The autobiography of a Pennsylvanian/17 Appendix
APPENDIX
GOVERNOR PENNYPACKER'S MESSAGE TO THE
LEGISLATURE, 1905
| Executive Department, | |
| Commonwealth or Pennsylvania, | |
| Office of the Governor, | |
| Harrisburg, January 3, 1905. | |
Pennsylvania:
Gentlemen:—In his message to the assembly, December 9, 1803, the Honorable Thomas McKean, then governor of this state, said that Pennsylvania commanded “general admiration and respect for the melioration of her penal code, for the good faith and punctuality of her fiscal transactions, for her benevolent and literary institutions, for her encouragement of public improvements in roads and inland navigation, and for the ardor and discipline of her militia,” and he added, “the geographical position and the political rank which we hold in the Union seem to assign to us the patriotic task of setting an example of virtue and industry, of public spirit and social harmony.” Much of this depiction of then existing conditions may after the lapse of a century be repeated with propriety.
The reports of the various departments, which are herewith submitted, show a state of affairs which ought to be very gratifying to the good people of the commonwealth. For the fiscal year ending June 1, 1904, the receipts of the treasury amounted to the sum of $21,789,940.75. During the same period, the payments for the expenses of the government were $19,266,369.11, leaving a balance of receipts over expenditures of $2,523,571.64. The moneys in the treasury on the first of June, 1904, were $16,801,067.38. The debt over and above the value of bonds and cash in the sinking fund was on June first, 1903, $335,507.21, and on June first, 1904, $232,858.76, so that substantially the commonwealth is free from debt. During the same fiscal year, there were expended for the support of the schools $6,013,725.58, in aid of the various hospitals and other charities of the state $2,913,367.10, in relief of the counties in the rebuilding of bridges which had been carried away by floods $504,551.55, and for the erection of the new state capitol $1,000,000.00. It is creditable that the capitol, which approaches completion and promises to be in every way suitable for the purposes intended and worthy of the commonwealth, is being built for the reasonable sum of $4,550,000.00 and paid for out of revenues. When we reflect that the capitol of Massachusetts cost $6,980,531.59, paid for with moneys raised upon bonds, and that the capitol of New York cost $24,265,082.67, these figures ought to be very satisfactory. The capitol would be much improved if there could be secured an extension of the present somewhat limited grounds surrounding it. The ideal plan in my view would be to connect with the city park by opening from the front, say between South and State streets, to the river. A suggestion which would perhaps lead to less expense would be to secure the properties in the rear on which for the most part are erected a poorer class of buildings. The question is very much one which will have to be considered from the point of view of the resources of the state.
With respect to the rebuilding of county bridges, I recommend that the amount to be expended each year for this purpose be fixed at such a figure as may seem to the legislature to be wise. Under the law, as it exists at present, there is no limitation to the sum which the Board of Public Grounds and Buildings may be required to expend in this way, and at a time of the coincidence of great floods and diminished revenues, the situation might lead to serious embarrassment. If a certain proportion of the cost of construction of these bridges were left to the counties instead of the whole burden being imposed upon the state, they would have a substantial interest, not only in making effort to save the bridges from destruction, but also in the preservation of such of the material as could be utilized.
The subject of the charities aided by the state is one which ought to receive your serious consideration. The number of hospitals, most of them doing much to benefit suffering humanity in their, respective localities and worthy of support, is continually increasing and the sums appropriated to them already reach what in some other states would be regarded as an enormous expenditure. If the commonwealth is to continue its present policy of assistance, there ought to be some systematic and business-like method provided, both for securing information as to the needs of the institutions and for supervising the expenditure of the moneys contributed by the state, so that it may be known that these funds are actually required and are applied without extravagance to the purposes for which they are intended. It is unfair that the burden of investigation should be imposed upon the committees upon appropriations of the senate and house to be completed during the brief periods of the sessions. No matter how long and late they labor at the task, the results in the nature of things must be imperfect. The time is insufficient and only interested parties appear before them. The efforts of members to secure these appropriations for institutions in the districts they represent are a hindrance to and interference with general legislation. A plan could be adopted which would not in any way interfere with the visitatorial powers of the Board of Charities, and perhaps the most effective way would be to increase their powers and agencies.
An earnest effort has been made, in which all the heads of departments have participated, to reduce the bulk of the departmental reports which had gradually grown to unwieldy proportions, and thus to reduce the expense of printing. The report of the Factory Inspector, which in 1903 covered 1,206 pages, in 1904 was reduced to 190 pages and gave practically as much information. The volume of laws for the session of 1903 covered 661 pages, as compared with 1,013 pages of laws for the preceding session. During the last year the expenses for printing have been reduced to the extent of $107,168.44 from those of the year before, and to the lowest figure, with one exception, in nine years, notwithstanding a great increase in publication owing to the increase of departments and the growth of public work. The statute, which regulates our public printing and established the existing schedules, was passed in 1876. Since that time there have been many changes in type-setting and the arts of typography and book-binding. The schedules are inadequate and obsolete. Much of the work necessarily done is not provided for in them, and, therefore, is paid for at special rates. The last contract awarded four years ago was let at a rate 88.01 per cent below the schedules, which is an absurdity. It is hoped the legislation on this subject will be revised.
The Department of State Highways, provided for by the act of April 15, 1903, has been organized in compliance with the terms of the act, and is making satisfactory progress. There are at present completed, under construction, and approaching construction, in forty-five counties of the state, 127.42 miles of roads. Beside the work done by the state, a number of townships, under the incentive of the example set before them, have themselves raised moneys and proceeded to improve their highways. Thus, in Bensalem Township, in the County of Bucks, where the state constructed three miles of the road, the township has added ten miles more, constructed in accordance with the regulations of the department and under the supervision of the commissioner of highways. No such important work has been undertaken by the commonwealth for many years. It means much for the practical welfare of the whole people. It ought to be pushed forward thoroughly and energetically. Owing to the lack of knowledge, upon the part of contractors, township and county officials, of the kinds of material necessary, methods of construction, and plans of proceeding, personal attention by a representative of the department is in most cases required. A larger force would seem to be demanded in this department in order that the accomplishment of its objects may not be retarded.
