LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 311 909 9 Hollingpr pH 85 MiU Run H)3-2193 F 158 .H675 Copy 1 "he History of a Crime PHILADELPHIA i!^95- PRICE, TEN CENTS. '^OUHCE UHKHOWl>i 'O THE Friends of a Manly Young Republican Who Was Assas- d SINATED TO SATISFY CORPORATE GrEED AND THE AMBITIONS OF Unscrupulous Leaders, this Brief Recital of Facts Is Respectfully Dedicated. Carefully Read the Story of the Greatest Conspiracy in the Political History of Philadelphia, Graphically Told in the "Philadelphia Times," of January 12, 1895, with Illustrations from the Same Journal, the Account which Follows of the Scene in the Republican Mayoralty Convention, as Given by " S. M.," the Well-known Washington Correspondent of the " Evening Star," Who Was an Eye Witness of the Proceedings, and other Significant Utterances IN Republican Newspapers of Philadelphia bearing upon the Political Situation. (I) THE PHILADELPHIA MAFIA. (2) CHAPTER I. UnscruimlOHS Ringsters Plot to Destroy a Y011115? American Citizen by the Methods of the Mafia. HIS is the History of A Crime, A tale of treachery, corruption and cowardice. A new condition of political ethics, the patentor of which is David Martin, the man of the dollar brand, and the prospective enjoyers of whose emolu- ments, beside himself, are Senator Charles A. Porter, the constructor of the leaks in the Queen Lane Reser- voir, and City Solictor Charles F. Warwick. It is a revelation regarding the making of the Mayor of the great city of Philadelphia, contained within the lines ot authoritative information. To thoroughly and clearly understand the present unprecedented condition of political affairs in this city it is necessary to go back to the time when there was a general influx of Mayoralty candidates in the municipal arena. The most prominent, even at that early date, was Senator Boies Penrose. The fierce and never-abating battle which he made against the autocratic power of the Building Commission brought him the support of the best elements of his party and of the people at large. He made his contest regardless of any personal power in the organization of which he was a member. At this time also Senator Charles A. Porter, who has amassed a large fortune through big city contracts, was promising his fealty to three candi- dates ; City Solicitor Warwick, Director of Public Works Windrim, and City Controller Thompson. To each of these he whispered his faithfulness, and each one believed he was the chosen son of the contractor-boss. In this connection let it be borne in mind that City Solicitor Warwick drew the contracts by which Porter kept his four feet in the public trough ; that Director Windrim made the changes in the specifications regarding the building of the Queen Lane Reservoir which have led to a public scandal, and that City Controller Thompson permitted payments of money upon that public work before they were actually due. But one man of the three could be the beneficiary of these acts His name has been recorded. Graham Rudely Awakened. At this time also District Attorney Graham was living in the fatuous belief that he enjoyed the favor of David Martin and would be selected as the Republican candidate for Mayor. To him one day there came a rude awakening, and, with mutterings upon his lips over Martin's treachery, he withdrew from the field in the interest of his friend. City Solicitor War- wick, with the understanding that the latter would have the full and earnest support of Mayor Stuart and all the power that is back of the Chief Magis- trate of Philadelphia. The ]\Iayor, however, proved a reed and bowed to the wind, and, for the time being apparently, Warwick abandoned the field, and with downcast mien admitted his undoing. (3) At this time also the Pennsylvania Railroad, with all the power of that arand and mighty corporation, was anxious to bring about the nomination of General Louis Wagner. Over this troublous scene hovered the dark figure of David Martin, anxiously cogitating which of these Mayoralty movements would most richly enlarge his suddenly and mysteriously acquired wealth. The Penrose Tide. Meanwhile, however, the Penrose tide had swollen rapidly. Business men, manufacturers, bankers, the leaders in the highest walks of profes- sional life, people of thought, of breadth of view, of civic pride, gave their support to the brainiest young man who has figured in public affairs in this citv and State within the last decade. The current was overwhelming. Martin viewed it with alarm and Porter gazed upon it with fear. The progress of the Penrose boom was so irresistible that all the candidates were, for the time being, swept out of sight. Martin and Porter apparently bowed their heads to the inevitable, and the friends of Penrose very natur- ally rejoiced over the fact that his nomination would receive the unani- mous support of the organization of the party of which he was a member. From that time forth, naturally, Martin and Porter were admitted to the inner councils of the Penrose movement, for the simple reason that there was no necessity for creating friction in the party machinery, but there were no pledges made the so-called leaders, and Penrose made no conceal- ment of the fact that should he be made the Chief Magistrate of the city no ring of favored contractors would be permitted to filch from the public treasury. David Martin gave his personal word that he would aid the nomination and election of Boies Penrose. So did Charles A. Porter. A similar assurance was given by Mayor Edwin S. Stuart. A like voluntary pledge was made by Charles F. Warwick. Thus the nomination of Penrose seemed assured. He was given a public indorsement by the newspapers of Philadelphia and by its representa- tive citizens such as had never before been subscribed to the candidacy of a public official. When the people had settled themselves to the belief that Boies Penrose would gracefully succeed to the Mayoralty, the slumbering conspiracy had its first outburst. It took the form of an editorial in the Public Ledger. This is its history: John Lowber Welsh, president of the People's Traction Company, and one of the receivers of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company, is one of the executors of the will of the late A. J. Drexel, who was the owner of the Public Ledger. An expression of a wish from him regarding the conduct of that journal is admitted to be a com- mand. Mr. Welsh called upon George W. Childs Drexel, the editor and publisher of the Ledger.