Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-02-23

pha political leaders, their organizations
were identical Indeed, were 1t not for the
inroads made into the Philadelphia machine
by the Blankenburg administration robbins
1t as it did of the police department and pre-
venting wholesale contract gathering, the
two cities might be considered politically
one. Terre Haute, until the time of the ar
rest of the Mayor and his followers, was
small Philadelphia as It was under the late
John e. Reyburn Mayor.
The overthrow of the Organization at this
time Is all the more remarkable when it is
realized that the entire police force the fire
department-every city department-the City
Council, County Commissioners and virtually
the entire system in Southwestern Indiana
was under the thumb of Tom Taggart
political boss of Indiana: assisted by Craw-
ford Fairbanks. Taggarts business partner,
Brewery King of the Middle West" and the
wealthiest man in the State, and Dom NJ.
Roberts, Mayor of Terre Haute, the highest
official caught in the Government dragnet.
How was it done?
Political arrogance can go so far and no
farther At last the rebellion point is reached.
It came in Terre Haute. 1t came like a
whirlwind
The liquor candidate must be elected the
bipartisan tools must take office; a crooked
Judge must be placed on the bench-every
Office from United States Senator down to
Road Commissioner must be retained by the
Organizations Illegal votes must be cast, a
"slushafhnd" must be raised!
The People Won the Fight
Before the United States Senate a charge
was made against Senator Boies Penrose to
the effect that s1,OOOOOO was spent by the
liquor interests of Pennsylvania to secure his
return to the Senate. Newspapers repeated
the accusation. The people, however, did not
arise and demand an investigation 1t was
shelved by both Republican and Democratic
politicians in Congress.
In Indiana the people arose and demanded
that a proper investigation be made-not
senatorial probe but a real sincere nom
political investigation. They based their de-
mand upon the known facts that "slush
fund" had been raised, that the saloonkeepers
and brewers had rendered their tribute, that
thousands of fraudulent votes had been cast.
1t was ascertained that fully 25OO illegal
votes had been registered. the exact number
stricken from the lists in Uniontown, Fayette
County, Pennsylvania, where State Senator
Grow, chairman of the Republican State
Committee, is the Penrose lieutenant
On election day the Organization voted
peaters, as they have done for years in the
first IA Philadelphia wards; citizens were
beaten and prevented from voting-in short.
an election similar in every detail to the
elections of this city was held.
Against the system which made these
things possible the Government launched a
probe The task seemed hopeless. A house
OF cards. however soon tumbles. Backed by
the women OF the city. the women who first
called the attention of the Federal authorities
to Terre Hautes condition. the work began.
One OF the least cogs of the Organization
a habitue OF the Tenderloin-confessed, He
implicated his saloonkeeper This man con-
fessed and drew in the precinct leader. He
in turn became Government witness. bring
ing his ward leader to the bar OF Justice
Then came the ''men higher up" the brains
and pocketbooks of the Organization.
Exactly how this Organization was built,
how It worked and how it was wrecked will
be told in subsequent articles.