Edwin Sydney Stuart

{{Short description|American politician}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2011}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Edwin Sydney Stuart | image = Edwin S Stuart 1909.jpg | caption = Edwin S. Stuart circa 1909 | order = 24th | office = Governor of Pennsylvania | term_start = January 15, 1907 | term_end = January 17, 1911 | lieutenant = [[Robert S. Murphy|Robert Murphy]] | predecessor = [[Samuel W. Pennypacker|Samuel Pennypacker]] | successor = [[John K. Tener|John Tener]] | order2 = 76th | office2 = Mayor of Philadelphia | term_start2 = January 5, 1891 | term_end2 = January 7, 1895 | predecessor2 = [[Edwin Henry Fitler|Edwin Fitler]] | successor2 = [[Charles Franklin Warwick|Charles Warwick]] | birth_date = {{birth date|1853|12|28|mf=y}} | birth_place = [[Philadelphia]], Pennsylvania | death_date = {{death date and age |1937|03|21|1853|12|28}} | death_place = | spouse = | profession = | party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] | signature = Signature of Edwin S. Stuart (14778875174).jpg }} '''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]] from 1907 to 1911.<ref>"[https://www.newspapers.com/image/325157119/?terms=%22David%20Rittenhouse%20Porter%22&match=1 The Governors of Pennsylvania]." Mount Union, Pennsylvania: ''The Mount Union Times'', January 27, 1911, p. 1 (subscription required).</ref>

==Early life and Philadelphia politics==

Stuart was born in [[Philadelphia]] 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 (United States)|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 City Treasurer [[John Bardsley (Pennsylvania politician)|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.<ref name="Cares">{{cite journal|last=Woodruff|first=Clinton Rogers|date=October 1909|title=World today|journal=The World Today|pages=1103–1105|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JZnNAAAAMAAJ&q=a+governor+who+cares&pg=RA1-PA1104|access-date=June 9, 2009}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Cares" /> The ''Philadelphia Bulletin'' supported the Governor's reform efforts stating, <blockquote>

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.<ref name="Cares" /> </blockquote>

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]], [[Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania]].<ref>[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/stuart.html#RHX0R1INV Edwin Sydney Stuart], [[The Political Graveyard]]. Accessed August 29, 2007.</ref>

==Legacy==

In 1893 Philadelphia launched a [[Edwin Sydney Stuart (fireboat)|fireboat named after Stuart]].<ref name=firemanshall2015-03-03/>

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=firemanshall2015-03-03> {{cite news | url = https://firemanshall.wordpress.com/2015/03/03/patrolling-the-delaware-philadelphias-fireboats/ | title = Patrolling the Delaware: Philadelphia's Fireboats | work = [[Firemans Hall]] | date = 2015-03-03 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160822112859/https://firemanshall.wordpress.com/2015/03/03/patrolling-the-delaware-philadelphias-fireboats/ | archive-date = 2016-08-22 | access-date = 2018-09-05 | url-status = live | quote = The Independence is the PFD’s newest fireboat and was put into service in 2007 but this new boat’s design does not waver much from the original fireboat, the Edwin S. Stuart, which was put into service in 1893. }} </ref> }}

==External links== {{commons category}} *[http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?655,468838,468838 Brief biography at PA-Roots] *{{Find a Grave|12905}}

{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{succession box | before=[[Edwin Henry Fitler|Edwin Fitler]] |title=[[Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] | years=1891–1895 | after=[[Charles Franklin Warwick|Charles Warwick]]}} {{succession box | before=[[Samuel W. Pennypacker|Samuel Pennypacker]] |title=[[List of governors of Pennsylvania|Governor of Pennsylvania]] | years=1907–1911 | after=[[John K. Tener|John Tener]]}} {{s-ppo}} {{succession box | title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[List of governors of Pennsylvania|Governor of Pennsylvania]] | before=[[Samuel W. Pennypacker|Samuel Pennypacker]] | after=[[John K. Tener|John Tener]] | years=[[1906 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election|1906]]}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, Edwin Sydney}} [[Category:1853 births]] [[Category:1937 deaths]] [[Category:Republican Party governors of Pennsylvania]] [[Category:Mayors of Philadelphia]] [[Category:Burials at West Laurel Hill Cemetery]]