Fixing Up Philadelphia

The Republicans lost the 1960 presidential election by the narrowest of margins. But they fared disastrously in the nation's biggest cities. And they suffered catastrophe in Philadelphia, once a G.O.P. stronghold, which gave John Kennedy 623,000 votes against Richard Nixon's 291,000, enabling Kennedy to carry Pennsylvania despite Nixon's plurality of 216,000 outside Philadelphia.

Since the election, the Republican National Committee has officially pinpointed Philadelphia as one of the sorriest examples of the G.O.P.'s big-city performance. So has former Temple University Chancellor Robert L. Johnson, the G.O.P. National Committeeman for Pennsylvania. Said Johnson recently, citing Philadelphia as his prime example: "At best, big-city Republican leaders are lazy and inept, presiding over fragmented organizations, conducting lackluster campaigns.

At worst--and all too often--they have decided to play ball with the Democrats, hang onto the crumbs from the patronage table, and even take their cut of corruption and bribery.'' Johnson has set out to do something about Philadelphia--but it is a tough, frustrating job.

Studying the Rout. Under a long stretch of rule by G.O.P. machine politicos from 1884 on. Philadelphia became nationally notorious as an example of municipal inertia and political corruption.

Then, in 1951 the voters tossed the G.O.P. rascals out. elected as mayor Democrat Joseph S. Clark (now a U.S. Senator), who was succeeded by Democrat Richardson Dilworth. now a candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania. Out of power, the regular Republican organization sank into decrepitude--and its showing in the 1960 presidential election was dramatic evidence of its abysmal state.

Studying that rout. Reformer Johnson concluded that the old G.O.P. organization had not even put up a fight. He found that in about 500 of the city's ''divisions'' (precincts), the G.O.P. had no workers at all. When Johnson sent out letters to the 2.400 committeemen listed on the organization rolls. 400 letters came back marked "Not known at this address.'' Johnson decided that what the G.O.P.

needed in Philadelphia was a brand-new organization. With the backing of U.S.

Senator Hugh Scott. Johnson founded what he called the Republican Alliance.

To the Alliance nocked hundreds of young Philadelphia Republicans who had been staying on the political sidelines because they wanted no dealings with the old G.O.P. machine. The Alliance now operates out of well-equipped downtown offices on a budget of $25,000 a month. It has recruited 1,500 volunteer workers, mostly youngish, and supplied them with an Alliance manual on how to round up votes for the G.O.P. Johnson hopes to have 15,000 volunteers actively at work in Philadelphia by midsummer to help the Republican cause in this fall's state elections.

The "Service" Approach. The chieftains of the old Republican machine regard the Alliance with a mixture of anxiety and contempt. "They've done nothing but make noise." jeers Wilbur Hamilton, the city Republican chairman. Says William Austin ("Aus") Meehan. who last year inherited his father's role as boss of the old organization: "I don't think you can run a political organization with a Mimeograph machine and advertising." As Meehan and Hamilton see it. the art of politics is based on what they call "service"'--doing favors for people so as to build up a fund of obligation and gratitude that will be useful on election day. Says Hamilton: "We perform every conceivable kind of service.'5 Adds Meehan: "Everything from fixing a traffic ticket to getting a son out of the Army." The G.O.P.'s failure to make a dent in the Democratic control of Philadelphia during the past eleven years might suggest to Meehan and Hamilton that their approach is wrong, that what present-day voters want from a political party is not ticket fixing but good government. But Meehan and Hamilton blame the G.O.P.'s weakness in Philadelphia on the loss of the patronage that escaped from Republican hands when the Democratic Party captured the governorship. The machine leaders' great hope is that Republican Candidate William Scranton will beat Democrat Dilworth in next November's gubernatorial election. Then, they argue, the city organization will have more patronage to disperse, and will be able once more to provide "service." Out of the Crossfire. Johnson and his Alliance are also rooting fervently for a Scranton victory in November--but for quite different reasons. In Scranton. 44.

now a first-term U.S. Representative, the Alliance sees a fresh, star-quality candidate who would make a good Governor and an effective leader of the Republican Party in Pennsylvania.

So bitter is the rivalry between the Alliance and the old G.O.P. organization in Philadelphia that Scranton has decided to stay out of the city until after the May 15 primaries to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. After the primaries (in which the Alliance and the old machine have entered separate slates of candidates for Congress and lesser offices). Scranton will face the challenge of getting the Johnson men and the Meehan men to work together as allies. If he can pass that test of political skill, he will greatly improve his prospects of beating Dilworth in November.

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