^ and said that if Mr. Penrose was made Mayor there was a possibility that he might not fully consider the interests of the People's Traction Company and the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Com- pany, and that therefore he would expect the Ledger to oppose Mr. Penrose's candidacy. That behest was obeyed, and in the columns of the Ledger and under those circumstances the campaign of vituperation had its beginning. (4) It might not be amiss to here mention, as throwing a side light upon this political conspiracy, that four or five years ago Mr. Martin was offered from the Philadelphia «S^ Reading Company a salary of $12,000 a year to act as its confidential political agent, and that when he consulted some of his associates regarding the matter he was asked if he could live without it, and when he answered with a laugh and a shrug of his shoulders that he certainly could, he was advised that he should not be the salaried agent of a corporation while acting as the leader of a great political party. CHAPTER II. A Million Dollars iu Sight from Contracts an<] Various Other Schemes as Spoils for the Conspirators. ROM the time of the first Ledger editorial Martin and Porter spread their venom, A man who is thoroughly conversant with the internal affairs of the City of Phila- delphia is authority for the statement that with a man in the Mayor's chair either blind or complaisant there is now in sight waiting the itching grasp cf unscrupulous contractors the enormous sum of one million of dollars as a profit above expenditures. With this prize in view the campaign of cowardly calumny began. An unwit- ting alliance was made between the church and the contractors. The o-uilelessness of the former was quickly blinded by the chicanery of the latter. Rumor, whether justly or not, credits District Attorney Graham with the insidious beginning of this crusade. Certain it is that hushed tongues whis- pered unspeakable words about the young man who had been practically selected by his fellow-citizens as the Chief Magistrate of his city. In the language of the police courts, the preachers were buncoed. Without exam- ination, horrified by what they were told, they whispered one to the other and, with an uncharitableness foreign to their calling, they convicted the accused one without a hearing. This was the opportunity David Martin had patiently awaited. While breathing fealty into Penrose's ear by day- light, at night and by stealth he traveled from man to man and from com- mittee to committee, deprecating his inability to carry out the nomination of Penrose, for whom he expressed fervent admiration. About three weeks ago he gave the first intimation to the friends of the man who was then the only open Mayoralty candidate that evil stories were afloat regarding him. He gave apparentlv frank notice that he had an engagement to meet this man and that committee and the other organization to be confronted with the proof of charges regarding the character of Penrose, and from each of these meetings he returned with the statement that the accusers had nothing to offer but rumor, and had been forced to admit that they could produce nothing in support of their charges. Time and again he said, returning from these conferences : " It's the same old story ; there's nothing in it ; it is all wind. I told them if they could prove one of their tales Penrose would be withdrawn. But they have admitted that they have no proof That ends the matter. Penrose will be nominated and can't be beaten." This sort of thing was continued for a period of about two weeks, during which time David INIartin was tendering apparently friendly advice to the support- (5) A BOMB DROPS. ers of I Mr. Penrose, and was also giving daily assurance of the fealty of Reservoir Contractor Charles A. Porter. The First Distrust. Early Saturday morning, four days before the date of the convention, there was a brief conference as to who should be selected to preside over the Mayoralty Convention, and Thomas Martindale, one of the most active members of the Trades League, a man of high civic attainments, was de- cided upon. A few hours later, however, Mr. Martin said that the selec- tion of Mr. Martindale had better be postponed until Monday, as there was no immediate hurry in the matter. There was that in his manner upon this occasion which excited a vague distrust, and some of Mr. Penrose's friends went to the Stratford Hotel and called upon the Republican boss. They found him in a pettish and uncommunicative mood. He was irritable and disinclined to talk. Naturally, this excited some alarm. Had any such demonstration of feeling been made one week earlier, the Penrose followers could have gone before the people at the primaries and made an invincible fight. But at this late hour, with the primaries close at hand, and the movement of the machine unobstructed, it would be impossible to win with- out Mr. Martin's aid, so firm has become his grasp upon the political con- ditions which hamper Philadelphia. Another condition which excited dis- trust at the time of the Stratford Hotel meeting was the discovery of the fact that Charles F. Warwick and Charles A. Porter were flitting in and out of David Martin's room. Clouding Quay's Mind. At lo o'clock Saturday evening, as a result of the distrust thus engen- dered. Senator Penrose, accompanied by a well-known Republican leader of the Eighth ward, called upon Mr, Martin at his residence, and there, to their surprise, found him in consultation with United States Senator Quay, whom, it was afterwards found, he had brought there to distort his mind with the same tales which he had been circulating everywhere and which he had credited to others. He had already succeeded in convincing Mr. Quay of the impossibility of electing Penrose. When Mr. Quay frankly repeated what had been said to him Senator Penrose made a manly response. In substance he said : "I am willing that every accusation and rumor of accusation shall be submitted to the examination of a committee to be composed of the editors of every newspaper in the city, irrespective of politics, and including even E. Clarke Davis, the managing editor of the Public Ledger. If they decide that there is the slightest foundation for any of the infamy uttered against me, I will withdraw from the Mayoralty contest. Furthermore, if I am nominated, and it I do not, within one week after the day of the convention, have seventy-five of the leading clergymen of this city, after full examination of my record, indorse my candidacy, I will withdraw in favor of some other Republican." To this senator Quay said that the proposition seemed entirely fair. Then Mr. Martin, in a nervous way, pulled open a drawer in his desk and brought out a number of sheets of paper professing to be canvasses of various divisions in certain wards of the city, including the Eighteenth, Twentieth, Twenty-fifth and Nineteenth, the latter being Mr. Martin's own ward. Only two or three divisions in each of these wards figured on the proflfered (7) i.S) papers and they showed, apparently, that from ten up to as high as seventy Republicans in each division would not vote for Mr. Penrose in the event of his nomination. These appeared to make an impression upon Senator Quay's mind until Mr. Penrose's companion asked suspiciously what had led Mr. Martin to make this examination. Martin Was Cornered. The latter reddened and finally explained that it had been made voluntarily by a man who is employed as a watchman in the Public