Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-02-22
Cause and Effect.

A year ago tho city OF Chester, Pa,
elected reform police administration,
through a combination OF Democrats,
Independents and Prohibitionists in sup
port Of William H. Berry for mayor
Last November Mr. Berry was elected
State treasurer, and therefore was COM
PEELED to relinquish the mayoralty, the
vacancy thereby created being filled at
the municipal election of Tuesday last.
At that election the Democratic-Inde-
pondent-Prohibition combination urged
the choice Of John J.. Garrett 20 the
mayoralty but the Republican machine
organization was triumphant, and elected
its candidate for mayor Dr. S. r. Crothors,
by a sweeping majority.
In consequence Of this political up
heaval, the reform police administration
inaugurated by Mayor Berry will have to
20, from chief 10 dog catcher, to make
room for a police administration in the
interest Of the successful Republican
machine How good the reform police
administration which is thus rudely re-
pudiated has been may be inferred from
the comment Of the Chester Times, a
machine Republican organ, upon the
coming retirement Of Chief of Police Nc
Cram. "Many viii be sorry to see him
CO." says this advocate Of machine gov
eminent as against good government,
"as he has made a good chief Of police" "
But he will have TO make room for a
machine uncertainty, and this machine
organ will applaud the change
We know Of nothing that could illus
trate more forcibly the evils Of partisan
ship in municipal government than this
police incident Of Chester. Here is an
official head Of the police force whose
efficiency is admitted by the organ of his
political opponents, and yet he must step
aside, and the entire police force be sub
iected to the decentralization of thorough
and radical change, simply as a result Of a
partisan victory at the polls.
II is true that the elevation Of this good
chief Of police, who is a Democrat in poll
tics, was due 10 a very large extent to the
same kind of influences which will now
be employed in turning him out. But
not entirely So For the conditions that
led to the triumph of the reform elements
at the election in Chester year ago de-
manded radical change in the police
administration. The old administration
was inefficient, II not absolutely corrupt.
The town was rottenly "open" The
illegal sale Of liquor was countenanced
and gambling hourished. When, spurred
to action blythe Indignant protests of good
citizens, the police force mad Q a raid upon
slot machine gambling devices, the raid
was followed by an audaeious theft of the
conhscated machines from the cellar Of
the City Hall, under the very noses Of the
police, where they had been stored for
safe keeping. No wonder the people
voted for the turning out of such a police
administration.
But now the partisan machine police
administration, with all its sins Of omis-
sion and commission, win be restored, and
that il will be emboldened to wrong doing
by its apparent vindication through the
popular verdict of last Tuesdays election
goes without saying. The good chief Of
police, and the good police force he has
organized will have to give way to the
heelers Of a political machine. Again
Chester will become the ''wide open" city
which made II notorious few years ago,
and the temporarily repudiated gamblers
and law-breakers will thank the "good"
voters of the city and take fresh courage
So much for the evils Of partisanshir
in municipal administration. The only
good that may now be expected Of Chester
is that it may furnish the "horrible ex-
ample" for.other communities TO profit by