The state now owns 544,958 acres of land for forestry reservation purposes, and is under contract to purchase 154,863 acres more, making a total of 699,821 acres. While it is continually adding to its purchases for this purpose, it is by a strange anomaly also continually making sales of lands at a merely nominal price under old acts which have never been repealed, relating to the disposition of unseated lands. This legislation came into existence in the early days of the province and state when land was plenteous and inhabitants were few, and was intended to encourage settlements by offering inducements to all comers. That condition of things has long passed away and the legislation has been taken advantage of in order to get possession of valuable tracts of mineral lands and other property without an equivalent consideration. I recommend that legislation be at once enacted that the Board of Property dispose of no lands belonging to the state until they have been first examined by the commissioner of forestry to ascertain whether they are adapted for forestry purposes, and if found to be so fitted that they be retained for these purposes, and that when lands are sold by the Board of Property they be sold at public sale to the highest bidder. The forestry lands constitute a large domain and since they have been purchased means ought to be taken for their preservation and proper utilization. The only use to which they have heretofore been put, apart from the cultivation of the trees, has been an occasional lease for mining minerals and the tuberculosis camp at Mont Alto, where twenty-two patients are given the opportunity for outdoor life with, I am informed, marked success. The efforts for the preservation of the forests, the game and the fish, all of which the state has undertaken, seem to look to the accomplishment of ends closely related, and it is well worthy of consideration whether better results could not be secured by a combination of them. The fish propagate in the streams, the streams traverse the forests, the game for its life needs both stream and forest, and all of them require the employment of watchmen and wardens.
The greatest injury to the forest lands arises through fire. I recommend as one means of diminishing the loss which comes from this cause that the railroad corporations of the state and those having railroad lines passing through it be required, under fixed penalty and the payment of resultant damages, to put out all fires within one hundred feet of their tracks, except in municipalities. No doubt, under its police power, the state could prevent the use of fire as a danger and, if so, such an act which would be in effect permitting the use of fire upon condition would probably be held to be constitutional. The spread of forest fires is very much increased by the fact that the lumbermen and others when cutting down the trees leave the strippings and waste lying upon the ground. These become dry and form a mass of light material, over which the flames sweep. I recommend the passage of a law requiring all persons and corporations who may hereafter, for any reason, fell forest timber, to remove from the woods, when they take away the lumber, all other parts of the trees, and imposing a sufficient penalty in the event of failure to comply. It is submitted, for your consideration, whether it would not be wise to determine what sum should be expended each year in the purchase of forest lands, so that the commission may be relieved from this serious responsibility.
During the past year, 377 books and pamphlets relating to Pennsylvania and its literature during the period of the development of her institutions have been added to the State Library. Under the direction of the present trained librarian, the work of the library has been systematized and improved, and its benefits to the community correspondingly increased. This library ought in time to be a repository of all the printed material and manuscripts relating to the literature, the laws, the history and the political progress of the commonwealth. For the completion of its sets of laws, and in order to keep up with the publication of law reports, so that at the capital of the state there may be a sufficient opportunity for the study of legislation and decision, a somewhat larger appropriation appears to be necessary. The Department of Public Records, provided for at the last session, in connection with the library, has been organized and is doing efficient work. The archives upon which the foundations of our history rest, and which, up to the present time, have lain about the cellars and out-of-the-way places, being gradually stolen, lost and destroyed, have been gathered together and are now being repaired and permanently secured in volumes chronologically arranged and open to the investigations of scholars. Twenty-two such volumes have already been completed. The information contained in them is much sought by persons all over the country interested in hereditary societies and in research, and much of the time of the attendants is occupied in answering inquiries and supplying information. I suggest that the librarian be directed to charge a fee of two dollars for each certificate given and the sums received be paid into the state treasury for the use of the commonwealth. In this way the department will, to a certain extent, be made self-supporting.
When the new capitol is completed, the building now occupied by the executive will be abandoned by him. Its erection in 1893, cost $500,000, one-ninth of the contemplated cost of the capitol. It is commodious and in many ways artistically constructed, and it presents a good appearance. To remove it would seem to me to be wasteful and unwise, I recommend that it be utilized for the library and that the sphere of the librarian be enlarged and that he be authorized and directed to collect and preserve in it objects illustrating the fauna, flora, entomology, mineralogy, archaeology and arts of the state. Such a collection would have great educational as well as practical value, and be a subject of interest to citizens and strangers visiting the capital. Whenever national or international expositions are held, the state at great outlay makes sudden efforts to gather for the purpose the objects which illustrate her progress. Here would be a supply of such material, not hastily and crudely brought together, but selected with care, thought and deliberation.
The work of the Dairy and Food Division of the Department of Agriculture is of great importance in its relations to the community in every point of view. If deleterious substances may be introduced into the human system in the guise of food, or the supply of nutriment to men, women and children be diminished in order that greater profit may result to the manufacturer and merchant, the spirit of commercialism threatens, not only the welfare, but the existence of the race. On the other hand, the dread of such results may stimulate hasty judgments, unjust to
the individual so charged and injurious in its effects upon the necessary production and sale of food supplies. The commissioner has made an earnest effort to avoid the dangers which lie upon each side of this problem, and at the same time has enforced the laws upon this subject with a zeal and arnestness, it is safe to say, unequaled anywhere else in the country, and never before equaled in the commonwealth. The results are gratifying, not alone as an exhibition of attention to duty, begun under abuse and continued under most difficult circumstances, but the investigations of the division show that recently there has been a marked improvement in the character of food supplies sold in the state. If this has been accomplished, it is an achievement, the importance of which cannot be overestimated. The receipts for fines and licenses collected by this division during the last four years are as follows:| 1901 | $34,705.19 |
| 1902 | 43,635.41 |
| 1903 | 93,458.71 |
| November 1, 1903, to October 31, 1904 | 115,007.60 |
As at present constituted, the expenses of the division are in the main paid from the sums collected for fines and licenses. This is a system which ought not to exist in connection with the work of any of the departments, no matter how efficiently and honestly they may be conducted. The legislature ought to provide by appropriation whatever may be necessary to meet the needs of the division, and all collections should be paid into the state treasury for the use of the commonwealth.
The details of the work of the departments to which no special reference is here made, will be found in the respective reports, and upon the whole it is being performed in a way to reflect credit upon the commonwealth, and justify satisfaction if not elation on the part of her citizens.
The Valley Forge Commission has, up to the present time purchased in all 391.499 acres of ground, and secured both the outer and inner lines of intrenchments of which the latter have remained pretty much as they were at the time of the encampment of Washington's army. The acquisition of these lands and the establishment there of a park to be forever maintained and cared for by the state, where all the people of the nation may come to gather inspiration from the fortitude of the fathers, were very commendable, and show a proper appreciation of a priceless possession. Much has been there accomplished by the commission at comparatively little expense. Avenues have been laid out and views improved, so that nowhere in the country can be found surroundings more attractive to visitors. The number of persons from at home and abroad who go there is continually and rapidly increasing. There have hitherto been no salaried positions in connection with the commission, but it would be well to consider whether the time has not arrived when provision should be made for the permanent care of the park.