Buildings at a salary of $2 a day. Attention was also called to the fact that the alleged canvasses were made in wards and divisions of wards where indi- vidual friends were angered over the defeat of Coroner Ashbridge and the complete ignoring of District Attorney Graham. This changed the aspect of affairs. Mr. Alartin then renewed his expressions of faithfulness to Senator Penrose, and made this proposition : " If Mr. Penrose is nominated, and that I now admit is an accepted fact, will he agree, within one week after the convention has adjourned, to withdraw in favor of another Repub- lican, provided public sentiment has crystalized against him in such a form and to such a degree that his election seems to be jeopardized? " To that proposition Senator Penrose replied fervently: "I certainly will." Then Mr. Martin in concluding the conference said : " Well, that suits me. If you agree to that I am willing that in the event of such a thing happening you and your friends shall name your successor." CHAPTER III. The Unholy Compact for Warwick's Nomination Disclosed in a Scene of Revelry at the Union League. HILE this scene was in progress one of an entirely different character was taking place in the halls of the Union l^eague. Martin had evidently told his fellow- conspirators that he would be able to throw Penrose over that night, after seeing Quay, and they were already holding high revel in celebration of their treachery within the walls of the grand old Republican organi- zation. There Charles F. Warwick, Charles A. Porter, Hamilton Disston and some of their minor satellites were holding high revel and all were openly congratu- lating Warwick upon being the slated candidate of the Republican Combine. In ignorance of this triumphant acclaim of treason Senator Penrose and several of his friends took dinner with David Martin in his private residence on the following Sunday afternoon and again the young Senator made his declaration of the night before and Mr. Martin commended his frankness and manliness. By his words and his manner he allayed all suspicion of the fearful treachery which was then festering in his mind. As a wise precaution, the Eighth ward leader heretofore referred to slept that night as David Martin's guest, and did not part with him until 10 o'clock the following morning, with his assurance that nothing could prevent the nomination of Penrose. David Martin went directly to the office of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Quay had returned to Washington. When seen one hour later (9) THE RESERVOIR BREAKS. (10) Martin was again giving expression to his allegations of doubt as to the possibility of electing Penrose, and from that time until Monday evening, when he made his final declaration of perfidy, he could not be induced to give a categorical reply to any questions regarding his attitude in the Mayoralty fight. In the Pay of a Corporation. At a meeting held at 8 o'clock — the one referred to by Senator Quay in his sensational utterance in the United States Senate — Mr. Martin, with a sullen shake of his head, said : " Penrose can't be elected, and I don't propose that he shall be nominated. I can't help myself in this matter. I might as well be frank with you. You all know that for a long while I have been in the paid employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company" — right here it should be stated (by way of parenthesis) that those present were aware of nothing of the kind, and never dreamed that the leader of the Repub- lican party was in the pay of a corporation, but among those present were those who years before had advised him against accepting a yearly salary of $12,000 from the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company. Con- tinuing, Mr. Martin said : " My salary is sufficiently large to support my family and to leave me considerable over besides, and I have to take my orders. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company does not want Penrose nomi- nated. I, therefore, am forced to oppose his candidacy." Later developments have revealed the methods whereby Mr. Martin employed this second subterfuge to accomplish his treachery to his party and his machinations in the interests of himself and his co-partner, Charles A. Porter. Both these gentlemen are closely affiliated with William J. Latta, of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Mr. Martin succeeded in impressing upon the latter gentleman's mind, as he had upon that of many others, the impossibility of electing Mr. Penrose, whom he was supposed to be supporting. Mr, Latta conveyed that information to Vice-President Thomson. Quite naturally, when Mr. Martin reported on Monday morn- ing to the Pennsylvania Railroad office, as he does daily, Mr. Thomson, whose feelings toward Mr. Penrose are of the most friendly character, inquired as to the latter's chances, and Mr. Martin told such a doleful and such a dreadful tale that Mr. Thomson said it would be a pity to have Pen- rose nominated only to be sacrificed. This was the order which Mr. Martin received. This gave him the second excuse for his almost unparal- leled treachery. His Message to His Benefactor. The next day Mr. Quay came to town in the hope of pouring oil on the troubled waters. When Martin, in the Continental Hotel, was told that he was coming, he said : " I am mighty glad. Now we can all get together and settle this matter. " Two hours later he received a message that his sponsor, his political maker, the man who dragged him, ragged and torn, up from the depths, would like to see him. Then this conserver of the rnorals of the community, this conferrer with clergymen, to prevent the victory of vice over virtue, sent back a profane message. Consider that, apart from party feeling, regardless of the respective regard in which Quay or Martin may or should be held. Viewed in the light of gratitude and manliness, it was a curse of the beneficiary upon the benefactor. An hour later (II) (12) a further appeal came from the heretofore referred to Eighth ward leader to meet the junior Senator, and Martin's answer to him was : " Tell Quay that if he can't trust me he had better get some other lieutenant in Philadelphia." That made the rupture complete. It was too late to remedy the crime at the primaries. With Martin asserting his power, the littler men became courageous. Mayor Stuart, who had one hundred times professed his faith- fulness to Penrose and who had previously deserted Warwick, gave i)ersonal orders to Hugh Black, the coke-hauling contractor of the Gas Works and Select Councilman from the Thirty-sixth ward, to turn in the Twenty- sixth and Thirty-sixth wards' delegations for Warwick. The Smaller Meu Tiiru In. District Attorney Graham, in blessed forgetfulness of Martin's former treachery to him, sprang into the saddle and took the lead of the Martin- Porter cohorts. Hamilton Disston, heretofore credited with the most independent impulses, openly, publicly declared : "The Republican party only needs one