Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-09-06
BY SAMUEL Mccoy
THREE men are nghtius for the mayor

BY SAMU
vT,HREE men are lighting for the mayor
l. atty of Pittsburgh.
| admire the human qualities OF one, the
mental grasp on municipal undertakings
| held by the second and the moral issue up
| held BY the third. None OF the three pos
sesses the qualities which typify the other
! two.
| The FIRST Is that strangely inconsistent
| creature "a successful American business
| man" inconsistent. because the success
! ful American business man 80 ot'en
| strangely combines scrupuous personai
| honesty with an astonishing blindness TO
the methods adopted by his agents TO ac-
| complsh results
| Il is not the business OF the people OF
| Pittsburgh as a whole TO inquire into tne
| commercial methods which have made "
V. Babcock a millionaire IN the lumber
business, because, since no man WIN Wnon'
| he has had dealings has attacked ms IN
| tegrity In the courts, the presumption is
| that the lumber king is as sound 10 the
| core as one of his own pine timbers' Tree
| from knots and well seasoned. But when
! the business man undertakes to secure the
| support of all the people of q city win
! view to administering affars wh'ch WIN
| touch the pockeibooks and the comfort OF
/ each of them, then ii is emphatlcaliy the
| business OF the whole city TO INQUIRE INTO
! the character Of the men with whom ne IL
| associated,
The second candidate is William A.
! Magee, who has already served once as
| Mayor OF Pittsburgh, giving a capable. pro
gressive administration, and who as q fup-
| lie Service Commissioner displayed in some
| respects a remarkable grasp OF the prop
| lens involved in the operation or great
| public utilities. In his case the inquiry to
| be MADE by the voters OF Pittsburgh con-
| Germs the extent to which he Is animated
with tho ambitions Of the Wares, OF Phila-
| delphia, for supremacy III the pohticai
! fairs of the State.
The third man IL DIR. James J.. Kerr,
| chairman OF the City Council Of Pittsburgh.
| who has made an honest attempt In the
| Council TO give the city a clean govern
| ment. but whose chances for success IN
! the present primaries got staggering
! blow when Mr. Magee. who had given 1t
| to he understood that he would support
Doctor Kerr. decided TO enter the race him
| self
Doctor Kerr's Candidacy
TO begin with Doctor Kerr. my readiness
| to consider him a man Of force suffered
| a considerable shock when, instead of talk
| ing for himself. he turned me over to his
| one guide, counselor and friend, Alexander
| p. Moore, and allowed another to be his
| spokesman. My conversation with Doctor
| Kerr was scarcely more than a salutaton
| should like to revise that first impression
since first impressions are apt to be the
| truest.
| He struck me in that feeting glimpse
| as being a worried and hara ssed little man
| still dazed by being left In the mrch by
| his friend Magee fleeing to Alec Moore.
| publisher of one Of, Pittshurghs newspa-
! pWs with a semicomical semipathetic gulp
| of relief at the friendly hand reached out
! TO him; pouring out his troubles on Alec
| Moore's broad shoulders and being patted
reassuringly on the back by Alec Moore's
plump hand; and generally creating the
| impression of a good little boy who had
| been chased to the refuge OF his mothers
arms by two hard-fsted little urchins with
! dirty faces and armfuls of bricks supplied
| by grown.up men,
In the case of eX-Commlssoner Magee,
| no one with the possible exception Of capi-
talistic interests. which might have pur-
I pose to serve in thwarting the plans for
civic development which he has proposed,
would question his ability to give pro-
| gressive administration to the city. But
/ found a ponderable element which sus-
pected that such weghty improvements
| as Mr.. Magee advocated might be accom-
panied by a continuance OF a protected
| underworld This suspicion is, therefore,
the weak spot in Mr.. Magees armor.
Mr.. Magee in his platform speeches up
| to this point has avoided any reference
| TO the subject. He refused to comment
| on il publicly for me. / therefore went
| 10 a man who is in a position to speak
| for Mr. Magee. / put it fatty UP 10 him.
Il think you are overestimating the inn
portance of the vice problem Don't let
these persons with whom you have been
talking give you an exaggerated opinion
| as to the existence of such evils II is
! not an important issue" he said
But" T persisted, ''unimportant as it
may be- would It not be the wiser thing
for Mr.. Magee to give assurance of his
freedom from any entangements with the
| UNDERWORLD
issues of the campaign before the pr-
maries are reached was the reply though
1t came slowly.
And that goes for the vice issue as
well?"
Il said that everything would be dis
cussed,' was the answer. Everything
"Big Ed" a Self-Made Man
With l.. V. Babcock, the third candidate
| and the one who will unquestionaby win
| the rayoralty race unless Smithfeld street
| humps itself into a mountain and the Mo-
nongaaea River flows backward, l had a
delightfully."- long talk. Mr.. Babcock is a
| giant physically and pretty hefty man
| financially. He stands above six feet in His
stockings, which have not always been OF
| silk and he has shoulders like an OK
His face is as square-chinned as IL 1t had
been carved with n lumberman's AK on,
of one of Mr. Babcock's own pieces OF
| hardwood timber. l suppose he must be
called big Ed" He came to Pittsburgh
thirty years ago without thin dime in his
pockets, getting his muscular growth In a
Michigan lumber camp.
A new light on a bit OF history two Of
: three years old came out Of that interview
, | IL will be recalled that when Joseph G
| Armstrong was running for Mayor and wa
opposed by stephen q. Porter now Con
gressman Porter, who Is supporting Mage
: in the present campaign, the fight SCENE,
going against Armstrong, but that a suddei
turn in the tide was contrived by Mr.. Bah
cock. who appeared as the head of Com
5 mittee of one Hundred" which issued
I prediction pledge that these 100 response
Bile business men would guarantee cleanll
ness in the Armstrong administration. Il
| Nc rch a proup OF prominent woman n