, 1865-02-22
THE CHICAGO HORSE RAIL-
ROAD BILL.
4 scorchlng Revie,r or the sy,rnd,e,

from the 1roquois Republican,
| The State Legislature, by ycry large vote,
Esnnted charter TO company to run horse
railroade IN the streets Of Chicago. The mea-
citizens Of that city. giving expression Id
their sentiments through mass meetings. bv
petitions, and through the press. The Ell.
dtnce Of its great unpopulality, coupled with
It's doubtful constitutionality, induced Cor
e1nor Oe!csby to return the bill to the House
full for Withholding his signature. The bill
was Immediately passed over the Governor's
| Tsto. =
| The hore railroads of Chicago have NO mar.
] ticnlar right TO interest persons uotliylne In
| That city, and not owning stock in them,
the gas works Of the city do, and no more
The measure is purely local in It's nature,
One might suppose that the votes Of nembera
outside OF Cook county would be governed
entirely BY the expressed wishes Of the dis
tslct directly and only concerned. Could q
Nov, ,-how did tbs people Of Chicago cx-
press themselves All NE know about 1t is
What We read In the papers. The '5ournal-
which, BY the way, is Of the teter.totter-mllk-
and-Tater persuasion, seldom taking a posi-
tion On anJtling till the Ice Is bsoken-has
port to the measure; The, 1uues favored tie
project while the TRIBUNE hurled strong
arguments against It with the strength Of q
etant. The other city papers rarely venture
th&s lar from home, and VIC do not know how
they stand. So much for the press. Numer-
ons ano largely attended public meetings Of
citizens have been held, addressed by the
ab!est speakers the city affords, adopting re-
solutions conched In the strongest terms bro.
testing against the passage of the bill and
finally, Just two'1hiras Of the Senators and
ihsepIGesentatives 4 res M f'om Cook county, opposed
II. on ne other hand. We do not learn of
any tpubltc demonstrations in favor Of the
measure, And yet It goes kiting over the
Gov.rnor's veto By rolllcl1ng majority.
Among the prominently obnoxious features
ofthc bill, are:
list. It grants valuable franchises to the in
corpoiators Tor ntnau-ntne years from the
passage Of the act. It must strike every "a
tional mind that q body Of men Of to-day
must be possessed OF u wonderful prescicncc
to be able to correctly determine in what
manner unborn generations want their local
aflaifs conducted.
Cd. It is claimed that the city, except for
this act, would be entitled to possess Itself
Of the roads at the expiration Of the term Of
the original charter, nineteen years hence |
that they would pay profit sufficiently large
70 pay ell expenses Of cleaning tue streets Of
the city; indeed, the claim Is, that the roads |
anu That this great profit should accrue to !
the city, instead Of going into the pockets Of |
individuals. Which appears to be a reasona-
bic demand.
sd. The Legislature refused to submit the
question to q vote OF the electors Of Chicago, |
and thus let them regulate their own .affairs /
in their own way.
Other obnoxious features arc given, but. On /
the above the greatest stress Is placed.
These horse railroads are local in their
character, but The granting Of The charter Il not
!ooaa. The people Of Illinois are interested in
$hA hot nd 4LnS-
agents to intlict legislation upon their chief
city that was resisted with all the might Of I
It's business and moneyed men. They were
not the Paddles, the rough -scu6, the thieves,
gamblers and non-tax-payers who remon-
stra1ed against this legislation, but they were
tul city, the men who build its beautiful
churches, Its gorgeous marble palaces, Its
great business blocks, who give their thou
sands to Sanitary Commissions, and who
make the civilized world say there ia but one
Chicago. Their voice should be listened to,
it seems to us.
Tho pressure Of The press and Of public opia-
ion xaold Be brought to bear .ctA al Of its terri
be and dominant J0rte to xecurc righteous leg;sla-
sion. To be hrihcd should be to be politically
damned. The Internal wretch that would
pollute his fingers with dollar as consldc-
ration for his Tote, should be cxecratcd by all
honorable men to his dying hour.
Let 10 ono understand that we charge cor
ruptfon in the premises. Others dove do
not. We should want the most incontestible
evidence before breathing such q fearful
charge, and that ne have not got. But We
do want to record our vote against the incor-
porntors, and in this way sustain our consci- |
cntious and patriotic Governor.
We doubt not suspicious will rest on many
high minded and honorable members, In
Of the wholesale charges made
By the Chic:goans in their rage. 4 word
eknu1tl rnrcr hn uffereH 1u.1in st f6fs mpFritar |