leader, and Dave Martin is the man for the place." Martin himself said doggedly : " Penrose told me last night that he owed it to his friends and to his reputation to go into the convention if he only had one vote. What do I care for that? I'll teach him that he must take orders." What followed next day has already stained local histor>\ Penrose betrayed. Windrim fooled. Thompson cajoled. Warwick, the receiver of the goods. AND THE One Million Dollars IS IN Sight. (13) Hear What "s. m: Has to Say. iHE well known Washington correspondent, " S. M.," formerly Executive Clerk of the United States Senate, a stanch Repub- lican and a voter in Charles A. Porter's own ward, thus describes the scenes in the Republican Mayoralty convention as the nomination of Warwick was being forced upon the party by " the Mayor's Ring, the City Solicitor's Ring, the District Attorney's Ring, the Public Building Com- mission Ring, the Traction's Ring and the Contractor's Ring." " I came over to Philadelphia to have a day with the politicians. I thought I was going to enjoy a few hours of a good time mingling with a gathering of my old friends and many of the representative men of the party in Philadelphia whose ticket I have been voting since Gen. Grant was first put forward as a nominee for President. I am disappointed. I feel as if I had been to something akin to a funeral instead. " In place of smiles and enthusiastic greetings I have met with naught but long faces and other evidences of trouble, worry and sadness. I went this morning to the old hall bearing the name of Musical Fund, located in the neighborhood where my friend Judge Devlin holds sway. They were to hold therein what they called a convention to place in nomination a Repub- lican candidate for Mayor. ^ " Seeing the tall form of an old acquaintance of my boyhood days, George G. Pierie, I approached and made the inquiry : ' Are you not well, my brother?' 'Physically, yes, ' S. M.,' ' he said, 'but mentally, emphat- ically no." ' What has gone wrong, George, for a man of your effervescent temperament to be low spirited ? " ' Ah,' he replied, ' these are troublous times, dear sir, for our grand old party and its splendid organization. I cannot explain. Linger with us until we shall have emerged from yonder hall after having completed the business that took us there and you will see for yourself. You know I am a man that loves everybody, and it pains me beyond description to be forced to meet friction of any kind.' " And so it was with all the others whom I met. I went into the conven- tion hall and took a seat among my brother newspaper reporters. It is a dark and dingy place. The smoke coming from the hundreds of bad cigars the delegates were smoking made it almost unendurable. But I worried it through. My friend Pierie sat at a small table as the president of the gathering. " Scanning the audience crowding the floor of the hall the first face that (14) met my eyes was that of David Martin. I have known David for many years. We have been meeting in political gatherings, both local and national, since back in the sixties. How pale and nervous he seemed. Those laughing eyes of old looked dull and heavy. He nervously whiffed a cigar, and at intervals placed his right hand to his brow. He had a front seat and gazed in a vacant way at Pierie. It was apparent that there was deep trouble on David's mind. His Nineteenth ward henchmen were gathered about him, the spectacled Councilman Geary, in a white necktie, and the sickly-looking Magistrate Gillespie being much in evidence. "Just before the business of placing the candidates in nomination was begun, the tall and heavy form of District Attorney Graham hove in sight. He came up the middle aisle, and after a brief conversation with David H. Lane, the master of City Councils and the Traction leader, he passed around to Martin's seat. Martin's face brightened a trifle when Graham extended his hand. " Some one said, as the head of the new Combine spoke to the chief of the old affair : ' The deal that will be consummated to-day means that George Graham will succeed Don Cameron in the Senate.' There came a response of amen from those who heard the remark. In a few minutes Martin arose and disappeared from view, Graham taking the vacant seat. * " Over on the other side of the hall, near the platform, sat a man of rotund figure, rather short in height, full face, reddish moustache, semi-bald head, and eyes having a tendency to bulge. This was Senator Charles A. Porter. Unlike Martin he is not of a nervous disposition. He evidently be- longs to the class of men who take things as they come and without worry. He isof the jolly kind. But on this occasion he was serious — very serious. " This was puzzling, as everybody knew that the convention was about to do the very thing that it was his wish and to his interests that it should do. And yet he resembled anything but a happy man. "■ Probably the noise and enthusiasm of the large contingent of Penrose admirers who sat in his immediate vicinity gave him annoyance. It was Porter's convention, and yet Porter looked anything but a happy man. Strange. "After the preliminary proceedings of examining the credentials of the delegates were over, the convention got down to business. Wencel Hart- man, of the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood, promptly placed Penrose's name before the convention. "He was enthusiastically received. It was noted, however, that not a cheer or a word of approval came from that long row of delegates who were there to carry out the orders of Martin, Porter, Lane and the other bosses who were in the "morality" crusade against Penrose. These gentlemen were as silent as the leaves of the trees in midsummer calmness. "Hartman spoke briefly, and then Gen. Harry Bingham walked to the platform. He was dressed, as he always is, with neatness and good taste. He has a full and round voice, and emphasizes what he has to say in such a way that there is no misunderstanding him. "A spectacled man at the reporters' table made the remark : 'Some one «:aid that the Warwick deal means Graham for Senator. Hear me. If (15) CHARLEY AND HIS AUNT. (i6)] Don Cameron cannot get back don't you bet any heavy odds that Bingham will not become his residuary legatee in that position." " Bingham spoke with good taste and good sense. Then came District Attorney Graham. His appearance on the platform was the first evidence the convention really had that there were actually any delegates on the floor below who were favorable to Warwick. " Hamilton Disston's Twenty- ninth warders started a cheer, and after a pause or two Porter's men and then Martin's men joined in. Graham's speech was pointed and brief. He has a splendid presence and speaks with ease, grace and vigor. " What he said was conciliatory, and had running through it a spirit ot afifection for all the persons and elements concerned in the canvass. He told of Warwick what everybody present already knows — that he was able, accomplished, well