Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-08-30
PUBLIC INTEREST
VS.. PRIVATE PROFIT
Is the City Government to Be Run for
the Benefit Of the People or for the
Enrichment Of the Politicians?

enrichment OF the PolItlclansf
SOPHISTICATED political observers will
~ wonder why at the crisis of a political
campaign the friends of Senator Ware shoulr
announce that the Senator had decided to
abandon the leadership of a faction of his
party and be content to take his place as
one of the ward leaders.
They will be interested, too, in tho reason
assigned for the decision. 1t Is said that,
now that the Senator can no longer get the
street cleaning contracts. out of which fe
has made large profits, the induCemcnt to
take an active part in politics has disap-
pcarcd.
On the same day that these things were
said in behalf of Senator Ware, that gentle
man was actively engaged in conferences
with his lieutcnants to secure their united
support Of candidates for Office who owe all
allegiance 10 him. In other words. he was
seeking to retain his hold on political power.
Therefore, the sophisticated will be likely
to assume that the talk about Senator Wares
voluntary retirement from leadership was
INDUCED in for the purpose of misleading
the innocent and throwing them off their
guard
The question remains whether he is at the
present time anything more than ward
leader. He sank to that humble position
after the defeat Of his mayoralty candidate
in 1919. He could have been kept there II
the Penrose men in Council had been loyal
to the voters who elected them. Three of
them. however. eager for spoils, made
diCker with the Ware Councilmcn. and as
result the Ware machine has controlled ti,H
legislative branch of the City Government
and Senator Ware himself recovered part OF
the power which he lost by the sentence OF
the voters at the 1919 election
While the friends OF Ware were saying
that he intended to retire from leadership,
Senator Penrose was burning the roads be-
tween this city and Washington in order to
meet his lieutenants for conference before
they had made such dickers with Ware rs
would cntrcnch that gentleman in power
for n year or two longer. But discerning
men were beginning to think that Penrose
himself had been privy to the dickers OF his
heutcnants. These men may be mistaken
and it may be that while processing to looE
after the interests of the 'big fellow they
have been looking out more earnestly Tor
their own interests. To put 1t in the lam
guage of the political workers, they have
been susnpcted of double crossing the
senior Senator.
The leaders of neither faction, however.
have been taking account Of the voters. lheN
have assumed that the city is their private
preserve and that they can do with it what
tlpN
who has seemed to see beyond the table
around which the traders have sat is Mayor
Moore. He has demanded that the work
begun when the first battle against con-
tractor Government was won should be con-
tinued until the contractor machine Is
destroyed He has fought partnership be-
tvecn Government and every form of privat"
graft. in the interest Of the taxpayers as
we'll as in the interest of decency.
When they read that Senator ware Is
losing interest in politics because the OPP
portunity for private profit is slipping a"rF
from him. the thinking voters will decide
that the fight against contractor govern
mont WAS begun not n day too soon.
II is notorious that the leaders Of the
contractor machine have for years made the
civ Government an annex OF thelr private
business. They have dictated noml-
nations in the past as they are trying 10
dictate them this year. because they wantel
men in Office under such obligations TO them
that they could get what they wanted In tht
way of contracts The men who drafted
the snecfcations. the men who awarded the
bids and the men who inspected the work
were their creatures. 1t was easy to say
that the profits must be so much and so to
monIpulate affairs as to insure the desired
amount
This is why the streets have been filthy
in the past and it is why the pavemcnts
have been poor and why all public improve.
mpnts have cost two or three prices. And
il is why the contractor machine is fighting
this year. II it can retain what power it
has now. it can hope to get more power at
the next election, and it can then plot to
bring about return Of the old system. This
will happen unless the opponents of it are
eternally vigilant and eternally active. II
h.,
bv men supnoscd to be committed to n better
wav. then they will have to deal with those
men also ms we'll MS with the leaders Of
the contractor combine.
II the worst happens a determined min.
orlty will continue the fight until it becomes
a triumphant majority.