During the last session of the legislature there were a number of bills passed for the erection of monuments in various parts of the state and upon battlefields outside of it, to signalize and preserve the recollection of important events. To commemorate the achievements of those men who in the past have rendered important military and civic service to the state and conferred honor upon her is commendable, since it shows her gratitude, and beneficial, since it presents an example and arouses a spirit which in time of need may save her from danger and disaster. If such appropriations are to be continued, there ought to be a wise selection of subjects so that attention may be drawn to that in her career which is most honorable. Among the men of Pennsylvania most conspicuous for military achievement during the Revolutionary period was Anthony Wayne; during the Rebellion was George G. Meade. To Meade there are monuments in Fairmount Park and at Gettysburg—to Wayne there are none in the state. At this time, when the nation is celebrating with vast outlay the Louisiana Purchase and the settlement of the West, it would be a fitting season for Pennsylvania to erect upon the hills of Valley Forge, where his brigade lay, or at some other proper place, an equestrian statue to Anthony Wayne, perhaps the most imposing and potent figure in the western settlement. The Pennsylvania Society Sons of the Revolution have already raised a sum of $8,380.35 for a like purpose. This fund is under capable and intelligent supervision and it might perhaps be wise to supplement their efforts.
An act of February 27, 1865, provided that any corporation owning or using a railroad might apply to the governor to commission such persons as the corporation should designate to act as policemen for said corporation. These policemen were to possess in the respective counties the powers of policemen of the City of Philadelphia, and jail-keepers were directed to receive all persons arrested by them for the commission of offenses against the commonwealth along the railroads. The companies were to pay the policemen and when the services were no longer required, they were empowered to discharge them by notice filed in the office of the recorder of deeds of the respective counties. The system thus established has grown by subsequent legislation, and now railroads, collieries, furnaces, rolling mills, coal and iron companies, corporations for the propagation of fish, and many other corporations have their force of policemen exercising the authority of the commonwealth. There were issued in
| 1901 | 570 police commissions. |
| 1902 | 4,512 police commissions. |
| 1903 | 186 police commissions. |
| 1904 | 187 police commissions. |
Usually these commissions have been issued at the request of the companies and have been unlimited in duration. A practice has recently been instituted in the Executive Department limiting the appointments to a period of three years, and requiring the applications to set forth under affidavit the circumstances making the appointment necessary, the capability, and reputation for sobriety and peacefulness, of the person named, and that he is a citizen of Pennsylvania. But it needs little thought to see that the system is objectionable upon principle and is likely to be ineffective in practice. The act upon which it is based is inartificially constructed, and, were the question raised, would probably be held to be unconstitutional by the courts. Where police are selected, paid and discharged by the corporations, and bear the name of “coal and iron police,” it is evident that they are in effect the servants of their employers rather than of the commonwealth whose authority they exercise. The arrest and incarceration of a citizen for breach of law is one of the most fundamental and delicate of the functions of sovereignty, and the protection of property and the prevention of breach of the peace and disturbance are among the most important of its duties. The one ought not to be delegated and the other ought not to be evaded. To attempt to do so is to abdicate sovereignty and to accomplish it would seem to be a legal impossibility. The state stands above interests in controversy and its powers ought not to be used by either of them. In case of disturbance, no confidence can be placed in the discreet use of the power of the state by persons dependent upon others for their positions. On the other hand, it is the duty of the state to see to it that the exercise of the franchises granted by her is not impaired or interfered with by violence. It would be well for you to consider whether the time has not arrived for the state to resume these functions and to authorize the appointment by the governor of a constabulary of sufficient force, say ten in each county, to be used wherever needed in the state in the suppression of disorder. They could be utilized in the place of the corporation police, the game wardens, fish wardens, forest wardens, the officers of the different boards and commissions exercising police authority, and would enable the executive, in cases of emergency, to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” as the constitution requires, and they would be likely to inspire a confidence not now felt. The objection to such a course is the expense. To this objection there are several answers. The state ought to provide for its necessary work before being generous, no matter how meritorious the recipients of its bounty may be. It is doubtful whether the expense of a regular constabulary would, upon the whole, be greater than the occasional calling out of the National Guard, which it would at times obviate. Much of what would be the expense is now being incurred in desultory ways, and the expense of the corporation police comes ultimately from the people. Finally, it may be said that this constabulary could be taken from the ranks of the National Guard, thus starting with a disciplined service, and that no doubt the corporations would be satisfied to be assured of protection to their property and to be relieved of the burden of maintaining their present police.
There are many incongruities in our laws with regard to corporations, due largely to the fact that the legislation has been often enacted with reference to particular subjects without sufficiently considering its relation to the general system, and they ought to be corrected. Probably the best method would be to provide for a commission of expert lawyers, to be appointed by the governor, who could go over the whole subject carefully and report a code or what changes may be necessary. All corporations before they can be chartered, are required to give notice by advertisement of their applications, except railroad and street railway companies. It would seem to be specially important that these companies should give such notice. The act of 1889, as amended by the act of 1901, requires that the charters of street railway companies shall name the streets and highways upon which the railways are to be laid. But it further provides that the companies shall have authority to construct such extensions as they may deem necessary to increase their business, and this is accomplished by filing, without public notice, a copy of the minutes in the office of the secretary of the commonwealth. It has become a custom, more or less prevalent, to secure charters upon obscure streets and reach the main avenues by means of this privilege of extension, which is entirely within the control of the companies and is subject to no supervision. If a railroad be incorporated twenty miles in length it must, under the act of April 4, 1868, have a capital stock of $10,000 per mile. If it be incorporated with a length of five miles and then be extended to twenty miles, under the act of May 21, 1881, it is only required to have a capital stock of $5,000 per mile. The principle upon which the grant of franchises to corporations is supported is that there are business operations important to the community which are beyond the financial strength of the individual, and that by the union of the resources of many persons, may be accomplished and thus the public be benefited. As a compensation for the benefits so conferred, liability is transferred from the individual to the artificial person created by the law. We have been gradually losing sight of the public good involved in the arrangement, and reducing the number of corporators until now any three persons may secure incorporation for profit. In other words, a man wishing to start any business venture by giving a share of stock to his clerk and another to his messenger may escape individual liability for the indebtedness incurred. But one step remains and that is the reductio ad absurdum of making a single person a corporation for profit. Most of such corporations now secure under our laws grants in perpetuity. There ought to be a reasonable time limit in every charter, say one hundred years, at the expiration of which the grant terminates so that some control may be maintained and the future not burdened with consequences which cannot be foreseen. The mountains shall sink into the sea, in time the sun shall disappear from the heavens, and no charter should purport to endure forever. The question of requiring railroads, railways and pipe lines to file with their applications maps of the proposed routes may be considered, and the rights of telephone, electric light and natural gas companies in furnishing their facilities, raising difficult problems, ought to be defined.
