, 1875-10-09

Tic political situation in t1is city is Il seri~
olls our IT. c',ntniliR all oa,intaM thrrnt uf
ring.rtslr. Whether Tho chRrtcr sl0n1s or
falls. whether 'ncu representing tl1o 'rwe",l'c.
1rnur Twcctl|e,'ee Enrty grab tie SPARE offices,
Tho TWEEN parly IL pretty aure to occupy
good part Of them, md control civic affnirs
tu iss own dishonest profit. Tho different
steps f,y which thu 1wEEp dynasty rose to
supreme power in Now York are bcin:, faith
fully initiated by similar dynasty here Dif-
ferent me1, hive bcen pit in positions closely
resembling thosa held Ly 1'wEEn, SwExsY,
f7 at., fl tho metropolis Sonic Of thesa
men arc honest, but They may bu
forced out Of Office ut any moment
and replaced hy tools of tho ring.
I'hus tho ground il being prernre.l
for the harvest Of p]nu'lered pelf. Thu clubs
recently formed heru' aru noreiy itnitations
If tho Anoricus and the other ring clubs
founded mud fosterc,i by the grrat thieves
IT tho East. II, them, schemes of political
knavcry nre formed. The convict fresh from
his Toilet cell ,nceta in them his colleagues
in tho profitable task Of governing II great
city. Aldermen meet their paymastcrs t1ere.
Votes ars always OH sale there. 1t il in
them TINT plans for making the balfot-box lie
are discussed aud tho precise magnitude Of
tue tic determined. Percentages arc adjust
cd, tie lettiug Of contracts on fraudulent
bids is liked, nnl tho exact amount Of
"squoezing" which n weattty corpora
ton, gas company or horse
railway company, call or will stand,
il decided These clubs are supported by
contributions FROM pockets stuffed with
hribcs aud steaipgs, and are kept alive for
tho sake Of making bribery and theft easy.
Their meetings aro attended by gang. tho
appearance Of Which III any respectable
noighborhood would !ceud to M instantaneous
call for the police. Int this gang lsas moru
to say about The composition md manage
,nent Of olr police forro than all the respect
able citizcus Of Chicago rnt toyet1lcr,-
partly, Of course, because tho respectallcs
cannot bo put together. I''cy stay apart,
and tho rpgues, who know t}lat strength lies
in union nnd tho Union Club, combine. The
men who form onr An,ericas Clubs arc cos-
mopol tan in nationality. hut singular1y nike
in c1nractor. One link will hind them
evcr,-ana th, link Is stea' These
nlcn tls, not 1naIso 1niBtakes. Tho guile
less Citizens Association nearly committed
hari.kari by foisting tie chartcr Of 1879 upon
III, and tho melancholy JeFarsoniau, lnvo
been sitting on their platform and their dig
nifty, and waiting in vain for somebody to
nominate them for Office. Failing in this,
they arc thinking of callinga Convention Of
their own in order TO nominate themselves
This respectable aud this semi.respectablo
Club have both blundorel frighttuliy, but tho
rogues have 1nade no biunders. No opportu-
nifty for theft escnpes them. Vnltures aro
prnverbia!ly kcou-scented.
We arc not crying "Wo1f" before tho
wolves arc lere. They arc already huKily
engaged in davouring tho substance of hon.
est tax-payora II will 10 easier to throttle
them now than year, two years, ton years
hence. Must wo suffer Us New York dill be
fore VIC clap our rulers into Jail aud odminis-
ter our OWL adaira, as shn has dono2