Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-06-29
"THE CRACK IN THE BELL"
4 STORY OF POLITICS IN PHILADELPHIA
By Peter Clark Macfarlane
Copyri0ht. 1913. bv Public Ledger Co.
CHAPTER XIII (Continued)

CHAf En- ALI (OOntlnued)
| TNHE conviction that certain of the
i leading citizens were studiously
| ignoring him grew on Jerry and mad.
dened him. Day after day his canvass.
| ers came back with NO opinion" Mine
not made up" Uncertain" or Doubt
full" written against the name of some
man that Jerry thought should be fight
ing beside him whole-heartedly.
Doubtful! Say! he boiled over at
ses have to build the fenees
adelphia Is going to climb up on em
and stay there till elections over"
Where are Cur prominent citizens?'
he pleaded that night from the back of
Some are behind the breastworks of the
enemy. Where are the rest? Phiiadel-
phla has within its confines more trained
technical brains than any other like
doctors, It's chemists, Its engineers, Its
educators, Its scientists are famous the
country over. But where arc they In
the city government? where are they
the city rich; but they do not work to
mako IL happy. Have they no time to
give their fellow men? No energy to
expend upon the greatest duty whicl,
democracy imposes-the duty Of self
government?
"In Philadelphia workshops eff
cheney resides. 1t turns the raw mate
rails Of the world into the manufa ctured
every city Of the cIvilized world. Has
II no genius to employ In turning this
vast raw material Of citizenship into
the best-gOverned city Of America, In
stead o1 Of :ilowIn. It to become frankly
1t was while In the mood induced by
chains Of thought like these that Jerry
went with his troubles to that shrewd
old political observer who has been
known in these pages as the Sage OF
You oush, to smoke .,,,s these s,,p people I
singularly regardful of its great names.
1t likes to follow its leaders,"
But how can 1t follow them IL 1t
doesn't know where they stand?" pro-
why, there you are" affirmed the
Sage, and locked his lips, and looked
"By George.' declared Jerry, II know
what I'll do. Watch me"
o7nSsn Tns nsf se Srnns ongss sSs
call the roll on five leading manufas-
turers five leading merchants. five lead,
| ing lawyers, five leading doctors ano
they the, stand in this campaign and why
and !, shall be prepared to give 70 tne
voters the answers these gentlemen
| have given to my workers .,.a
Aristocratic Philadelphia. business Phila'
delphia, conservative Philadelphia re;
garded the suggestion rs blatant ano
impertinent,. nied and d's1,Ked Rns with III jerry @
nothing was sacred except good gov
what's the matter with EN- de:
%anasS Rs ssed tns the y0rnff rof ana aH read on
answers to the canvassers' reports.
"Don't they want good government ~ y,
don't they think ] can give II 10 EN-!
| (Jerry was calloused now 10 the e''i'
His audiences laughed and jeered
But the twenty-five gentlemen whose
names had been calsa hew were were msa also @
smoked out. however. and rushed mos'
| of them into the newspapers with I'll 1is.
| chalmers of one sort or another. ln,s
action was in itself h,shlXt s,sn,ncaai shssn mer
was willing to be openly recognizes, az
a supporter of the contractor-ucksht y
And while the maneuver mad mace
the allegiance of thousands. 1t was the
kind OF vcte-trading that wins elec-
tions There was, however. one partic.
| ular class of these evastve gentiemer
who drew the keenest shafts OF jerry
These were a professional type OF
men, sometimes clergymen, ana ih'aI
| iably religious. They were engaged a..
ways in some perfectly commemorate
philanthropic or educational or institu.
tional work-men whose moral charactei
was supposedly irreproachable. men Who %
| could preach like prophets or pray ike
saints and who could and did d., exnor' xsr,
them had lifted q voice for tho Eoot
government campaign.
When Real Republican workers talkec
| TO
with an attitude of lofty disinterested
ness The gentlemen professed hardy
to be aware that caa campaign Ign was nsnn, !,
down to personal defense OF the mar
whom Jerry was assai,ing., They told
how fond Farrell was of children, nov
| good TO his family, how true this mar
or that one was to his friends. and Sc
When reports like this came int
headquarters Jerry was not too pusy te
ntte tentien. T He pressed them hotly from
breastwork to breastwork, until at las
they confessed: 81 am . trustee or ~
.dministrator Of thi. institntioI Or so, ths y;
life upoH appropriation from the stat.
Legislature. II ! take a stand asains
these men YOU are hghtinE they WI
cripple my institution by withholding
Ein other Words then" pursued yerr!
relent,essly. when you apoloEized 70
and defended these men to me. yo'
were a fawning hypocrite, Actually. yo,
YOU that from my standpoint. yo,
would do your State more good IL 20,
let YOUR appropriations fail--if you le
your young men be instructed In IN,
would get a better education from i'll
fed and underpaid professors who wer
free, and dared speak the truth becaus,
they were free, than they get now iron
from the pubic crib at the expense
freedom and self-respect.
"Besides, Mr.. Blank, the spectacle
Of your own institution, denuded by IN
of it's just appropriation. would revea
an attitude Of mind SO infamous tina
in protest the people of Pennsylvani;
must arise and throw such legislator
out. You have II in your power TO d.
as much as any one man to break tn
| shackles that must. In your heart. b