In my inaugural address of January 20, 1903, and in my message giving the objections to the act authorizing railroads to take dwellings by condemnation proceedings (see Address, page 3, and Vetoes, page 125), I called attention to the principle that only public necessity could justify the taking of private property by eminent domain, and suggested the propriety of the ascertainment by the state of such need before any franchise is granted, including this right. Without going over these propositions again, I renew the suggestion and refer you to what was there presented. If the legislature should deem it wise that the state should exercise such supervision, there ought to be provision made for a competent state engineer. The need for such an expert official would be not only for this purpose, but in the Highway Department and in connection with the building of bridges. From June 1, 1903, to June 1, 1904, there were paid to engineers for the preparation of plans and supervision of construction of bridges $25,277.55, and since that time probably fully as much more. The services of a capable engineer, regularly employed by the year, could be secured for a much less sum. It is true the payments are now made by the counties, but it would be a narrow view which would separate the people and the commonwealth. Whatever may be the conclusion of the legislature upon this subject, there ought to be the utmost care exercised in granting to corporations the right to take private property.
The question whether trust companies, which have of recent years played so important a part in the management and settlement of estates, and with which so much of the current moneys of the community is deposited, should also be permitted to do an insurance, surety and guarantee business upon the same capital, which involves another kind of risk, is one of moment and could properly be considered by such a commission as that proposed.
The large deposits of coal, anthracite and bituminous, which underlie the valleys and mountains of this state, are being shipped in profusion over the world where they become the foundations of industries and bases of wealth, or are wasted in harmful wars in South Africa or Manchuria, with which we have no sympathy. One of these days, the deposits will have been exhausted. It is only fair and exceedingly proper that Pennsylvania should derive some benefit from that which the Lord has given to her. I suggest that you consider the propriety of imposing a slight tax upon each ton of coal mined, so small in amount that it would not prove burdensome to consumers or interfere with trade, the proceeds of the tax to be used only in the construction of roads, or in the maintenance of schools in relief of the school tax now imposed by the counties.
The constitution directs that immediately after each decennial United States census, the general assembly shall apportion the state into senatorial and representative districts. No senatorial apportionment was made after the census of 1880, 1890 or 1900. Not only is the mandate of the constitution disobeyed, but the existing condition of affairs is unjust to Allegheny and other counties which have not the representation to which they are entitled. With the passing of each decade and the shifting of population, the unfitness of the present apportionment is increased. The difficulty has not been with the legislature, which no doubt would have been entirely willing to fulfil its constitutional obligations, but inheres in the constitution itself. Nevertheless, a solution must be found. The constitution provides, Article II, Section 16, that the state shall be divided into fifty senatorial districts of compact and contiguous territory as nearly equal in population as may be. Each district elects one senator. A ratio is determined by dividing the whole population of the state by fifty. Each county containing one or more ratios is entitled to one senator for each ratio. No county shall form a separate district unless it contains four-fifths of a ratio, except where the adjoining counties are each entitled to one or more senators, in which case it may have a senator with a population exceeding one-half of a ratio. No county shall be divided unless entitled to two or more senators. No city or county shall be entitled to representation exceeding one-sixth of the whole number of senators. The trouble with this method is that it cannot be applied. In the first place, fifty cannot be divided by six in such a way as to be applicable to senators. In my view the city which is entitled to eight and one-third senators is entitled to nine, if it has sufficient population, for the reason that a provision which deprives certain people of their representation because of location ought to be construed in such a way as to cause as little deprivation as possible. As they cannot have one-third of a senator without having a whole senator, they ought to have the entirety. This in practice, however, has been limited to eight instead of nine and is not the difficulty which has been regarded as insuperable. This difficulty may be illustrated by a reference to Lebanon County. It is surrounded by counties, each one of which has a ratio or more, and is, therefore, entitled to a senator and to be a separate senatorial district. Lebanon has not half a ratio and is, therefore, entitled to no senator. What is to be done with it? There are two main thoughts in the constitution. One is that the state shall be divided into districts. This is essential and fundamental. The other is that the division shall be made in a certain specified manner. This is secondary and incidental, and if impracticable must yield in the place of least resistance. Maintaining the provision that the districts shall comprise compact and contiguous territory, as nearly equal in population as may be, and preserving as well as can be done, the lines of counties, the direction that “no county shall be divided unless entitled to two or more senators,” must where necessary be overborne, and the districts be created notwithstanding.
It would be an advantage if the houses had counsel charged with the duty of ascertaining the relation of proposed legislation to existing laws, and of seeing that legislation is so expressed as to accomplish the object intended. It is not to be expected that legislators should have technical training in law, and it is fair to them that they should be supplied with such assistance. At the last session, several meritorious acts were necessarily vetoed because of imperfect construction.
It has come to be a custom to provide for executive work by the appointment of commissions by the legislative body to whom it is entrusted. Beginning in a small way, the custom has gradually grown until a large proportion of such measures adopted are managed in this way. The executive is only one of a number of commissioners having responsibility without control, and occasionally it has happened that an official, such as the state treasurer, has been designated in the commission in such manner as to impose the duties upon the individual and not the incumbent of the office. It is a custom more honored in the breach than in the observance. Where governments have fallen, it has generally been because of encroachments by one department upon the province of others. The constitution has given “supreme executive power” to the governor and it is his duty to see that the laws are faithfully executed. It is, of course, a convenience to the governor that he should be relieved of burdens, but it is a relief that ought not to be conceded. He may well appoint commissions when necessary, but it comports neither with his duty nor the dignity of his office that he should be a member of commissions otherwise appointed. A further and very plain objection is that when the governor appoints, in case of incompetency or misbehavior, he may remove, while the legislature, after adjournment, does not meet again for two years and can exercise no control over the appointees.
There are still some of the departments of the government of the commonwealth which are, to a certain extent, supported by the fees collected, and these are received, in whole or in part, by the incumbents. The fee system was convenient at a time when the commonwealth was impoverished and officials had difficulty in finding sufficient employment and needed an incentive. This condition of affairs no longer prevails, and the system which was its outgrowth should be abolished. All officials should be paid proper compensation for their services and all collections made by them should be paid into the treasury for the use of the commonwealth.