educated, brainy, honest, genial, courageous and as true as steel — but he did not explain what the elements were that made Warwick's nomination possible, and what is the object they have in view in preferring that Warwick should rule at the City Building instead of Penrose. " Of course George was not on the platform for that purpose. He will leave that to us people who write for the newspapers. When he had fin- ished his eulogy of Warwick a reporter at his elbow remarked : ' Do you know that if I were a superstitious man I would not care to have George Graham place me in nomination for an office. " ' His eloquence is superb, but the idea is out that he is something of a ' hoodoo ' in his nominating speeches. It was he who nominated Leeds in that campaign of slaughter, and it was George who placed Delamater in nomination for the Gubernatorial chair when Pattison ran away with the election. What a lucky man Pattison is ! ' "It created remark where Graham alluded to Mayor Stuart that the applause was very faint. Some one made the explanation that as it was a Traction and Suburban Trolley Convention, it was not natural that the name of Stuart should be received with enthusiasm. " After a delegate gave Warwick a passing shot during Graham's pero- ration by yelling out, ' Give Charley another office ; he hasn't had any- thing,' a bearded man from Lane's contingent came forward and said a good word for Ashbridge. "The vote was then taken, and after the down town wards had been called it was seen that the machinery that had been set in motion for Warwick was as true to the work assigned it as is the needle of the compass in pointing to the north. " Senator Wesley Thomas in a conciliatory and fatherly way offered a motion to make the nomination unanimous, but this the Penrose men would not allow. It was bad enough to be knocked down, but these Penrose delegates were evidently not in a humor to get up and thank the people who did the knocking. " It made me feel exceeding sad to witness such uncalled-for treatment meted out to so splendid a fellow as my friend Penrose. I have come in contact with a great many men in public life in my time, and I have to say lUst this : I have never met one for whom I have a higher regard than I have for Boies Penrose. The Republicans of Philadelphia were ignorant of their own interests when they allowed him to be stricken down." (17) Republican Editors Speak. THE ''INQUIRER'S'' PLAIJ^ WORDS. Penrose's defeat attributed to a Porter -Martin- Traction Company Conspiracy . "For months past the successor to Mayor Stuart has been everywhere talked about," said the editor of the Philadelphia Inqtiirer two days before the Republican convention. " There were several candidates, all of whom had a fair showing, without help or hindrance from the Republican organi- zation. The movement for Senator Penrose overshadowed all others. A committee of sixty of the best-known citizens of his own ward, gathered from among his own neighbors, united in asking him to become a candidate, and hundreds of other names of prominent Philadelphians were quickly added. " Now let us say once again that Penrose has not been a machine candi- date. He was opposed from the very outset by Charles A. Porter, contractor, the Contractors' Ring and the Building Commission. He has been opposed day by day ever since and never for one moment has this ring of contractors failed to foment opposition to a man who, they feared, might not be as servile a tool as they might desire. " This is the secret of a plot that has been hatched against Penrose, and it is openly declared that he is to be defeated in the convention to-morrow by orders of Contractor Porter and the ' Combine. ' He was strong enough before the people to force himself upon the notice of the organization, but in no sense has he ever been the candidate of the machine. But now, Charles A. Porter, contractor, on the very eve of the convention, gives out his orders to take up some selection of the Contractors' Ring and foist him upon the people so that Mr. Porter's contracts may be properly cared for. " The hiquirer hereby gives notice that it will protest to the very last against any such infamous scheme. If Charles A. Porter, contractor, is allowed to boss the convention and name a tool of the Contractors' Ring this paper gives notice, so that all may clearly understand it, that it will lay before the people facts that will astonish them and will call upon them to defeat at the polls any such Ring candidate. It will not allow the Repub- lican party to be made a tool of for the hoggish purposes of one or two men. " The Inquirer would gladly support Senator Penrose because he owns himself, because his views on public affairs are of the most progressive order and because he has been fearfully maligned by a conspiracy that has reached (18) out with its fangs of venom to poison the minds of the public in the interests of a ring of contractors. But it will not support a Porter candidate under any consideration. " We want no mere auditor for Mr. Porter in the Mayor's chair, and if such a candidate is nominated, before we are done with him the people won't want any such person there, either." Penrose the Proper Candidate. On the morning of the Convention, the Editor of the Inquirer pnhlished the following : " The proper candidate of to-day's convention is Senator Boies Penrose. We have made that statement repeatedly and we make it again. He is a man of intelligence and enterprise. He owns himself. He has been maligned — fearfully maligned. We recall no instance in the political history of Philadelphia where such a conspiracy has existed to blacken a man's character for the one purpose of getting him out of the way to serve a ring of contractors. These stories have not one particle of proof behind them. They have been started, deliberately circulated, carried to the min- isters and others, and the latter have accepted them. We say, then, that Senator Penrose is the victim of a conspiracy, and were he nominated by the convention to-day he would carry the city from the very feeling of sympathy that always comes to a man when he has been proved to be the victim of malice. " We take back nothing that we have said of Penrose. Nor do we recall the declaration of yesterday that shall Charles A. Porter, contractor, succeed in controlling to-day's convention in his own interests and nominate a man whom we believe would be his servile tool the Inquirer will oppose him at the polls. The convention, then, must act wisely. To secure the support of a united party it must steer clear of the Porter influence. Traction, contractors and Building Commission combined have proven a strong factor against Penrose, egged on by the venomous flings that have been summoned to destroy him." Then on the morning after the day of the convention the same paper said : " The Inquirer has not one word to take back that it has said in praise of Senator Penrose. It supported him for the nomination because it believed him to be a