Honest graft will reach its highest
level when, as predicted by the ell
thusasts, the principles of municipal
ownership are accepted by New York
and the city controls the trolley lines,
the electric light and gas works and
all the ferries as we'll 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
panization leader of the Fifteenth dis
trict in New York, will reap rewards of
greater magnitude than they have ever
been able to gather under. the present
order Of things.
Perhaps you have never heard about
Mr.. Plunkitt's honest graft schemes.
He told about them himself in a book
published last year, which was intro
duced by a paragraph indorsing him as
q veteran leader Of the organization"
signed by its greatest chief.
Plunkitt was sore because there were
some objections to graft being made
out of the city by men like him, and in
the first chapter of his book he uttered
vigorous protest. "Blackmailin' gam
blers, saloon keepers. dsorderly peo-
pie, etc. he admitted to be wrong
That was dishonest graft"
But" he added, there's an honest
graft, and I'm an example of how 1t
works. l seen my opportunities and l
took EN-"
Mr. Plunkitt's explanation of how he
did these things will illuminate the
possibilities Of future municipal owner
ship days, if they ever come.
After calculating the ways he was
tipped off" 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 estate likely to
rise in price from the Improvements
contemplated, he adds: Il haven't con-
fined myself to land. Anything that
pays is in my line Then he gives a
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
60 h,,- h. Int fhoI-
were worth" But newspaper tried
to do him" and got some outside men
from Brooklyn and New Jersey to bid
against him. Mr.. Plunkitts own words
tell the story best:
'Was I done? Not much. l went
to each Of the men and said, How
many of those 100000 stones do you
wantT One said 10000. and another
wanted $1,000, and another wanted 49,
600. said, All right; let me bid for
the lot, and III 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 stones?
1.-Two dollars and fifty cents, says /.
"Two dollars and fifty cents.
screamed the auctioneer. oh, that's q
Joke. Give me a real bid
He found the bid was real enough
My rivals stood silent. l got the lot fol
$3.50 and gave them their share. That :
how the attempt to do Plunkitt ended
and that's how all such attempts end.
1t Is hardly necessary, in the light OF
this authentic statement of honest
CRAFTS" workings, to enlarge upon the
extended opportunities that would
come to the men of the Plunkitt stamp
We're the dream of municipal owner
ship to come true. Plunkitt says most
politicians who are accused of robbln
the city get rich the same way he did
They didn't steal a dollar from the
city They just seen their opportunities
and took them
While in the legislature Plunkitt in
troduced the bills that provided for the
outlying parks of New York. the Har
lem river speedway, the Washington
bridge, the one Hundred and Fifty
NTH street viaduct, additions to the
Museum of Natural History and man!
other important public Improvements
DE Is now millionaire. Under the
proposed order Of things, with city con
uol of everything, he might become
Millionaire.
Under municipal ownership of al
public utilities in New York-and il
3Qst other cities in fact-politieial;