Everthing possible ought to be done to encourage the creation of a single municipality which shall include all of the extensive population at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, now under the authority of several different municipal governments. Such a course would result in a saving of expense, an improvement in official tone, with increase of responsibility, and an advancement in prestige and influence. Not only the people of the locality, but those of the whole commonwealth are interested, and they should be aided by all necessary legislation. At the other end of the state, the great industrial interests and the vast population along the Delaware at Philadelphia, Chester and other places are in a sense hide-bound. The way to the sea has been, to a considerable extent, closed to trade, because of distance and imperfect channels. Few natural obstacles are so great that energy will not overcome them. By opening the Erie Canal, De Witt Clinton brought the trade of the lake region to New York harbor and enabled the city there to become the chief port of the country. Philadelphia in the days of our fathers sought to regain her lost supremacy by building a railroad across the mountains, of which she should be the eastern terminus and whose directors should be all “citizens and residents of this commonwealth.” Failure should only be a stimulus to greater exertions. The engineering feats of the people of Manchester, Glasgow and Holland can be repeated in America. All the great power and influence of the commonwealth and her representatives in national affairs, financial and political, should be exerted to secure the deepening of the channel of the Delaware and if need be in addition to dig a ship canal across New Jersey direct to the ocean.
It is high time that attention be given to the preservation of our streams, gifts of God to humanity, which are essential to happiness and comfort and even to life. In western Asia are vast lands where once were teeming civilizations now barren wastes, because the people did not understand how to take care of their water supplies. Our streams are losing both beauty and utility, and are being encroached upon by filling along their banks and using them as dumps for the refuse and pollution which come from mills, factories and habitations. They are also being seized upon by those who hope to make them commercially profitable, and in some instances the waters are being diverted from their channels. There was a time in the history of the world when a man could not be born or married and could not die without sharing his substance with ecclesiastics. If we are not careful, another time will come when we cannot drink or breathe without paying tribute to those who have secured control of the natural supplies of water and air. Probably nine-tenths of the charters for water companies which have come before me in the last two years have been instances in which the parties securing the grants had no intention of supplying water to consumers, but sought to get privileges which would be available in the market. It is a subject of difficulty and ought to be studied.
Section VII, Article 8, of the constitution, adopted November 5, 1901, at an election by the people, provides: “All laws regulating the holding of elections by the citizens or for the registration of electors shall be uniform throughout the state, but laws regulating and requiring the registration of electors may be enacted to apply to cities only: Provided, That such laws be uniform for cities of the same class.” The adoption of this amendment indicates that some changes in the present system of registration were deemed to be necessary. I recommend that proper legislation to comply with this provision of the constitution receive your attention.
At the last session of the general assembly, an act was passed requiring newspapers to exercise reasonable care with respect to what they published, and further requiring them to print upon the editorial page the names of those responsible for the publication. Although, as was natural, it caused some adverse criticism upon the part of many of those affected by it, the requirement of the publication of the names of the editors and business managers was at once obeyed by the press of the state, and the act has resulted in a marked improvement in the amenities of journalism in so far as they concern persons in private life. It is also evident that the act met with the grateful approval of the people. At the recent election, of those members of the senate and house who voted for this bill, seventy-six were re-elected and two were defeated. Of those who voted against the bill, twenty-eight were re-elected and ten were defeated. Of those who voted against the bill 26.3 per cent, and of those who supported it 2.5 per cent were defeated. Further legislation is required for the protection of the commonwealth from the injury to her reputation and the disadvantage to the administration of her affairs which arise from the prevalent dissemination of scandalous inventions concerning her officials and their efforts in her behalf. It is not only an unseemly spectacle, but it is a crime which the state ought to punish when day after day the mayor of one of her cities is depicted in communion with a monster compounded from the illustrations of Cope's Palaeontology, and Doré's Dante. The enforcement of the municipal law is impeded, and, therefore, the state is concerned. We are compelled to recognize that since the cry of the liberty of the press became a Shibboleth, the relation of the newspaper to the government and the people has been very much modified. No ruler now sits by divine right in his palace and writes lettres de cachet to confine his subjects in some bastile at his own will, and on the other hand the newspaper will sometimes become, not the representative of the people seeking information for their good, but a commercial venture, the adjunct of a business house, the main object of whose existence is to aid its patron in selling his wares, as anxious to attract attention to them by startling postures as a circus poster. This means that the attitude of the statesman with respect to them must be changed with the change in conditions. In this commonwealth, in the main, the country press endeavors to ascertain and further the interests of the people surrounding them. In the large cities, what is popularly called “Yellow Journalism,” with its gross headlines, its vulgar and perverted art, its relish for salacious events and horrible crimes, and all the other symptoms of newspaper disease, is gaining a foothold. There is a daily newspaper of wide circulation, published in the City of Philadelphia, ostensibly by a Pennsylvania corporation. This corporation was chartered May 18, 1899, with an authorized capital stock of $25,000, of which the amount actually paid into the treasury of the corporation was $2,500. So far as the records in the office of the secretary of the commonwealth show this amount has never been increased. A twenty-story building on the main street in the heart of the city, largely rented out for offices and other business purposes, bears its name. Since its incorporation, it has paid to the commonwealth in taxes $5.73. Since its control of what had been a useful and venerable newspaper began, every mayor of Philadelphia, every governor, every United States senator, save one who has only been in office four weeks, and every legislature of the commonwealth, has been subjected to a daily flood in its columns not of adverse comment, but of invented untruths. The state expended a considerable sum of money upon the celebration of Pennsylvania Day, August 20, 1904, at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in an effort to impress upon the nation the importance of her participation in the settlement of the West. Her building and much of what she put on exhibition were exceptionally meritorious. But the gentleman put in charge of the agricultural exhibit at the outset bought in St. Louis two lots of seeds, one costing $17.60, and the other about $5.00, and put upon plates, without names, some breakfast foods manufactured in various states, the various products of corn wherever made, and added them to his display. He had been selected, overlooking political affiliations, because of his connection with the Pennsylvania State College, where agriculture is taught and his previous experience in a similar charge at Chicago. His explanation is that seeds are a marketable commodity, which, wherever bought, may have been grown in any other locality, that it was an important education for farmers to see all the ways in which corn could be utilized even if they had to step over state lines, and that no one could tell where the corn was grown from which its products were made. However forceful this reasoning may be, the management differed with him in judgment, his connection with the exhibit terminated May 31, 1904, and these articles were removed. If there had been any mistake, it had long been corrected. These few simple facts, at most of uncertain significance, this newspaper by the addition of falsehoods, innuendoes and extravagancies elaborated into nine columns and illustrated with seventeen pictures. The publication, saved up until August 19th, was adroitly timed so as to have it do what could be done by scattering it over the country to soil the celebration and thwart the object of the state. It talked of “unparalleled fraud” and “graft,” although such a suggestion in connection with the sum of $22.60 was a manifest absurdity. It gave what purported to be an interview with a member of the commission. The written denial by the commissioner of the facts alleged in the interview is on file among the papers of the commission. He was made to say about tobacco that “I understand that not a leaf of this most important part of Pennsylvania's agricultural product is on exhibition.” The tobacco then on display subsequently received in competition with the whole world the very highest prize. It said the sum expended upon the exhibit was $15,000. The sum actually expended was $8,999.26. It told the people over the country that this exhibit was “a fraud, a hypocritical sham, an insult to the farming interests and a disgrace.” As a matter of fact, the exhibit was so creditable that the officials of the exposition awarded to it three grand prizes, the highest possible award, twenty gold medals, twenty-one silver medals and thirty-two medals in bronze.