man in every way fitted for the office of Mayor. He had broad and progressive views and he was his own man. As a matter of fact he was too much of his own man to suit a desperate gang of contractors, while the detested Traction Company did its utmost in conjunction with Con- tractor Porter to ruin him. It was a monstrous campaign that was waged against him — simply monstrous, and if the men, no matter who they are, who have been scattering broadcast the most diabolical falsehoods are not thoroughly ashamed of themselves, then it is because they are past the sense of shame. * * * * Penrose was made a victim simply because he did not suit a gang of jobbers, and that is the whole truth about the matter in a nut-shell. " The Porter-Traction crowd are responsible for the defeat of Penrose, but in bringing about this defeat they have pulled the temple down about their own ears." (19) Warwick Reading his Letter to the Bosses. No. I. QULEN LANE RESERVOIR " If elected to this office by the suflfrages of my fellow- citizens I would know no master save duty, and regard no constituency save the whole people." (20) "THE BOSSES' CONVENTION." Stalwart Republican Editor Robert S. Davis, tliiis Writes in the " Evening Call " of the Nomination of Warwick. " A convention of Republican bosses met yesterday, according to their custom, to their usual custom, to nominate a candidate for Mayor," wrote Mr. Davis, in the Evening Call. " They were surrounded by the usual number of delegates to this convention, elected on Tuesday evening, by the usual number of politicians, who are either office-holders in the city government, or are interested in some way in city contracts, or are the bene- ficiaries of liquor licenses — all making their livelihood either directly or indirectly out of politics. ******* " Let us hope that in this quarrel of the bosses, which, Heaven grant, may continue for all time, the people will derive some benefit in the -exposure of political venality and in the better understanding and knowl- edge of how their municipal affars are mismanaged and our city debt increased at an alarming rate, without any corresponding benefit to our citizens. " 'When rogues fall out, honest men get their dues.' May this be the result of the quarrel of the bosses over whom they should have for the next Mayor of Philadelphia is the earnest wish of The Caliy "CALUMNY WINS." So Declares John Russell Youngs, ex-President of the Union League, in a vigorous article in the "Evening Star." In the Evening Star^ on the morning of the Mayoralty Convention, there appeared an editorial which everybody recognized as coming from the vigorous pen of John Russell Young. It was given under the heading *' Calumny Wins " and read : " The Campaign of Calumny wins. " A representative and gifted young man, typical of what is best in Philadelphia, has been driven from the campaign, under circumstances that make a political career impossible to any self-respecting gentleman. No one could survive such a tempest of calumny. It came in the air, as a malaria. "And not one of those who spent days and nights breeding the business has dared to make a specific charge or avow such a personal responsibility as would enable Senator Penrose to have defended himself. " This is a serious business, and strikes at the foundation of society, " It means that calumny is above the law ; that slander may run rampant. The Campaign of Calumny Wins. " Senator Charles A. Porter will be the next Mayor. This decree the convention which meets to-day will record. " Senator Porter is a statesman of engaging qualities. Seen at a distance or in the gloaming he bears a marked resemblance to Napoleon. In his ;■ ; (21) Warwick Reading his Letter to the Bosses. No. 2. " I will not be under the influence or control of any power, political, personal or corporate, that might intrude upon the conscientious and faithful discharge of my duty. " (22) : character, however, he reminds one more of William the Silent, an illustri- ous Dutch statesman. He thinks rather than talks, and, as Artemus Ward says, " never slops over." He is deliberate, resolute, clear-headed and kind- hearted, and was never known to raise a hand against a friend. " No one in recent years has done more for the good of the town than Senator Porter. This will be seen by an inspection of the books in the City Treasury. " It is within bounds to say that he has done more toward the material improvement than all the other firms combined — yes, more by millions. " The people of Philadelphia will therefore not be neglected by the new Mayor. "P. S. — The 'convention' which meets to-day will nominate a candi- date for the statutory office of Mayor. "This, however, is not an essential point. Senator Porter is a modest man and disdains honors. He is also a very rich man and does not need the salary. " But calumny wins and he is our Mayor, all the same." A BROADSIDE FROM "TAGGART'S TIMEvS." No Manly Republican Who Lores Fair Play Can Approve the Methods Used to Bring About the Nomination of Warwick. The Republican Taggari^s Sunday Times was particularly severe in denunciation of the methods resorted to in turning down Senator Penrose, and in its issue following the convention, among other things it said of Mr. Warwick : " In the first place his nomination was brought about under circum- stances which no manly Republican who loves fair play can regard without contempt and disgust. The betrayal of Senator Penrose on the eve of the convention was one of the dirtiest and basest exhibitions of treachery in the history of Philadelphia politics for many years. We know that Boss Porter was always opposed to Penrose and that he was slow to acquiesce in the movement for his nomination, as he knew well enough that his power in the Department of Public Works would be broken the moment Boies Penrose as Mayor would have named a new Director of the Department ; but what words of scorn are too strong to express the abhorrence of decent men for the manner in which David Martin, who had never openly opposed Penrose, and who had a month ago agreed that he would not stand in the way of his nomination and who had given his word to do what was right by him, secretly went back on him at the eleventh hour. A boss who keeps his promise may be respected no matter how much of a dictator he may be ; but what politician can hereafter place any faith in the word of Dave Martin? " There is no doubt that this sneaking and hypocritical pair of plotters picked out Mr. Warwick as their candidate ; the 684 delegates in the con- vention last Wednesday who voted for him behaved like so many puppets ; but the chief point at issue in this connection is whether the City Solicitor knew of the treachery to Penrose several days before it was openly consum- mated and consented to make himself a party to it. We hope that this was (23) Warwick Reading his Letter to the Bosses. No. 3. "iGood government in municipal affairs involves the protection of person and property by an effective police force, and in