We revere the memory of Pennsylvania’s Quaker founder, William Penn, primarily for his devotion to religious tolerance and independent governance.

But there’s the other, aristocratic facet of Penn, who firmly believed the colony was a business — his business — to be run profitably and inherited by his sons.

Three and a half centuries later, it’s not hard to find vestiges of Penn’s penchant for mixing keystone business and governance. Incoming state Treasurer Joe Torsella found one big example right away.

Torsella, a Montgomery County Democrat who took office in January, announced this week that about $1 billion in state funds that have been managed by outside firms will instead be overseen internally in a change designed to save millions in annual fees.

The diverted $1 billion represents only about 1 percent of all the state money overseen by the treasurer, yet that alone will save about $5 million in fees annually while reducing investment risk, Torsella says.

Torsella is taking Pennsylvania’s finances in the right direction. “We shouldn’t be treating investing public funds like a casino game, trying to ‘beat’ the market, and paying casino prices to do it,” he said.

Casino game is an apt description. It was reported recently that one of the outside investors, Swarthmore Group of Philadelphia, was paid $1.26 million by the state last year for investing around $160 million in public money in stocks even though it posted returns 5 percent below its benchmark target, the S&P 500.

It should be mentioned that Butler County relies occasionally on similar investment methods, as it did with the financing of a $14 million municipal bond for the county’s new 911 emergency response network. The commissioners approved a 13-year balloon repayment schedule, with the bulk of the money due the final three years, they said to take advantage of the cancellation of other county debts 11 years from now. The bond was arranged by a financial consultant, PFM Financial Advisors, of Harrisburg. County Controller Ben Holland opposed the plan, calling it risky to stack so much principle at the end of the term, not knowing what the future will bring.

Has Torsella seen the future, at least at the state level? He makes the point that three of the past five state treasurers succeeding him have faced criminal indictment for corruption; one of them, R. Budd Dwyer was convicted, and another, Rob McCord pleaded guilty. The third, Barbara Hafer, faces trial in June.

There is no valid reason to persist in the temptation and appearance of corruption implied by the mix of business and government. Even in its purest state, as envisioned by William Penn, it reflects adherence to an aristocracy that this nation fought a revolution to eradicate. It never should have been our status quo. It certainly should not be Pennsylvania’s status quo moving forward.