Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-09-17
THE WARES HAVE LOST
NO MATTER HOW IT GOES
The Rank and File Of Voters, Resentlng
Organization Abuses, Did What Reg
uIar Respectahles" Wouldn't %


PhIladcIph.a The unparalleled close
ness Of the vote will provide opportu-
mites for contests and recounts. But in
/ the general nature Of the bal!oting, there
arc unusual lessons for the Orraniza-
! ton, for candidates and for the unat-
: tached voters who had tho'r opportunity
and missed it as usual. The rank and
. file Of voters. who make no claims to un-
usual dealism. almost defeated the Ware
/ ticket-if they have not actually de-
fcatcd it. That, to any discerning leader
must appear omnous.
Reform. as it is generally understood
in municipal elections, didn't gain a
clcar-cut victory yesterday either in this
city or in nelghborng communities like
Chester Yet the experience Of the Ware
organization and its major candidate has
all the aspects and implications of defeat
even while the actual results Of the
mayoralty Nght are in doubt.
The downtown organization. If it has
escaped with its life. has squeezed
through by the breadth of hair. A
hurriedly organized attack. conducted
without the aid Of the more experienced
ward leaders. was sufficient to rock it 10
its foundations.
The tide of opinion waH definitely op-
posed. not to Judge Patterson, but to
| the whole system Of politics represented
! by his supporters. With any other can
ddate the Wares would have suffered
overwhelming loss.
The silent vote. which was depended
upon to support Moore in force, didn't
turn out. The respectable element, which
| is ever dissatisfied but inactive, remained
more or less inactive to the last.
The voters in Germantown. for en-
ample. appear to have failed dismally to
give Moore the support which he should
! have had in that section. And so, for an
indefinite period, their affairs may be
! in the interest of South Philadelphia
politicians.
The loss of the new Council to the
Organization would ordinarily be re-
garded as a calamity. But unless the
brothers Ware are far less astute than
they seem to be they have learned some
thing through yesterdays primaries.
Moore started against a handicap rep
resented by 10000 votes kept in a state
Of readiness by Organization patronage
and the downtown tradition. That he
should have been able to overcome such
a disadvantage and run at least neck and
neck with his opposition is a clear in
dication that things aren't quite as they
used to be in Philadelphia
Senator Ware and his associates will
be wise to recognize this. The dwindling
majorities which they obtained even in
wards which they have been accustomed
to call their own" ought to mean some
thing to them. AS experienced poll
ticians the Organization bosses must
know, that a continued reckless abuse of
political rights and the privileges of po-
litical office will inevitably lead them to
a smash.
1t was clear in all the balloting for
members of the new Council that ma.
iority of voters failed to understand
the opportunities and responsibilities of
the occasion.
If the bosses haven't been shocked into
new sense of responsibility by thei
glimpse of a dismal finish provided fol
them yesterday the new charter, in
: stead of being a means to better cit,
government, may easily become medium
for more elaborate exploitation and tn
, perpetuation of corrupt control owe
every detail of municipal business.
e Instead of being a representative an
responsible body, with an intelligent al
= legiance to the people and the com
munity, the new Council may becon
t a close corporation to be far more easil
:. bossed and managed than the old Cour
cit ever was.
Unquestionably the charter, as it wa
originally conceived, provided unusua
: opportunities for better government an