New-York tribune., 1907-05-27
PROGRESS ~ PENNSYLVANIA.

Much satisfaction has been expressed i'm the
Pennsylvania newspapers with the work ac-
cOmplishcd by the State Legislature which ad-
journed recently. As "rhe philadelphia Press
puts II, that body left behind IL zone of the most
creditahle records In the history OF the state
Excepting the special session OF 1906. called bv
Governor Pennypacker in Il flt of pcntputial
perturbation, no session in many years has wit
messed such healthy independence of action and
such freedom from the manipulations of party
bosses. 1t is hard to check the momentum of n
popular movement, and though Pennsylvania
voted good naturedly last fall 10 accept the
pledges of repentance made by the RppubIican
machine managers the trainers of those pledges
! have not yet recovered sufficiently from sense
OF peril to venture 10 break them either to the
! ear or to the hope. In the long period of the
! Cameron-Quay domination the Legislature Mt
! Harrisburg simply registered DEGREES drawn bv
the bosses and tho interests with which they
were allied. At the sessions of 1906 and 1907.
| however, public opinion had to he reckoned
with. and great mass OF long delayed reform
! legislation has been the result
AS in many other state legislatures this veor
the chief effort at Harrisburg was to obtain
legislation regulating the management of pub
lie utilities The first stet was the passage Of
a two cents a mile passenger fare law This oct
was bitterly resisted by the railroads. which
have now taken an appeal TO the courts but the
arguments advanced against the two cent maxi
mum made little impression on the Legislature
Under the conditions existing in many parts of
the country compulsory two cent rate NAV
prove to he unfair and harmful. Whether or
not that will be the case in Il state as densclv
populated as Pennsylvania is remains TO he
determined Opposition was also made t0
the creation of a permanent railroad com
mission to inVpStipatP
abuses, and to legislation forbiddiuo dis
ordinations i'll freight rates or car service ,ud
enforcing the clauses OF the constitution which
prohlblt railroads from operating coal mines or
engaging LII manufacturing enterprises All
these bllls were passed, however by great ma
joritcs, were bills permitting trolley lines To
carry light freight and to use TO a limited ex-
tent the power of eminent domain. The mil
road commission law passed at Harrisburg
seems mild and Overcautious when comparel
with the utilities measure now pending at AL
bany. The commission in PENNSYLVANIA is to
have little more power than our present Rail-
road Commission. It's functions are to re-
main advisory, and 1t Will apply only moral
suasion in trying TO get its recommendations
accepted. Yet in state where the railroads
have had free hand for more than q genera
tion even this modest effort at regulation is
welcome.
Among the other good works or the session
were the appropriation of $6,0O0,000 for public
roads, the appropriation of S1,00000O for the
treatment of cOnsumptives and the maintenance
of free consumptve mountain camps the appro-
priatiOn of more than $50000O0 for the better
care of the insane and the allotment of SJOOOOO
Tor the improvement of the Delaware River, the
last sum to be given In case Philadelphia also
votes S500O00 This example of self-hep in
river and harbor Improvement Is noteworthy.
because few states or cities have had the public
spirit To supplement in this wise the improve
ment work done at the expense of the federal
government. How would the Legislature at AL
Dany take to proposal to vote 100000 for use
III deepening New York Harbor? A bill to pen