Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-29
The Career of Mr.. Grundy.

The more recent career of Joseph
Ridgeway Grundy of Bristol, Pa. has
been unusual. For a couple Of genera
i tons Mr.. Grundy's place in the pic
ture of business and politics was as
! constant as the stars. But a few
months ago the lmelight was thrown
on Mr.. Grundy and he took on the
proportions of a newly discovered politi-
cal planet. His appearance before the
Senate lobby committee and his testi-
mony there; his allusion to some of
the States of the West and the South
as backward States" and his proc
lamation that he placed the principle
of the protective tariff only second
to his religious beliefs pitchforked the
veteran manufacturer and king of
lobbyists" on to the stage. When the
Senate declined to seat the Senator
elect from Pennsylvania, William S.
Ware, the manufacturing interests of
the State demanded the appointment
of Mr.. Grundy to fill the vacancy
| and Gov. John S. Fisher, for whose
nomination four years ago Mr.. Grundy
had raised some hundreds of thousands
of dollars, made the appointment.
From lobbyist to Senator was quite q
step, even for Mr.. Grundy, who had
been president of the Pennsylvania
Manufacturers Association for years
and who was a millionaire manufacturer
himself. His entrance into the Senate
was hailed in some quarters as the birth
of new Pennsylvania boss. And from
all accounts Mr.. Grundy appears to
have accepted that view Of his new
condition. At all events, when 1t came
time for the selection of . ticket for
the gubernatorial, senatorial and other
nominations, Mr. Grundy let 1t be
known that he had his own candidate
for governor, Samuel S. Lewis, and
none other would do. That was nat, &C
| cording to the new leader. And right
there the new leader seems to have
come to grief.
Mr.. Lewis was not satisfactory to the
old Philadelphia boss. Mr.. Ware. Mr..
Grundy may have believed that since
he had obtained the seat in the Senate
and Mr.. Ware had been turned down,
Mr.. Ware was finally out of the picture.
The new Senator would have nothing
to do with the selection of Mr.. Ware and
his Philadelphia organization for gov
ernor, Francis Skunk Brown. And
there Mr.. Grundy's foot seems to have
slipped. For whether Mr.. Grundy is
elected to the Senate or not, it has been
quite definitely settled that Mr.. Lewis
is not to be elected governor. Mr.. Ware
and his organization have seen to that
Furthermore, Mr.. Ware and his organ
ization are supporting Secretary James
J. Davis of the Department Of Labor for
the senatorial nomination against Mr.
Grundy, and Mr.. Davis has elements OF
strength among the electorate in Penn
sylvania which Mr.. Grundy lacks.
Possibly Mr.. Grundy could have
saved himself all this trouble if he had
not been so stiffnecked and had &C
cepted Mr.. Brown as a gubernatoria
l
leaders put him forward weeks ago
The Ware leaders in Philadelphia today
| are declaring that it is entirely toe
late for such compromise. II they
stick to their present position, there
will be no deal which will permit the
election of Grundy as Senator anc
Brown as governor. In fact, II sucf
should be the result, the Philadelphia
organization would be branded as
double-crossing outfit. Furthermore, Il
is likely that Mr.. Ware and his or
ganization will be successful in back
ing both the senatorial and guberna'
torial candidates, and why under those
circumstances should they be willing
to relinquish one Of the plums to Mr.
Grundy?
Mr.. Grundy has been credited in Dem
ocratic quarters with having brought
about a rewriting of the tariff bill in
the Senate so that rates have beer
raised. That is a little political pleas
antry of the Democrats which should
not be taken too seriously. The same
outcome would have taken place hac
Mr.. Grundy never been appointed tc
| the Senate. No one seriously believes
that the eight Democratic Senators who
finally were recorded for the passage
of the tariff bill in the Senate were
Influenced by Mr.. Grundy. Nor is il
likely that Mr.. Grundy had anything
to do with the votes ON lumber anc
cement and sugar cast by some of the
Democrats and progressive Republican:
which made for tariff duties on those
articles. 1t is quite true, however, thai
Democrats will be disappointed If Mr.
Grundy Is not nominated for the SEN
ate. They wish to keep him in the po-
litical limelight as a target for theil
shafts during the coming campaign.
However DESTROYS of universal peace