Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-05-18
THE END OF BOSS RULE
IN PENNSYLVANIA
The Voters Have Taken Affairs Into
Their Own Hands and Ordered
HousecIeanno

housecIednlh9
clifford PINCHOT'S nomination ia a
~ victory Of the Republicans Of Pennsy
vania over a disrupted and discredited politi-
cal machine.
The voters have been patient and long
suffering. but it was evident that they were
only waiting for an opportunity to assert
themselves.
They showed their temper in the presi-
dental election Of 1912. when they polled
Al, 900 votes for Theodore Roosevelt against
the candidate nominated by the head Of the
Pennsylvania machine in conjunction with
the bosses Of other State machines. Roose-
welt had majority Of III 900 over the
machine candidate.
But the machine did not profit by tn"
lesson. Its leaders in this State got to-
sether on the night before the last day for
tlng nomination petitions and selected
George f. Alter as their candidate and
fotsted him upon the voters. He was an
unwilling candidate; but the machine knew
that he was snfe one
Clifford P!nchot had been In the running
fer weeks. He was openly asked to become
candidate by large group Of representa-
tive men and women and he had consented.
He assumed that the purpose Of the pri-
mary elections was to give the Republican
voters an opportunity to decide for them.
selves who their candidate was to be-
The machine leaders acted as though they
assumed that the only function Of the pri-
mary was to ratify the choice of the machine.
The result has proved that Mr.. Pinchot
was right and that the machine leaders
were wrong.
1t also proved that. when an alternative
between machine rule and the ruc Of
majority of the people is clearly offered, the
people choose the right thing
The issue was so clearly drawn that there
could be no mistaking it. This newspaper
began to call attention to it more than
two years ago. II was the first newspaper
In the Commonwealth to call attention TO the
Capitol Hill combination which bad begun
to threaten the solidarity Of the State or
sanization. This combination was made 70
protect the interests of various men who
feared disclosures on the pretense that it
was to protect the Republican organization.
Then came the disclosure of the Bedcman
| check Of $4,000 paid to the Lieutenant Gov.
ernor by Charles A. Snyder as Auditor Cen
| eral in disregard of the law, and the pub.
! ication Of Snyder's statement that If he had
il to do over again he would have given
! Beidleman $4,000.
Then there was the discovery Of the
| Brndle defalcation of $4,000 and its brlit-
| tling by Snyder. who said that half mil
| lion dollars had been taken from the State
Treasury and put back again without any
loss TO the State.
And there was also the creation by the
Legislature Of the Office Of Deputy State
| Treasury for Kephart, the retiring treasurer.
| who was forbidden by law to succeed him.
| self
The intelligent voters said 70 themselves
| that if kephart had to be taken care of and
| kept in the Treasurer's Office, it was time
| that something was done to clean house in
Harrisburg.
The appointment of Crow to the Senate by
| Governor Sproul when it was known thar
| Crow was Ill and could not take his seat. an
appointment notoriously unfit, had its share
| in arousing the voters to the low estate to
which the Republican organization had
| fallen.
Pinchot promised 'to clean UP the mess
| in Harrisburg. The voters believed that he
would keep his promise. They knew that
there was mess that needed cleaning up.
They knew that the men responsible for the
conditions could not be trusted TO do the
cleaning.
The people have defeated the county ma
Iol b,, bo,
Sproul. They have made the defeat of the
machine controlled by Eyre In West Chester
so overwhelming that Eyre himself has been
defeated for membership in the State Com.
mittee. The majority for Pinchot is so large
in the rural counties that the gang ma
jorites in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are
not big enough to overcome it.
There Is nor State boss anywhere IN
sight and there IS not county boss who
| opposed Pinchot who has not been shorn Of
| his power or 80 materially weakened that
! his complete overthrow should be compare
| lively easy in succeeding campaigns.
The observers In other States who have
| thought that Pennsylvania was content with
machine rule have not been aware Of the
poltlcal history OF th's COMMONWEALTH.
| There has never been content here. Efec-
tive opposition leadership has been lacking
That has been all. Such leadership appeared
this year 1t was backed by the really intu.
ential newspapers. And il has triumphed.
| We are 70 have new deal in Pennsy!-
vania. fair deal and a square deal. and IL
| foreshadows n new deal in the other boss
ridden States.