Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1907-03-28
GRAF | IN ENGLAND.
Perhaps Not So Great In Extent
as Here, but Yet Well Started.

as t1cIc, UuG Jet WEI SlaTIe0.
The Operation o. Public Utilities by
Public Officials Has Placed Them
Under Such Temptations as They
Have Never pefore Known--Why
They Are Not Exposed.
There is nothing about the visiting
American in England more amusing to
the native Ian the Americans convic-
ton that there is no graft in English
municipal politics.
Frederick c. Howe, the magazinist
who writes SO much in praise of munic-
ipal ownership, the British form OF
socialism. admits that there is graft In
England, but says it Is all practiced
by the lords and millionaires. No
graft he declares, has crept in through
the municipal ownership and operation
of public utilities.
Graft In England may not be of such
magnitude as in the United States, -
said an. Englishman who is we'll known
i'm public life, but is neither lord nor
II millionaire. "but it exists here as
certainly as 1T does in America. 1t is
carried on along similar lines, and, fos-
tered by the opportunities which the
rising tide of municipal trading affords,
1T Is rapidly growing in magnitude. 1t
is owing to our overstrict libel laws
and to the fact that immunity may not
be granted under English law TO one
who confesses to accepting bride that
the corruption now SO we'll known to
exist in our municipal governments has
not been effectively exposed long ago
The newspapers know all about it,
and they know who are the grafters,
but they do not dare to expose the sit
uation. and until the proper statutes
arc enacted it will be almost impossi-
bic to punish grafters through the
courts.
Not so very long ago certain
speech was reported in one of the
London newspapers. The speechmak
er was indignant, for neither the SUBJ
ject matter OF the speech nor the cir
under which it was deliv-
cred Were creditab!e to him, and lie
brought a suit for damages on the
ground that the libel laws had been
violated. 1t was not claimed that the
speech was Incorrectly reported; in
deed, it was admitted that the report
was substantially without error, vet
nevertheless heavy damages were
awarded to the plaintiff on the grounds
that the plaintiffs reputation had been
injured and that the publisher could
not show that the publication of the
report was of benefit to the public.
"A little longer ago it was suspected
that members of the council of London
borough of Poplar had been accepting
brides from contractors who were fur
materials and supplies. Detec-
tives were put upon the case, and the
facts We're run down. Certain Of the
contractors and councilmen, confront
ed with these facts, confessed and
promised to go upon the stand in court
and testify to the truth. In due time
one of the guilty men took the stand
as promised and told tie story as
agreed.
Gle was Immediately arrested rs a
criminal under the law as its stands
and slated for an early trial. This
chilled the enthusiasm of the others
who had promised to confess, and they
changed their minds promptly and H.
revocably. AS the prosecution was
thus left without witnesses, the inves-
tigation was brought to an abrupt
close.
Now, the installation and operation
of tramways, electric light works, gas
works, etc, involves the letting Of
many large contracts by men who hold
places in the municipal councils, not
because they are fitted by training and
to let such contracts, but
because they have succeeded through
petty politics in getting elected. They
receive no pay for their services and
In many cases are men without finan-
cial resources of any consequence.
''There are contractors in England
as we'll MS IN America who are not
above getting contracts through brib-
cry, and there are council members OF
the grade have mentioned who are
no more able to resist the temptation
to be bribed in England than they
would be in America. If 1t would not
sound unpatriotic. might go SO far as
to say that since municipal trading has
SO increased the magnitude of munich
pal contracts Englishmen in many cit
les have been known to seek election
to the councils in order to have the
chance to be bribed
Eve could today make exposures of
graft in London and more than one
other English city that would startle
American readers even, accustomed rs
they are to reading graft sto.ie~. If we
could only give immunity to ',oeler
might be either scared or reas1;ls.l into
confessing the truth. In other words.
ownership and operation Of
public utilities in England are rapidly
honeycombing all our municipal gov
ernments with graft.
The law makes an exception with
regard to election bribery charges, and
immunity may lawfully be promised
to those whose testimony is needed to
convict the guilty. This has enabled
us to unearth many election Irregular
tiles, as the readers Of English news
papers know very WELL and eventually
we are going to be able to unearth the
facts with regard to bribery and job
berry in English municipal administers
ton. We are well aware, however,
that 1T will probably be quite as Diff
cult to job as 1t was thirty odd years
ago in America to unearth the frauds
perpetrated by New York's notorious
Tweed ring"