Edwin Sydney Stuart (December 28, 1853 – March 21, 1937) was an American politician who served as the
Mayor of Philadelphia from 1891 to 1895 and as the
24th Governor of
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
from 1907 to 1911.
Early life and Philadelphia politics
Stuart was born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
in 1853. At age 13, he ended his formal schooling and took a job as a bookkeeper for the book wholesaler W.A. Leary. He rose to attain a controlling interest in the company. By 1882, Stuart had become president of the state
Republican Party. In 1886, he won a seat on
Philadelphia City Council.
In 1891, Stuart successfully ran for Mayor of Philadelphia. He quickly gained a reputation as a no-nonsense official who would take a hardline approach against corruption. He uncovered impropriety within the city treasurer's office, resulting in the arrest of Treasurer John Bardsley, and a complete overhaul in budgetary control procedures. He also fired the public safety director for accepting bribes and won a hard-fought battle with the private streetcar lines that forced these entities to help defray the cost of street paving. Upon completion of his mayoral term in 1896, he won an election to return to city council.
Governor of Pennsylvania
Stuart was known as ''The Governor Who Cares'' following his investigation of scandals involving the building of the Pennsylvania capitol.
The investigation resulted in the prosecution and conviction of four individuals. At that time, the Governor became known as a sharp-eyed overseer of the public good, and had a habit of involving himself in the operations of many state agencies. His reforms included concentrating power in the executive office and abolishing a number of redundant state boards and commissions, replacing them with a single official who was held responsible for results.
The ''Philadelphia Bulletin'' supported the Governor's reform efforts stating,
There has probably never been a governor of Pennsylvania who has employed the veto power so extensively in dealing with the bills of a single legislative session as Governor Stuart has in the past thirty days. He has prevented scores of crude, ill-considered ... bills from becoming laws and he has reduced the improvident appropriation to the extent of more than twenty million dollars.
In the midst of all the vetoing it has been difficult for any one to challenge the justice of the governor's judgement. Every veto has rested on a sound reason in the public interest.
Among the bills he vetoed was one for the building of a statewide system of state roads, a cause he supported but chose to sacrifice for fiscal prudence and accountability. Stuart was, however, able to achieve several of his central legislative priorities. He secured labor laws that restricted children under age 14 from working in heavy industry. He also improved oversight of the healthcare field and authorized the construction of the Mont Alto Sanitorium to treat tuberculous patients.
Stuart Hall on the campus of
Penn State University is named in honor of Governor Stuart.
He is buried at
West Laurel Hill Cemetery
West Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1869, is 200 acres in size and contains the burials of many notable people. It is affiliated with Laurel Hill Cemetery in neighboring P ...
,
Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania
Bala Cynwyd ( ) is a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. It is located on the Philadelphia Main Line in Southeastern Pennsylvania, bordering the western edge of Philadelphia at U.S. Route 1 (City Avenue). It was originally two sep ...
.
Edwin Sydney Stuart
The Political Graveyard
The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...
. Accessed August 29, 2007.
Legacy
In 1893 Philadelphia launched a fireboat named after Stuart.[
]
References
External links
Brief biography at PA-Roots
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, Edwin Sydney
1853 births
1937 deaths
Republican Party governors of Pennsylvania
Mayors of Philadelphia
Burials at West Laurel Hill Cemetery