order to promote their efficiency it is my purpose to keep the members in this bureau absolutely from politics." (24) not the case ; we would be reluctant to believe that Mr. Warwick would have permitted even the great temptation of the Mayoralty to lead him into dishonor ; but the friends of Boies Penrose, who is the last man in Phila- delphia to be guilty of a mean or dishonorable act, have a right to know, and will know, to just what extent Mr. Warwick was a preliminary parti- cipant in the Porter-Martin intrigue. Traction Aj^ents in Command. " It is not necessary to recite the events of the convention, which was one of the gloomiest and most depressing affairs of its kind ever held here. It was presided over by George G. Pierie, who is simply an ornamental appendage of David H. Lane, and who ought to have worn the gripman's cap of the Traction Company as his badge of office. Two-thirds of the delegates voted for Warwick ; but not a dozen of them knew twenty-four hours before, that Warwick was to be taken up and Penrose knifed, and many of them did not know until they went to the convention exactly what they were to do until they received direct orders from either Porter or Martin. If ever there was a case of bossism and machine servility, it was this convention. " Mr. Warwick is too intelligent a man to know that he can be elected Mayor of Philadelphia in the present temper of the party and of the general public unless he shall make it clear that his action in this matter has been free of duplicity, and that he is not to be a creature of the selfish and lobbing politicians who have placed their trade mark upon him. If he is to be his own master, if he is to be independent of their influence, if he is to ask the support of Philadelphians who are sick and tired of the extrava- gance and corruption and despotism which have attended the Combine management of our municipal affairs, Mr. Warwick must take particular pains to set himself aright before the people without any delay. In order to help him to a better understanding of our meaning and with a view of forming our judgment of the duty of ourselves and of all other honest and independent citizens in the coming campaign, we respectfully ask Mr. Warwick to make public answer at the first opportunity to the following questions : Questions Warwick Has Not Answered. 1. When and where were you first approached by Charles A. Porter and David Martin, or either of them, on the subject of becoming a candidate for Mayor ? 2. Did you make any promises to them, or either of them, in considera- tion of the use of your name for the purpose of defeating Senator Penrose ? 3. Is it true that you will retain either James H. Windrim or Abraham M. Beitler as directors of departments in the event of your election ? 4. Do you favor a reorganization of the Department of Public Works by which the monopoly of the contracts, now enjoyed by Charles A. Porter and his favorites, may be overthrown? 5. Are you in favor of the $21,000,000 Tohickon-Perkiomen water scheme of Director Windrim ; and what are your views on the subject of the water supply ? 6. Inasmuch as P. A. B. Widener, William L. Elkins and Thomas Dolan have expressed considerable satisfaction over your nomination, what (25) Warwick Reading his Letter to the Bosses. No. 4. QUEEN LANL RESERVOIR " The funds of the city shall be carefully guarded from spoliation and extravagance." Warwick^ s Lettei^ of Acceptance. ;26) in your judgment should be the policy of the city in the matter of railway franchises and privileges? Are you against a revival of the Suburban Grab? 7. In the same connection, will you explain whether you agree with the opinions of Messrs. Widener, Elkins and Dolan that their water gas contract should not be cancelled by the city and that they should have full control of the businsss of manufacturing the city's gas? 8. Have you any understanding by which the extravagant contract for cleaning Broad street shall be maintained in the interest of David Martin ? 9. Are you committed to a policy of silence hereafter in the matter of the Queen Lane reservoir in the interest of Charles A. Porter? If not, what in your judgment should be done with this reservoir? ^ 10. Are you in favor of Charles A. Porter's public school bill for the extinction of popular rule over our schools and their annexation to the Mayor ? 11. Are you in sympathy with the men who expect to revive the Boule- vard folly under the next administration? 12. What steps do you favor for putting a stop to the awful increase in public expenditures during the last six years. " We put these questions to Mr. Warwick because they are legitimate and timely, and because only by replying to them can his fitness to be Mayor of Philadelphia be satisfactorily tested. They are not far-fetched or imperti- nent, and they all concern subjects which the people are talking of. "There is every indication that the Republican candidate will have a hard campaign before him. His nomination has not excited enthusiasm. It has been received with deep disappointment and probably with resent- ment by many active party men, and it is one which the reformers, if they do not oppose it, will not take off their coats for." And the Above Questions Have Never Been Answered. A WARNING FROM "THE BULLETIN." The Plans of the Contractors' Rin^ Exposed by this Staunch Republican Journal the Day Before the Mayoralty Convention. " The Republican convention for the nomination of a candidate for Mayor will meet to-morrow, and the indications are that a very large majority of the delegates who will be chosen at the primary election to- night will give their support to Senator Penrose," wrote the Editor of the stalwart Republican Evening Bulletin^ before the assassination of Senator Penrose. " We have seen no satisfactory reason presented why there should be any change in the attitude which the party generally has assumed toward Senator Penrose since the preponderance of its sentiment in his favor led all other candidates to retire from the field ; and this view will, doubtless, be taken to-morrow by a convention which promises to be one of the ablest and most representative in point of intelligence and character that has assembled in Philadelphia for many years. "The attempt which has been made on the eve of the convention to overthrow Senator Penrose or to force him to abandon his candidacy has its (27^ origin largely in the disappointment and resentment of the Public Buildings Ring of contractors and of one of the Republican leaders whose counsel as to the choice of a candidate has not been accepted. Senator Penrose's well- known hostility to the Public Buildings Commission and to some of the contractors who have been most conspicuous in the Department of Public Works is the chief cause of the desperate effort to precipitate an opposition to him in the convention ; and it constitutes one of the strongest reasons why he should receive the support of all Republicans who wish an honest and fearless candidate for