All of the people, proprietor and peasant, churchman and heathen, are concerned alike that a deliberate policy of false
report to secure ill-gotten gain should not succeed. What is the
remedy? Sooner or later one must be provided. Recently in
one of the states, an offended citizen shot and killed an editor,
was tried for murder and acquitted. Lawlessness is the inevitable
result of a failure of the law to correct existing evils. How can
the right of a newspaper to publish the facts concerning the
government and its officials and to comment on them even
mistakenly be preserved, and the continuance of intentional fabrication
in the guise of news be prevented? The constitution in the
same section provides for freedom of speech, as well as freedom
of the press. Under the English common law, when a woman
habitually made outcries of scandals upon the public highways
to the annoyance of the neighborhood, she was held to be a common
scold and a public nuisance. Anybody may abate a public
mnuisance, and she was punished by being ducked in a neighboring
pond. Notwithstanding our constitutional provision
concerning freedom of speech, in the case of Commonwealth vs.
Mohn, 2 P. F. Smith, page 243, it was held that the law of common
scolds is retained in Pennsylvania, though the punishment
is by fine and imprisonment. To punish an old woman, whose
scandalous outcries are confined to the precincts of one alley, and
to overlook the ululations which are daily dinned into the ears
of an unwilling but helpless public by such journals as have been
described, is unjust to both her and them. I suggest the
application of this legal principle to the habitual publication of
scandalous untruths. Let the persons harmed or annoyed present a
petition to the attorney general setting forth the facts and if,
in his judgment, they show a case of habitual falsehood, defamation
and scandal so as to constitute a public nuisance, let him
file a bill in the court of common pleas having jurisdiction, asking
for an abatement of the nuisance, and let the court have authority,
upon sufficient proof, to make such abatement by suppression
of the journal so offending, in whole or in part, as may be
necessary. Since this adaptation of existing law is only to be
applied to the elimination of habitual falsehood in public expression,
it will probably meet with no objection from reputable
newspapers. Since both the attorney general and the courts would
have to concur, the rights of legitimate journalism are sufficiently
protected and it is only in an extreme case that the law could be
invoked. For that case, it provides a remedy. I submit herewith
(marked A) a draft of an act upon these lines.
The commission to provide for the participation of the state in the Louisiana Purchase Exposition has performed its duties with fidelity, reasonable economy and success. The building erected for the state was commodious, impressive and artistic. It is believed that it was visited by more persons than all of the other state buildings combined. It cost with furniture and decoration of the grounds $96,145.64, which is $24,126.92 less than the cost of the structure devoted to like uses at the Columbian Exposition at Chicago. Among the decorations were forty-four portraits in oil of the leading personages in the history of Pennsylvania, and from among them portraits to the value of $2,500 have been retained for the new capitol. The prizes awarded by the authorities of the exposition were numerous and creditable to the state. The commission will return to the state treasury out of the appropriation of $300,000 made by the last legislature a considerable sum, approximating $30,000.
In 1905, there will be held in Portland, Oregon, the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the exploration of the Oregon country, and in 1907, there will be held in Virginia an Exposition to commemorate the tercentenary of the Settlement of Jamestown, the earliest settlement of English people in North America. I call your attention to these important events for such action as you may deem wise.
Such legislation ought to be adopted as will aid in ensuring the maintenance of the health of the people by providing adequate means for the prevention of the pollution of the streams and water supplies, the prevention of the spread of typhoid fever, diphtheria and similar diseases through the dissemination of their germs, and providing for the registration of births, deaths and cases of contagious and infectious diseases. The present system which imposes upon the boards of school directors in many counties the duties of local boards of health is inadequate and needs revision.
The affairs of Pennsylvania are in such shape as to be a source of legitimate pride in the present and hopefulness for the future, but it is my duty to add a note of warning. The volume of laws passed at the last session of the general assembly evidenced great care and a high degree of intelligence upon the part of the legislators responsible for them. They compare favorably with the legislation enacted by any legislative body in the history of the country, whether in nation or state. It is important that there shall be no retrogression, and no falling away from the standard then maintained. While the financial condition of the state is prosperous and promising, and while the real needs of the government should be provided for without parsimony, there should be scrupulous care that none of its resources are misdirected, or wasted in mere extravagance. Providence has so willed it that in the advocacy of those principles that now dominate the conduct of the national government, Pennsylvania has the leading position. In a certain sense then she may be properly said to represent the national view. In the present legislature, there is, to an extent never known before, a preponderance of those who are in accord with the principles to which expression is to be given in the broad field of national development. Wise men are steadied by the possession of power. With large majorities come great responsibilities. Those who are opposed to the principles you support will have their eyes turned to Pennsylvania, and will be quick to discover your mistakes, if any are made, and eager to take advantage of them.
There is much merit in few laws and in few changes in those which have become known to the people. A wise chancellor of Sweden, Oxenstiern, who was largely responsible for the Swedish settlements along the Delaware, wrote in 1654: “Though time and variety of accidents may occasion some defects in old lawes, yett it is better they should be borne with than an inundation of new lawes to be lett in which causeth incertainty, ignorance, different expositions, and repugnancyes in the lawes, and are the parents of contention.” A recent English writer, Anthony Trollope, has said: “The law is generally very wise and prudent.”
I am satisfied you will bear in mind these truths and so conduct yourselves that the outcome of your deliberations and consultations shall prove Pennsylvania still to be what she was in the time of her philanthropic and far-seeing founder and has been in many fateful crises since, a beacon and an example to her sister states and to all men seeking to advance human welfare over the world.
“A.”
An Act
Declaring the habitual publication and dissemination by newspapers, journals, periodicals, pamphlets or circulars of falsehood, defamation and scandal to he a public nuisance, and providing for the abatement thereof.
Section I. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the habitual publication and dissemination by newspapers, journals, periodicals, pamphlets or circulars of falsehood, defamation and scandal, detrimental to the administration of public affairs, whether state, county or municipal, or injurious to the reputation and character of public officials, or of private persons, be declared to be a public nuisance.
