The Washington herald., 1913-05-25

appealed from them to the people
When we both came up for reelection
/ won easily in my district, where CIR
cumstances conspired to favor me, ana
Kelly, with exactly the same record
that I had, except that IL was more
creditable because he took his stand
against greater odds, was beaten in his
district. Defeat to me would have
meant merely chagrin; to Kelly II
meant terrible material disaster. He
had no money.
Like every rigidly honest man. he had
found going into politics was expensive
and that his salary as Assemblyman did
not cover the financial outgo. He had
lost his practice and he had incurred
the Ill will of the powerful. so that II
was impossible at the moment to PICK
I'D his practice again: and the worry
and disappointment affected him SO
much that shortly after election he was
struck down by sickness. Just before
Christmas some of US were informed
that Kelly was in such financial straits
that he and his family would be put out
into the street before New Year. TINS
was prevented by the action OF some OF
his friends who had served with MIN IN
the Legislature, and he recovered. al
least to a degree. and took up the prac-
tice of his profession. But he was a
broken man. In the Legislature In which
he served one of his acknowledgements
from Brooklyn was the Speaker-Alfred
c. Chaplin, the leader and the foremost
representative of the reform Democracy
whom Kelly zealously supported. A few
years later Chaplin. a very able man.
was elected Mayor of Brooklyn on
reform Democratic ticket. Shortly after
his election I was asked to speak at
meeting in a Brooklyn club at which
various prominent citizens, including
the Mayor. were present I spoke on
civic decency. and toward the close of
my speech ! sketched Kelly's career for
my audience, told them how he had
ptood up for the rights OF the people
OF Brooklyn. and how the people had
failed to stand up for him. and the
way he had been punished. precisely be-
cause he had been a good citizen who
acted as a good citizen should act l
ended by saying that the reform Democ-
racy had now come into power. that Mr..
Chaplin was Mayor, and that ! very
earnestly hoped recognition would at
last be given to Kelly for the hight ne
had waged at such bitter cost TO him
self. Ny words created some impression.
and Mayor Chaplin at once said that ne
would take care of Kelly and see that
justice was done him. ! went home that
evening much pleased. In the morning.
at breakfast, I received a brief note
from Chaplin in these words: 1T was
nine last evening when you finished
speaking of what Kelly had done, and
when 1 said that l would take care Of
him. At ten last night Kelly died" He
had been dying while ! was making my
speech. and he never knew that at last
there was to be a tariy recognition Of
what he had done. a tardy justification
for the sacrifices he had made. The
man had fought, at heavy cost to him
self and with entire disinterestedness.
for popular rights: but no recognition
for what he had done had come to him
from the people. whose interest he had
so manfully upheld.
Then and Now.
Where there is no chance of statistical
hard to tell Just the degree to which con-
ditions change from one period to an
other This is peculiarly hard to do
when We deal with such a matter as cor
ruption. Personally I am inclined to
think that in public life We are on the
whole a little better and not a little
worse than We were thirty years ago,
when ] was serving in the New York
LEGISLATURE. l think the conditions are
a little better in national, in State, and
in municipal politics. Doubtless there
are points in which they are worse, and
there is an enormous amount that needs
reformation. But il does seem to me
as II. on the whole. things had slightly
improved.
When I went into politics, New York
City was under the control of Tam
many, which was from time to time op-
posed by some other-snd evanescent-I
city Democratic organization. The up
country Democrats had not yet fallen
under Tammany sway, and were on the
point of developing a big country politi-
cal boss in the shape of David B. Hill
The Republican party was split into the
Stalwart and Half-Breed factions. Ac-
cordingly neither party had one domi-
nant boss, or one dominant machine,
each being controlled by jarring and war
ring bosses and machines The corrup-
ton was not what 1t had been in the
days OF Tweed, when outside individuals
controlled the Legislators like puppets.
Not was there any such Capitalization
OF the boss system as occurred later.
Many of tie members were under the
control of local bosses or local ma
chimes But the corrupt work was usu-
ally done through the members directly.
OF course, I never had anything in the
nature of legal proof of corruption, and
the figures I am about to give are mere |
ly approximate. But three years ex-
perience convinced me, in the first place. |
that there were a great many thoroughly
corrupt men in the legislature, perhaps a ]
third OF the whole number: and. in the
next place, that the honest men out
numbered the corrupt men, and that il
II were ever possible to get an issue of
right and wrong put wildly and unn1is l
takably before them in a way that would /!
arrest their attention and that would !
arrest the attention OF their constituents, |
we could count on the triumph of right |
The trouble was that in most cases the |
issue was confused. To read some kinds |
Of literature one would come TO the con- !
clusion that the only corruption In legis- |
lative circles was in the form Of bribery |
by corporations, and that the line was |
sharp between the honest man who was |
always voting against corporations and !
the dishonest man who was always bribed |
to vote for them. My experience was the |
direct contrary of this. For every one |
bill introduced mot passed. corruptly to |
favor a corporation there were at least |
ten introduced mot passed. and in this |
case not intended to be passed TO black !
mail corporations. The majority of the |
corrupt members would be found voting |
for the Matchmaking bills IL they were |
not paid, and would also be found voting |
in the interests of the corporation IL they 1
we're paid. The Matchmaking. OF, as they !
we're always called, the strike bills. |
.ould themselves be roughly divided into /
.wo categcries-bills which 1t would have
been proper to pass and those that IL |
would not have been proper to pass. Some /
IF the bills aimed at corporations were
utterly wild and improper and OF these |
, rfniQ he fnfr 10