Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-11-02

find It in loaded dice the false appraisal of
real estate, marked cards, the salted mine
the crooked roulette wheel, the bribed Jockey
who pulls his mount the phoney diamond, the
fake prospectus the padding Of the income
account in the annual report of a private
corporation-one might go on indefinitely.
Preconcerted action in a scheme to swindle
or cheat with the principals masked and
behind legal bulwarks, are the chief essentials
of a brace-Esme It involves the playing Of
a double role. Betting with a lcgless man
and holding the stakes well expresses 1t, for
the possibility of successful pursuit has been
eliminated. When man is denied
Square deal" he begs for lighting chance"
and only when this is refused Is he up
against brace-game. He Is pocketed There
is no road out.
When the political leaders Of a community
are also contractors looking for public work,
they are conducting IA brace-game against
the taxpayers. They have the public corner
ed. Even their praise -Chauters, sycophants,
knee -crookers and hired inl-throwers VIII
have to admit as much for with government
itself in the hands of the contractors who is
there to prevent them from filling their carts
at the public gold bins?
Observe: Two contractors seize the local
machinery of both the majority and minority
fce-Councilmen, Magistrates, Mayor, Dis
trict Attorney, Judges and members of the
LEGISLATURE In return for their jobs these
battered officials let the two contractors
pave clean and repair the streets, lay the
sewers, remove the ashes and garbage, con-
struct the parlSways, build the filtration
plants. erect municipal courts and new hos
pitfalls, etc. Who will say them nay? No
body. Who dare inspect their work as it
should be inspected? Nobody. Who will
prosecute them If they disobey the law? No
body.
This is the model government garment cut
to the pattern of Jim McNichol and the
Wares The contractors decide what work
shall be done, when 1t shall be done, how 1t
shall be done and what their profits shall
be. Pay for it all comes out of the public
till. 1t is the brace-game in politics. Heads
or tails the taxpayers lose.
Beyond all physical daring or prowess our
hearts acclaim the records of boys who be-
gin desperately poor and win fortune, fame,
power and eminence. Good! Let us salute
all the boys who have fought their way up
in the competitive open.
But we cannot be forced to applaud those
who win fortune, fame power and emlnence
in n brace-game. There is nothing hearten-
ing in the careers of men who raid the pros
perity of the Commonwealth that shelters
them. In the long run they lose more than
the mucted taxpayers, for men with
chilled sense OF right often seek late in life
to snuggle in the warmth of public appro-
| baton by spectacular acts and gifts, well
press agented.
II James p. McNlchol or Edwin H. Ware,
the rival clan-heads who for years have eN-
plotted Philadelphia, had been bona-fide con-
tractors there would have come a time long
before this when they would have broken
! away from the political brace game. They
would have retired from the State Senate
| and "The Organization" the local political
machine they Jointly operate They are al
ways talking about their skill in private
! business. There are plenty of railroads to
| be built in South America and Alaska, and
| construction work of every conceivable sort
! all over our own country. They have not
| lacked capital. Yet they will not go, but
they continue to circle like vultures around
! City Hail. never out of sight Of its lofty
| tower
! Why relate these things now? The past
| is past; let 1t he. Are there not honest men
| in City Hall doing their utmost to bring
! order out of the chaos OF years OF misrue?
! Must we forever be hearing of Jim McNichol
! and the Wares?
True, it is rather an old story. But.
! Brother Taxpayer, these contractor tOver-
lords are not content with bossing their own
| Mayors; they want to boss ours. They have
set out deliberately with malice aforethought
to tear down the achievements of the Blank
enburg Administration; they have ordered the
! blocking OF public welfare in Councils and
they have hectored faithful public servants by
launching veiled attacks at them through
controlled placeholders and subsidized organs
Their very activity foreshadows their pur-
pose Of backing their carts again under the
public hopper Their intent is plain. They
cannot do business in the competitive open.
They have TO return to the brace-game. They
are after our next grlst OF taxes. Now the
question arises Do we taxpayers want the
carts againR
MOI We do not want the carts again They
have carried off too much already. More
than $2T,OOO,OOO in city contracts went to
James P. McSichol and his allied companies
in ten years. More than s1S.OOO.O 900 in mu-
nleipal contracts went to Edwin H Ware and
| his agents In the same period. Altogether
| $40, 1000 Is the haul or a decade for the
carts. and their net profits were at least IS
per cent, or s1OOO0OOO. Cannot they live
on this2 Richard Croker retired on less and
lives like king In Ireland.
Looking backward from a distance in time
measure one gets an ideal perspective OF
these men, their cunning, their daring and
their pathetic endeavor TO wear the halo OF
achievement From 1909 70 1919 they struck
palms for an equal division OF the munich
| pal funds McEichol took the work north OF
Market street and was paid s722sse51s. and
Ware took the work south Of Market street
and drew down T.Qstss2s2. Il was a close
division Of the spoiis ana 3 complimentary
TO the skin Of the combine in getting up
ways for letting contracts that would flsure
I anf lrnon such an avan haafa