Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-06-28
PRUSSIANISM AT HOME

DRoF. oTTo HUNTzE. Prussian his
torian, has telepathically caught the
waves of thought which threaten to in.
gulf the world and has issued the fol
lowing statement:
We Prussians cannot stand alone In
the midst Of Germany. Of Europe and
OF the whole world and resist LIBERAL
ization. We are threatened with danger
out isolation from tho worlds people
Professor Huntze speaks in terms Of
nations. Doubtless IL he were told that in
Philadelphia, the great industrial nursery
Of the Western Hemisphere, men had
! ceased long ago to demand or even 10
want liberalism in municipal government;
that they were ashed to a political idol
which devoured their substance and
wasted their material and moral assets;
n he were told that in the heart Of liberal
America exists a veritable Gibraltar Of
anti-bberalism which no exposures have
been able to shake and no assaults 70 dis
hltegrate-if he were told these things
would be believe them? Probably not yet
they are facts that every citizen knows.
Kings may fall and nations totter, repub-
lies rise and the whole world be catapulted
into an orgy Of murder and sudden death,
but Philadelphia stands serene and calm,
glorying in the ascendancy Of political
dynasty that scorns public opinion when.
ever in the mood, fastening its hordes Of
parasites on business to suck the latter's
life blood and squandering the public
funds with an abandon utterly terrifying.
Aside from a few accomplished and a
few contemplated betrayals of the people.
the present Administration is not guilty
of more extraordinary mismanagement
than is customary when the gang is in
City Hall. 1t plays the game as its fore.
bears played 1t and collects its revenues
as they collected them. But there is
vast difference between this era and any
preceding era. Not only the map. but the
very world itself, is being remade. In
business, in politics. in all the intricate
functions Of our social organism, evolu-
tion is moving with the speed Of an ex.
press train. The future belongs to men
Of vision, to cities Of vision and to nations
OF vision. No nincompoops, no molly.
eoddles, no bunglers, no grafters are
strong enough now to stop progress; but,
given enough authority, they can impede
IT, They can barter a communitys future
away by denying it an abiding place. In
New York the Tammany crowd did what
It could to hold that metropolis back, but
the citizens had enough gumption now
and then to throw a wrench into the
machinery by electing representative citi.
Eens to office. New York never tied her.
self to lamppost and stayed put.
The revenues Of this community are i'm.
perial in amount We get for our money
inferior public service and despicable
leadership. our funds are mortgaged and
there is no provision for the sort OF up.
keep that assures municipal plant abso.
iutely up-to-date. When we do get
enough money together to warrant con.
struction of requisite facilities, this des.
: picable leadership undertakes to make
a grab bag Of the funds and loot the
treasury. We are promised on election
DAY business administration that viii
accomplish the great purpose OF the peo
Pile We get, in fact, City Hall full or
factional politics and petty squabbles.
Industrialism is said to be responsible
for the kind Of politics in which we glory.
We do not know about that. but we do
know that industrIalism will have to kick
that sort of politics out or wen be eating
Detroits dust within another decade.