Section II. Any six persons, citizens of this commonwealth, may present a petition to the attorney general of the commonwealth, setting forth the designation and description of the publication constituting such a public nuisance, the fact that it habitually publishes and disseminates falsehood, defamation and scandal, giving the particulars and details in at least three instances of false, defamatory or scandalous statements or representations so published, and further setting forth the special injury, if there be such injury. Thereupon, if in the judgment of the attorney general there shall appear to be a prima facie case established, requiring his intervention, it shall be his duty to file a bill in equity in the name of the commonwealth in the court of common pleas of the county in which such publication has been made, setting forth the facts and praying for the abatement of the nuisance.
Section III. Upon the trial of the cause, if the evidence shall show the habitual publication and dissemination of false, defamatory or scandalous statements or representations, whether in the form of news, comment or illustration, it shall be the duty of the court to make a decree directing the suppression of the publication of the newspaper or newspapers, journal or journals, periodical or periodicals, pamphlet or pamphlets, circular or circulars, in whole or in part, as in its judgment may be necessary for the abatement of the nuisance.
Section IV. The attorney general is hereby authorized upon filing vouchers with the auditor general to receive from the state treasury such sums as may be required for the costs and expenses of all such proceedings prosecuted by him.
Section V. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith be and the same are hereby repealed.
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF GOVERNOR PENNYPACKER
Annals of Phœnixville and Its Vicinity. 8vo., pp. 295. 1872.
Rittenhouse's Orrery. Lossing's American Historical Record. 1873.
A Councillor, Judge and Legislator of the Olden Time. Lippincott's Magazine, April, 1874.
Charlestown Township. Potter's American Monthly, January, 1875.
Abraham and Dirck op den Graeff. Penn Monthly, September, 1875.
Captain Joseph Richardson. Penn Monthly, February, 1876.
The Pennypacker Reunion. 8vo., pp. 51. 1877.
Colonel Samuel John Atlee. Penna. Mag., 1878.
Mennonite Emigration to Pennsylvania. Penna. Mag., 1878.
A General Index to the English Common Law Reports. Supplement. 8vo., pp. 485. Philadelphia, 1879.
The Settlement of Germantown and the Causes Which Led to It. Penna. Mag., 1880.
James Abram Garfield. 8vo., pp. 8. 1881.
A Noteworthy Book. Penna. Mag., 1881.
Zionitischer Weyrauch's Hügel oder Myrrhen Berg. Bulletin of Library Company of Philadelphia. 1882.
David Rittenhouse. Harper's Monthly, May, 1882.
Recueil de diverses Pieces concernant la Pennsylvania. Penna. Mag., 1882.
Reports of Cases Decided in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. 4 vols. 8vo. Philadelphia, 1882-1885.
Historical and Biographical Sketches. 8vo., pp. 416. Philadelphia, 1883.
An Address at the Bicentennial Celebration of the Settlement of Germantown, Pa., and the Beginning of German Emigration to America, October 6, 1883. 8vo., pp. 12. Philadelphia, 1883. (Translated into German and into Dutch by Dr. Scheffer, of Amsterdam.)
An Open Letter from Samuel W. Pennypacker to George William Curtis. 8vo., pp. 8. Philadelphia, 1884.
Address on “The State of Pennsylvania, Where the Constitution was Framed,” in the Proceedings at a Dinner Given by the Citizens of Philadelphia to the Hon. John A. Kasson, October 13, 1887. Svo. Philadelphia, 1887.
Breakfast to the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States in the American Academy of Music, September 15, 1887, by the Bar of Philadelphia. 8vo., pp. 61. Philadelphia, 1888.
Banquet given by the Learned Societies of Philadelphia at the American Academy of Music, September 17, 1887, closing the Ceremonies in Commemoration of the Framing and Signing of the Constitution of the United States. 8vo., pp. 86. Philadelphia, 1888.
The Quarrel between Christopher Sower, the Germantown Printer, and Conrad Beissel, Founder and Vorsteher of the Cloister at Ephrata. 8vo., pp. 21. Philadelphia, 1888.
The University of Pennsylvania in Its Relations to the State of Pennsylvania. 8vo., pp. 15. Philadelphia, 1891.
The First Mayor of Philadelphia. Penna. Mag. Hist., XV, 344-345. 1891.
The Early Literature of the Pennsylvania Germans. Proc. of the Pennsylvania German Society, Vol. II, 1892.
The Keystone and Plymouth Rock, an Address at the Dinner of the New England Society of Pennsylvania, December 22, 1891, 8vo., pp. 10. Philadelphia, 1892.
Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania Emergency Infantry, an Address at the Dedication, September 1, 1892, of the Monument to Commemorate the Services of the Regiment on the Battlefield of Gettysburg. 8vo., pp. 26. Philadelphia, 1892.
Pennsylvania Colonial Cases. The Administration of Law in Pennsylvania prior to A. D. 1700, as shown in the Cases Decided, and in the Court of Proceedings. 8vo., pp. 185. Philadelphia, 1892.
The Pennypacker Pedigree. Philadelphia. (Fifty copies privately printed.)
The Weekly Notes of Cases. 45 vols. 1875-1894. (Reporter for C. P. Nos. 2 and 3.)
A Political Fable. 8vo., pp. 7. Philadelphia, 1890.
Congress Hall, an Address . . . at the Last Session of the Court of Common Pleas No. 2 in Congress Hall, Philadelphia, September 16, 1895. 8vo., pp. 34. Philadelphia, 1895.
Hendrick Pannebecker, Surveyor of Lands for the Penns, 1674-1754, of Flomborn, Germantown and Skippack. 8vo., pp. 164. Philadelphia, 1894.
Joseph Rusling Whitaker, 1824-1895, and His Progenitors. A Memorial. 8vo., pp. 32, 42. Philadelphia, 1896.
The Pennsylvania Dutchman in Philadelphia. 8vo., pp. 13. Philadelphia, 1897.
Address on Memorial Day, May 30, 1898, before Colonel Frederick Taylor Post No. 19, G. A. R. 8vo., pp. 18. Philadelphia, 1898.
The Descent of Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker, late President of the Netherlands Society of Philadelphia, Pa., from the Ancient Counts of Holland, with the Authorities in Proof. 8vo., pp. 25. Philadelphia, 1898.
Report of Cases in the Philadelphia License Court of 1901. In Curia Currrente Calamo Scribentur, 8vo., pp. 30. Philadelphia, 1901.
The Settlement of Germantown, Pennsylvania, and the Beginning of German Emigration to North America. 8vo., pp. 310. Philadelphia, 1899.
The Pennsylvania Dutchman and Wherein He Has Excelled. 8vo., pp. 6. Philadelphia, 1899.
Valley Forge, An Address . . . before the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution, June 18, 1898. 8vo., pp. 9. Philadelphia, 1898.