Mayor. * * * *. , ! " In the name of fair play, in the interest of justice to an upright and capable candidate, the Evening Bulletin protests against any surrender to the influences which are plotting the defeat of Senator Penrose. He has at no time considered the question of withdrawal ; to contemplate it would have been a confession of the truth of the unjust charges which have been flung out against him as well as to the hosts of Republicans who summoned him'\nto the canvass, and his name will go before the convention to-morrow without misgivings as to the result. Senator Penrose has no apologies to offer ; he has made a manly, straightforward and legitimate appeal to the party; he has not been the candidate of the "machine," except to the extent that leaders of the organization have recognized his strength in the party ; and his nomination will have been won in accordance with legitimate and honorable methods of political action and with the approval of a great majority of Republicans. " The Evening Bulletin will support Senator Penrose for both nomina- tion and election in the full faith that it will be commending to the people of Philadelphia a candidate who is qualified for the office by his tested integ- rity in ten years of one of the most useful careers that any young Republican in this city has made in public service ; by virtue of his manly independ- ence of character, and by reason of his high and honorable ambition to give this city a clean and progressive administration in accord with the best theories of the Bullitt charter. " The sense of fair play in the Republican party in this city is too strong to admit the thought of such a surrender." "MANDAMUS CHARLEY." The " Item " Exposes the Enormous Payments Made from the City Treasury upon Mandamus During Warwicli's Administration. The Republican Item after roundly condemning the methods resorted to by the Martin-Porter Ring to defeat Senator Penrose, gave one of the most severe criticisms of Mr. Warwick's administration of the office of City Solicitor, that has appeared since his nomination. In a most eflective car- toon in the issue of January 13, 1895, the Sunday Item represented Warwick standing upon a pyramid, upon which, as a monument to his administration, are recorded the vast sums drawn out of the City Treasury by writs of Mandamus. Martin and Porter are represented as standing on either side of the pyramid and pointing up with admiration to their choice for Mayor. These are the figures by years given on the monument of Mandamus payments : — (28) i884 $114,692 69 1885 202,266 77 1886 317,552 22 1887 256,524 87 1888 252,547 50 1890 438,111 83 1891 532,680 22 1892 752,529 35 1893 1,036,427 35 1894 2)555)810 61 "WORKING" THE PARTY. How Porter and Martin Use the Republican Party Organization for Iheir Selflsh Ends, .and in the Interests of Corporations. The men who expect to profit most by the election of Warwick are Charles A. Porter, the Millionaire Contractor, and David Martin, the head of the notorious Combine, who have had the Republican Organization by the throat since they threw over James McManes. Though the manipulation of the thousands of employes of the various city departments and the power with the corporations wielded by David Martin, this combination has been enabled to control absolutely the machinery of the Republican Party in this city. All loyal and consistent Republicans who have the welfare and integrity of their party at heart cannot but realize that heroic measures are now necessary to purify the politics of the city and place the leadership of the " Grand Old Party " in the hands of men who can command general respect and confidence. It is manifest that the men who now direct the affairs of the party are using the organization for corrupt and selfish ends. David Martin's intimate connections with corporations that avail themselves of his political power to obtain from the city valuable franchises without a penny of com- pensation to the tax payers was heralded to the world when a distin- guished representative from Pennsylvania branded him with an ineffaceable dollar mark in a speech in the United States Senate. The Republican TaggarCs Times^ in its issue following the Warwick convention, pointedly said : "For years past Taggart^ s Times has been showing the people of Philadelphia the quality of the men who have controlled the organization of the Republican party in this city. " It showed that a mere ward heeler named David Martin, whose entire possessions in 1888 consisted of one house, and who was out of a job, had in a few years acquired nearly $100,000 worth of real estate, and that during those few years his ostensible income had not reached $5000. " It has shown the people of the city how Charles A. Porter, who, ten years ago, was a mere hanger-on of James McManes, had so fastened himself upon the body of Philadelphia that scarcely a cent could be spent by the municipality that was not squeezed by him and compelled to yield him tribute." Following this came the expose of the transactions which Charles A. Porter and his Vulcanite Paving Company have had in city contracts. (29) The Republican Piiblic Ledger^ in an exhaustive article on January 25, 1895, among other things said : " That there is room for a suspicion that the question of awarding contracts for public improvements would form a promising field for inquiry is indicated by some facts given below to show what a hold a particular contractor and his partners seem to have in this lucrative field. The situation could not probably be more tersely expressed than it was recently to the writer : ' If Charley Porter wants the job there is no use for anybody bidding for it' " Following this the Ledger article gave an itemized statement of the various contracts with the city from which Charles A. Porter and the Vul- canite Paving Company drew from the city treasury, during 1892 and 1893, the sum of $3,146,386.25, This publication has been supplemented by the result of a thorough investigation of the records in the Controller's office, which shows that from 1888 to the present time, Porter and his partners have drawn from the city treasury the enormous sum of $4,880,182.28. These payments were divided among the several bureaus as follows: Highways 12,287,963 66 Water 1,730,980 17 Surveys 432,931 05 Public Buildings 320,522 70 Miscellaneous 107,784 70 Grand total $4,880, x8l 28 Having worked the Republican party for this great stake, is it any wonder that Porter and his associates wanted to name the next Mayor of Philadelphia? It is for the Republican voters and tax payers to say whether they are willing to be " worked " that the Contractors' Ring may continue to " work " the city. BY THIS SIGN THEY CONQUER. HE'LL NOT BE SO HANDSOME, BUT HEXL KNOW MORE. (31) (32) AND DAVID MARTIIT The Traitor, also demands that you keep his BROTHER-IN-LAW ^A^m. j. roney IN THE OFFICE OF HECEIVEIR OF TAXES LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 311 909 9 BANNER OF THE JOBBERS' BRIGADE