Los Angeles herald., 1908-02-22
CLEAR, CRISP AND CLEAN
FALL OF PENNSYLVANIA

MANY novels and few plays have
Xf been founded upon knowledge
III of a strange tendency in human
nature to relapse. At time when the
victim is least expecting 1t and is most
thoroughly off his guard, the primitive
man asserts himself The ancestral call
is heard. The Old Adam gains the
ascendancy. Stevenson has handled the
subject skilIfully in "Dr. Jekyii and Mr..
Hyde" 1t is well known, too, that
Deacon Brodie was real character,
ana that he was sometimes bright
and a shining light and sometimes an
unregenerate, glimmering candle, max
ing the darkness visible. Countries are
composed of men. 1t would be passing
strange If they had not human char
acteristies by which they might be
indged. States and communities also
are made up of the men and women
who dwell in them. rather than of their
Typographical features. Let US. there :
fore, consider for a minute the case OF
PENNSYLVANIA, once the clean and great,
now fallen. fallen. fallen. fallen. fallen
from her high estate, as the old time
bard sang. He evidently believed that
repetition added force to his allegation.
For that we are not responsible. Penn
sylvania was for many years the pat
tern and exemplar for all the states.
New York might be giddy. Pennsyl-
vania. affectionatel called Pennsy for
short" was ever sedate. Manhattan
rioted in wickedness and told the whole
nation Of her shame, as IL she enjoyed
the sensation she created, and she did
enjoy it. Pennsylvania was still car
TONED in sober garb, and the brother
from Pennsylvania still comported HIM
self as if butter would not melt in his
mouth, and groaningly referred to his
neighbor in New York as man of sin.
Then suddenly the nation was startled
out Of the serenity of It's reverence for
the model state by rumors affecting the
integrity of certain "Quakers" who rep
resented the commonwealth in high
places. Politicians. they were now
called, VINO for years had been referred
to with revering awe as statesmen.
That told the tale. The New York
papers began to look over the wall
which divided their weedy garden Of
iniquity from the pious preserves, and
they were so astounded by the discov-
cry that the Pennsylvanians were worse
than their worst that they were morti-
fed. They did not point the finger of
scorn at shrinking Pennsy. On the con-
trary, they acknowledged bashfully and
gloomily that for real wickedness their
slow and derided neighbor could out
point them all around.
This Jared them to the marrow, be-
cause New York always had cherished
rather sneaking regard for Bill Tweed,
the Scotsman, and Ed Murphy. the
freshman, and Dick Croker, the Eng
lishnan, who had successfully bossed
her and made her politically the state
of startling scandals. Some OF them
caused the world to wonder! There
was the million dollar gimcrack capitol
at Albany. for instance. But here comes
old Pennsy, cheerfully chirruping. ITO
the woods, poor old innocent New York,
for have put even your capitol steal
into the shade. ] have a neat little Job
over at Harrisburg that makes your
old state house swindle look like lass
years pie plant If your robbers have
looted their thousands, mine have looted
their rem thousands.'' And ail this
comes while the memories of certain
bank scandals are still--let US talk
gently and Pickwickianly and merely
say. frasrant--and while certain tales
concerning Philadelphia are well re.
1nembered. and when one thing after
another has happened to shatter old
beliefs concerning the superiority, tbs
immaculateness, the virtuousness and
generally speaking, the meek and pious
pensiveness Of Pennsylvania. Verify
Il hen dear old Pennsy tumhled, greai
was the fall thereof. As the poet almost
said.
Ana Freedom shrisksd when Pennsylyanla fell