716 



PENNSYLVANIA. 



public wharves and landings was vetoed on the 

 ground that it would give city councils the power 

 to deprive important shipping interests of such 

 uses of the water fronts as are essential to their 

 success and of great value to the municipalities. 



The Governor's nominations for the offices of 

 Superintendent of Public Instruction, Factory 

 Inspector, and City Treasurer of Philadelphia 

 were rejected by a vote of 1C to 31. 



Liquor License. On June 19, 1891, the Leg- 

 islature passed an act intending to amend the 

 Brooks law to allow saloon keepers to have bonds- 

 men from any part of the county, instead of 

 ward or township. The amendment was to the 

 act approved May 24, 1887, whereas the Brooks 

 law was approved May 18, 1887. The act amend- 

 ed was one providing for wholesale liquor li- 

 censes, and as a result the judges can refuse all 

 license applications because they do not conform 

 to the law. 



The Bardsley Case. On May 21 John Bards- 

 ley, Treasurer of the city and county of Phila- 

 delphia, who was elected in 1888, and whose 

 term would not have expired till the end of 1891, 

 retired from the discharge of his duties on ac- 

 count of losses of State money placed by him 

 in the Keystone National Bank and tendered his 

 resignation, to take effect on May 80. He was 

 arrested on May 23 on the charge of misappro- 

 priating money. It was discovered that he had 

 failed to pay over large sums collected for the 

 State, and that no adequate security had been 

 given for their payment. Criminal prosecution 

 resulted in his plea of guilty, and a sentence to 

 fifteen years' imprisonment in the Eastern Peni- 

 tentiary for the conversion of public moneys to 

 his own use and for loaning them for interest. 

 The following statements are taken from the 

 Governor's message to the Senate : 



The complicated transactions of the ex-Treasurer 

 were the subject of investigation by city and State 

 committees, and representatives of the Treasury De- 

 partment of the United States were engaged for 

 many weeks examining the books of the national 

 banlis in which city and State funds were deposited. 

 The investigations seemed to show that John Bards- 

 ley, during most of his official term, was allowed to 

 keep and use a large amount of money which he 

 should have paid into the State treasury, and that he 

 was never called upon by the State Treasurer and the 

 Auditor-General to make the account which the law 

 requires them to exact. The sums so retained by him 

 amounted to more than $1 ,250,000. His books indicat- 

 ed that, besides the salary, fees, and commissions to 

 which he was entitled, he had made as interest divi- 

 dends and bribes nearly $300,000, the greater part of 

 which was paid to him'for the use of the State funds 

 which he was allowed to retain, and for his exercise and 

 abu^e of powers, in association with and under con- 

 trol of the departments of the State Auditor and 

 Treasurer. The memoranda and stubs of checks also 

 indicated that Bardsley received large sums of money 

 from publishers of newspapers to which he gave the 

 advertisements of mercantile appraisement lists, paid 

 for by the State. The five appraisers were appointed 

 by Bardsley and the State Auditor-General, and it 

 appeared on investigation that they had returned for 

 advertisement a large list of fictitious names, of per- 

 sons not residing at the places named, of persons 

 from whom no taxes could be collected, of persons 

 whom they themselves had exempted from year to 

 year, and persons against whom the State had brought 

 fruitless suits at enormous cost for collection again 

 and again ; so that out of a total appraisement of 



$529,799 for 1889 and 1890 the deductions for uncol- 

 lectible taxes, half the-costof publishing the list (the 

 other half being charged to the liquor licenses), and 

 the cost paid to magistrates and constables in cases 

 where the State received nothing, amounted to nearly 

 $250,000. The costs of advertising the lists for the 

 two years were about $270,000, although the Auditor- 

 General testified that no public advantage resulted, 

 and that it was a complete waste of public money. 

 For the same years the costs in delinquent tuxes 

 amounted to $200,000 and over, for which not a dol- 

 lar was realized; and the credits given for uncol- 

 lectible taxes amounted to $425,000. Proceedings 

 were instituted in the criminal courts against the 

 mercantile appraisers. 



The testimony of the Auditor-General and the State 

 Treasurer showed that the moneys collected by Bards- 

 ley which he failed to pay over amounted to $1,360,- 

 378.59, of which only $120,000 was secured. In addi- 

 tibn to this sum, there was paid to him from the State 

 treasury, Dec. 30, 1890, $420,000 for the public schools 

 of Philadelphia.no portion of which was applied for 

 that purpose. This was drawn five months before 

 the ending of the school year and seven before the 

 warrants of any one of the other 2,300 school districts 

 were drawn, for the purpose of reducing the balance 

 of money in the general fund below the limit of 

 $1,550,000, apparently in order to evade the operation 

 of the law requiring the State Treasurer to apply all 

 sums exceeding that amount remaining in tne gen- 

 eral fund at the beginning of the year to the sinking 

 fund for investment in interest-bearing securities. 

 The cashier of the State Treasurer's office, William 

 Livsey, who drew these warrants, left the State at the 

 beginning of the exposures and remained beyond the 

 reach of the officials and investigating committees 

 desiring his evidence. 



Of tax and license moneys that were eventually 

 paid in to the State treasury, large amounts were 

 allowed to remain in the city treasurer's hands long 

 after the time designated bv law for their payment. 

 Some were thus retained for his personal use for more 

 than a year. The Auditor-General is required by law 

 to require the payment under penalties; but no' pen- 

 alties or interest were charged and no commissions 

 abated. On the contrary, letters were found from the 

 State Treasurer and the Auditor-General encouraging 

 the city treasurer to retain the funds in his hands. 



Special Session. In view of these facts and 

 the charges against the two State officers, the 

 Governor called a special session of the Senate 

 to meet Oct. 19 for the purpose of investigating 

 the charges and determining whether reasonable 

 cause existed for their removal from office. The 

 message set forth the facts in detail as they had 

 been elicited during the investigation. It rec- 

 ommended also careful inquiry "to ascertain 

 whether reasonable cause existed for the removal 

 of any of the magistrates or constables of Phila- 

 delphia because of faithless or dishonest conduct 

 in the performance of their official duties." 



The Senate decided to investigate in open ses- 

 sion, to request the Attorney-General to assist, 

 and to allow the accused to be heard in person 

 or by counsel. The Auditor-General's reply, 

 through his counsel, to the Governor's charges 

 denied the jurisdiction of the Senate, affirming 

 that under the Constitution he could only be re- 

 moved on conviction of misdemeanor before a 

 criminal court or on impeachment by the House 

 of Representatives and after trial and conviction 

 by the Senate, the Senators at the time being 

 " upon oath or affirmation." He denied every 

 charge, claiming to have acted in accordance 

 with the law as understood and interpreted by 

 him and his predecessors, and in conformity 



