Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-06-11
THE CRACK IN THE BELL"
history OF POLITICS IN PHILADELPHIA
Y Cepyrfoht, 1918. bp Public LEDGER Co.
HAPTER XVII Continued

4APTER XVII (Continued)
{IoT all Of these men were in active
Business not all of them were in
54 Of credits at the places where Mr..
hi oklngham's control of credits was alb
I4to; some of them had their money
! . away in real estate, or invested
~ kind of bonds and stocks that not
III Mr.. Buckingham power could
< u to tremble To some, therefore.
Jerry's angel chorus Mr.. Buckingham
t I'VE terse orders. to others only polite
q lntinnstions, while with still others he
xtoeoned. gently at first. and then more
q 1Esphatically. Where, some openly,
lforned, he threatened, as he had
4 vnreatened the department store man.
II remains but to record that Mr..
4uckingham's faith in tactics Of this
" Dort vas Immediately vindicated. A
o to the wise is usually quite suffi-
Client In Philadelphia, and the flow of
money to Jerry's political Golfers was
E Nfraightway cut in half that is, 1t was
~ in half until three men on his
nance committee who could neither be
ss415oled nor browbeatcn into obeying
+ Mr. Buckingham had time to survey
~ situation and to say to Jerry:
on. You're drawing blood.
Yell make up the deficit ourselves"
For how long?" asked Jerry.
For as long as you need it.
Knowing that these gentlemen could,
- or the rest of their lives, support his
PARTY organization without being i'm
~ VIC iltlthNs N"' gums '"hN
" gmiled at the three of them. one of his
6roadest. most toothful smiles, and they
\ slapped Jerry on the back.
go to It," they said. The fight looks
4 0vcd to US" But about this time the
bead of the big department store was
back to Mr.. Buckingham.
my life" he said. Gently but firmly.
these men tell me that their money is
. their own that they will not cease to
subscribe to Mr.. Archer's political or
This Indicated the grip Archer's
I movement was getting upon the citi-
e1ns. The spirit of insistence upon bet
ter things was stirring in the minds of
che common man. The workman--the
Worm-was about to turn. According
to Levene's point of view the worm was
4bout TO become a spreading adder and
20 hiss and plant fiery fangs. But in
Jerry's program the worm was only
fcalled upon to turn. ,
"Discharge them - snapped Mr.. Buck
lngham to the store proprietor.
They are among my best men. My
tompetitors will Immediately grab them
let me know who picks them up and
they will be discharged again"
willard" said the merchant-and he
was a man eminent enough that he
might presume to call Mr.. Buckingham
by his first name-'if you have as much
power as that, don't you think you ought
70 be chary about using it?"
II am chary about using 1t" answered
Mr.. Buckingham sententiously.
But this is ruthless, urged the mer-
.frhe time has come for ruthlessness."
Qeqlared Mr.. Buckingham without the
batting of al eye. The merchant batted
several eyes. but after all went meekly
: hia rdisagreeable task.
~ II must be recorded. however, that the
y Number of these humber supporters of
3&rry's Real Republican movement, who
Ef0fused stubbornly to he choked off. was
,olua1i - just enough to unfurl another
& Manner of hope and encouragemeut--for
In the main his contributors of lesser
f4nk needed the warnings that came
4own to them and Cancelled their sub
Dcriptions. The habit of timidity. of do
'=GI}tty, was too old and too firmly fixed
49p be cast off at once but for all of
3ethnt the effect on them was rather bad
&GhAu good from MIR, Buckingham's stand
Point. 1t offended them 1t cut into
q 1neir flesh. II assured them that the
~ nod government cause was right. that
fk14pfyss campaign was needed. If their
= after them were not to be the
q 14nves of a combination of predatory
.&Inachine and plutocratic wealth SO that
at the root the organization was
o4Yunger than before, for the money
Gtl31 came from the three millionaires
Ind there were hundreds of little fans
4 canning the breath of rebellion.
Mr.. Buckingham could not discern
1toat, however; he only discerned from
what the Big Boss told him that the
Real Republicans continued to grow in
n numbers and in efficiency.
s Nv got to get young Archer he de-
&s.G3ded wrathfully.
Now there have been from time i'm
memorial in Pennsylvania, as, alas!
elsewhere in these United States of ours,
favorite methods of pulling down
bright and shining political light.
where such luminousness was deemed
tntmical to the interest of the status
4uo. One was by a whispering cam
V11gn of Islander, that smirched, blotted
, obscured. But this plan a gentle
man of Mr.. Bu~cxingham's fineness had
Already shrunk from. The other was
= throttle financially. Already Mr..
8~u-kingham had applied this sort of
Ss Prsssure, but only to the financial con-
~but Now he was about to carry
this additionally approved policy of
ilnancisl frightfulness to its last degree
y M throttle jeremiah T. Archer himself.
Such methods had succeeded in times
10 There is current to this day the
0tory of an upstate man who had am
&1tions to go upon the bench his plans
" WIRE laid, his campaign was under way,
"a ~ n~lieg1ances were all secured. 1t was
III Known that the convention would nomi-
&*lnt him overwhelmingly. But the day
- 0~foRe that convention was called to
ifEn10leP q great financial power In the city
Rhiladelphia sent for the candidate.
ID not let your name go before the
~oonveution." the Power said.
The worthy man was staggered. This
y was q free country. BY a life of probity
~ had earned the respect of the citizens
~ the State. The coveted honor was in
4 bic grasp for nomination meant cleo
but, protested the lawyer, my word
- out. My friends have been working
Gor me for months. They tell me my
TX U0uination Is assured
Don't let your name go before the
0~noventi0n," iterated the Power, and
was a baleful significance in the
III Heal of the eye. in the tone of the
Ss&tfce that delivered this mandate.
The lawyer suddenly remembered
1oomefhing and his heart sank. He
una In business as well as in law
800 considerable enterprises were
nfoOt; he was a large borrower at
several interior banks n one or
ysfvo In the city; his credit must be
e 8nxpanded still more in the neXt few
w6nths. II II was not, il