Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-02-25
GOV. PENNYPACKER
DESCRIBES STUART
Says Main Thought of His Sue
cessor at Harrisburg Was to
Avoid Responsibility
rENN,rAcKER AuronrocRArny-xo 81


|hVoi '' l"Tkor, VINO ran against loose-
welt for the presidency; Richard Olney,
Mr., Cleveland's Attorney General Nicholas
Longworth. Roosevelt's son-in-law: Fred.
erick u. Niedringhaus. Of st. Louis: Gem
eral benjamin II. Tracy. Thomas 3. Wana,
maker. George Gray, OF Delaware and
others, in an effort 10 change the manage.
ment Of the New York Life Insurance
Company and the New York Mutual Life
Insurance Company. Samuel Untermyer.
OF New York, was the underlying influence
of the movement. and there were a mum.
ber Of meetings in his office. Like many
such efforts. 1t did not succeed. and also.
like many Of them, it produced results.
on tie 26th of June I made an address
at Fredericksburg, Va, at the dedication
IN the park there Of the monument to the
l2Ith pennsylvania Regiment which was
commanded in that battle by my old coll
oncl, William w, Jennings. and, as it hap
poned, II was tho forty third anniversary
of our engagement at Gettysburg. Mrs.
Jennings was among those present.
then had the opportunity to go over the
battlofelds OF Fredericksburg and Chan
ccilorsvlle
Governor Stokes, Of New Jersey
On the 2lst Of June Governor T. G.
Stokes, OF New Jersey and delivered
addresses at the dedication of the monu.
mcnt at Red Bank; \ drcadfully hot day.
a long ride amid shouting throngs over
dusty country roads and q crowded plat
form covered with canvas Just above our
heads which shut out the air were the
incidents which marked the occasion
Stokes is small man with proaounCcd
mustachc. keen and alert and canny
enough TO keep his head ABOVE water in
New Jersey politics.
About this time ] appointed the first
board Of Registration Commissioners to
register voters in Philadelphia, and selected
George G.. Pierc, Clinton Rogers Woodruff,
J. Henry Scattcrgood and John Cadwala-
der. Jr Pierre and Scattcrgood were ac-
ceptable to Penrose and the party mana.
gers. Cadwalader | appointed against the
earnest protest of the leaders of both the
Republican and Democratic parties, be.
cause lie was "A gentleman who | knew
would be fair, though narrow and beyond
influence, and partly because of my great
regard for his father. | found as general
thing that nice people have little sense of
gratitude. They are apt to feel that they
confer a favor by accepting what Is given
them. At the close of my administration
Woodruff wrote a doubling sketch of me
FOR the Yale Review. Some years later,
over another matter. CGdwalader wrote a
paper for the Public Ledger assaling my
personal motives. I also saw a sketch Of
himself in print. evidently supervised by
him, which said nc had been retained in
Office by Governor stuart and made nr
mention Of the man who put him Their.
having 10 override the political forces of
both parties in order to do it. II was un-
manly ami dsingenuous. lie made a capa-
bic and useful official.
This year. July %, the National Guard
had their eucampmcnt ut Gettysburg,
where ! again Inspected, on foot every man
and took the review from a barouchc. There
was little comment on the method.
Edwin S. Stuart
In September came the effort to over.
throw Penrose as the State leader, of which
! had forewarned him and Durham two
years before, and much to my surprise il
camc in the shape of an attack upon the
Capitol and the moneys expended in its
erection and equipment over which ! had
supposed everybody was happy. IT is not
my purpose mere 10 GO more lldll IIldhe
few general statements upon the sub
ject. made thorough study of the whole
matter In my Dissertation and Profana-
ton of the Pennsylvania state Capitol"
published in 1911 and never answered, to
which. the reader is referred. Edwin s.
Stuart had been nominated by the Repub.
Jeans as their candidate for Governor and
TO comprehend the situation which re.
suited, il is absolutely necessary to have
n measure of his characteristics. Forty
years before when he was an errand boz
for Leary and | was "A notary public, we
had gone out into the country together TO
take the testimony of witness, and we
had known each other we'll ever since. Big,
goodhearted, upright and kindly. his dis
position was to be pleasing TO everybody
with whom he was brought into contact
His lifelong training as a merchant was
such as TO lead him to give everybody
just what they wanted or thought they
wanted. This disposition and this training
united to make him entirely unfit for eX.
ecutive Office where the object ought al
ways TO be TO advance the public welfare,
with force, if need be- rather than 10. be
agreeable TO individuals, who often must
be overruled To expect him to resist
public camor would be to look for some
thing of which he was utterly incapable
AS Governor. his main thought was to
avoid responsibility, and at the end of his
term to escape unsinged. His administra-
tion was, therefore, altogether colorless,
without a single achievement which made
'any impression on the State and. therefore,
he left office with the approval Of every
body except those who had to do business
with him. Yet even the latter liked Ned
Stuart"
Tomorrow. Governor Pennypacker goes into a
discussion Of the Capitol scandal
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COLLEGE WOMEN AND THE WAR
Nassar took census OF her resources and