Pennsylvania and Its University. 8vo., pp. 11. Philadelphia, 1897.
The Origin of the University of Pennsylvania in 1740. 8vo., pp. 23. Philadelphia, 1899.
Address of the Honorable Samuel W. Pennypacker, Pennypacker's Mills, Pa., June 17, 1899. 8vo., pp. 8. 1899.
The South African War in Nuce. 8vo., pp. 6. Philadelphia, 1900.
Netherlands Society of Philadelphia Annual Banquets, 1892-1901. Addresses each year. 8vo. Philadelphia.
Johann Gottfried Seelig and the Hymn Book of the Hermits of the Wissahickon. 8vo., pp. 7. Philadelphia, 1901.
Three Letters upon the War in South Africa. 1. Its Cowardice. 2. Its Brutality. 3. Its Futility. Printed in newspapers over the world and translated into the languages of the continent.
Valley Forge Orderly Book of General George Weedon. 8vo., pp. 323. New York, 1902.
Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. A Historical Parallel. 8vo. Philadelphia, 1902. Several editions.
The Capture of Stony Point. Oration . . . at the Dedication of the New York State Park, July 16, 1902. 8vo., pp. 10. Philadelphia, 1902.
Speeches of the Hon. Matthew Stanley Quay. 8vo., pp. 200. Philadelphia, 1901.
Inaugural Address. 8vo., pp. 8. Harrisburg, 1903.
Laws . . . Passed at the Session of 1903. 8vo., pp. 661. Harrisburg, 1903.
Vetoes. 8vo., pp. 162. Harrisburg, 1903.
George Washington in Pennsylvania. 8vo., pp. 16. Harrisburg, 1904.
Address at Gettysburg upon the introduction of President Roosevelt. 8vo., pp. 6. Harrisburg, 1904.
Address upon Pennsylvania Day, August 20, 1904, at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. 8vo., pp. 14. Harrisburg, 1904.
Message of the Governor to the General Assembly, January 3, 1905. 8vo., pp. 22. Harrisburg, 1905.
Laws. . . . Passed at the Session of 1905. 8vo., pp. 697. Harrisburg, 1905.
Vetoes, pp. 217. Harrisburg, 1905.
Address at the Memorial Proceedings of the Pennsylvania Legislature upon the death of Senator Matthew Stanley Quay. 8vo., pp. 13. Harrisburg, 1905.
Speech . . . at the American Academy of Music, October 18, 1905. 8vo.
Message of the Governor. 8vo., pp. 7. Harrisburg, 1906.
Address . . . at the Congress on Uniform Divorce Laws. 8vo., pp. 6. Harrisburg, 1906.
Laws . . . Passed at the Extraordinary Session of 1906. 8vo., pp. 128. Harrisburg, 1906.
Message of the Governor. 8vo., pp. 18. Harrisburg, 1907.
The Library of the Hon. Samuel W. Pennypacker, Catalogues. 6 vols. 8vo. Philadelphia, 1905-8.
Bebbers Township and the Dutch Patroons of Pennsylvania. 8vo., pp. 18. Philadelphia, 1907.
Address at Antietam in the volume, “Pennsylvania at Antietam,” page 23. Harrisburg, 1906.
Speech in the Thirteenth Republican National Convention Nominating the Hon. Charles W. Fairbanks for the Vice Presidency. See Proceedings, 1904. p. 173.
A Fragment of the Chronicles of Nathan Ben Saddi. 4to., pp. 49. Philadelphia, 1904.
Address at the Dedication of the State Capitol of Pennsylvania, October 4, 1906. See volume on the State Capitol, p. 92.
The High Watermark of the British Invasion of the Northern Colonies during the Revolutionary War. 8vo. Penna. Mag., October, 1907.
Anthony Wayne. An Address at the Dedication of the Equestrian Statue at Valley Forge. 8vo., 48 pp. 1908.
Introduction to Dr. Martin G. Brumbaugh's Works of Christopher Dock. 8vo. Philadelphia, 1908.
Introduction to Dr. Marion D. Learned's Life of Francis Daniel Pastorius. 8vo. Philadelphia, 1908.
The foregoing list of books and printed papers, addresses and other compositions of Governor Pennypacker was prepared by Mr. Albert Cook Myers, while Secretary of the Pennsylvania History Club, and printed in Volume I of the club's publications. Most of the following additions to the list have been taken from the bibliography printed as an appendix to “An Address Upon the Life and Services of Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker, Governor of Pennsylvania, President of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. By Hampton L. Carson. Delivered in the Hall of the Historical Society January 8, 1917.” Pp. 125. With portrait.
Charade, “Dramatic.” Enacted at Phœnixville, Pennsylvania, December 31, 1866.
Brief, in re Right of the Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania Emergency Regiment to a monument at Gettysburg (Board of Commissioners of Gettysburg Monuments), 8vo., pp. 9. Philadelphia, 1890.
Pennypacker's Mills in Story and Song. (Typed.) Folio, pp. 205. Philadelphia, 1902.
The Freedom of the Press: Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker's Message Approving the Bill in Restraint of its Liberty, and Charles Emory Smith's Editorial in Protest. 8vo., pp. 28-1. Philadelphia, 1903.
In re Application of William J. Byers for commutation of the sentence of death. 8vo., pp. 6. 1904.
In re Application for the extension of the Charter Route of Royer's Ford Street Railway. 8vo., pp. 3.
Orations on Lincoln by Hon. Samuel W. Pennypacker and Colonel Alexander K. McClure, delivered at a meeting of the Law Association of Philadelphia, held in the rooms of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, February 12, 1909, in commemoration of the Centennial of the Birth of Abraham Lincoln. 8vo., pp. 28. Philadelphia, 1909.
Address at the Formal Opening of the New Fireproof Building of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, April 6, 1910. 24 pp.
Pennsylvania in American History. 8vo., pp. 494. Philadelphia, 1910.
The Desecration and Profanation of the Pennsylvania Capitol. 8vo., pp. 104. Philadelphia, 1911.
Judicial Experience in Executive Office. An Address before the Maryland State Bar Association, June, 1911. 8vo., pp. 19.
Joseph Richardson's Road: A Bit of Color from the Forgotten Past. Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography for January, 1911, pp. 9.
Pennsylvania. The Keystone. A Short History, 8vo., pp. 316. Philadelphia, 1914.
Introduction to Hon. Hampton L. Carson's “Pedigrees in the Ownership of Law Books,” Philadelphia: The Philobiblon Club, 1916.
War and Christmas. (180 words. A thought for the Christmas season written by request in his last illness, and but a few weeks before his death, which occurred on September 2, 1916.) Collier's Weekly (New York City), issue of December 23, 1916.