, 1876-04-09


The peculiar ingenuity and unblushinp
audacity Of the baIIot-box suffers in the
recent town election, whereby both the
tickets were deliberately thrown out of the
boxes and the old town officers substituted,
must not discourage tho voters of Chicago
from doing their full duty at the city cleo
ton which occurs week from next Tuesday.
The late experience should rather prompt
them to renewed action, With frmer deter
mination than ever to break down the fraudu-
lent combination against the taxpayers and
punish the nngsters~ So solid front should
be opposed to the scoundrels that even their
audacity shall be dismayed- So thorough
and sweeping a reform should be made in
all the local Offices that they Will have no.
where to look for countenance or comfort.
The defeat of the popular Will by fraud must
be followed by the reassertion Of the popular
will in still stronger terms One of two ro-
suits must ensue. Either the ringsters and
ballot-box suffers must give way before
popular indignation, or that indignation will
grow in strength and proportions until it
shall reaort even to violence for its remedy.
We hope for the former, but there is now q
deep-rooted sentiment among the people
which will not avoid the latter if come it
must.
The first stand must be made at the e1ec-
ton Of Aldermen. a full Council is to be
chosen. The Ring is putting forth it's strong
est efforts to secure control of thenew Council,
as they had Of the old. Thereon depends the
very existence Of the Ring. Under the present
charter ths Council hes the power to do and
undo anything and everything in local gov
ernment. It controls, directly or indirectly,
all the expenditures, contracts, and appoint
ments. If in full sympathy with the present
Mayor, who insists upon holding the Office
in defiance Of the popular will, they can
together load down the people with o burden
Of taxation which Chicago can no longer
sustain. They scM do it. It is for this they
are striving. There will never be another
opportunity so favorable for routing them,
horse, foot, and dragons. The fight must
be made on the Aldermen. The general
ticket is comparatively unimpoetant: in any
case, it will follow the Aldermanic vote. But,
in the case Of Aldermen, the voters Of each
district must decide for themselves who are
the best men to represent their interests in
this emergency. We believe, as whole, the
nominations for the Council are
the best; but, wherever citizen is satisfied
that the candidate on the opposite ticket will
serve better the interests Of the taxpayers,
then it is his duty to cast his vote according
to that conviction. The Importance Of local
interests at this time is paramount to that of
partisan interests. II is more necessary that
every Alderman should favor reduction Of
taxes and oppose the Ring of ta1-eaters and
thieves than that lie should be Republican
or Democrat. We believe the better class of |
Democrats also feel in this way. In the First |
Ward they have resolved to support WENT
FORTH and McAu1ET instead OF making
nominations of their own. So the Republican
7oters, wherever the regular candidates are
not men who are certain to act with the tax
payers against the thieves, then they should
'oto for the irregular, the Independent, or
he Democratic candidates, if they are men
sho can be depended upon to do right.
If the people Of Chicago fail to elect Re-
orm Council this year, Co1vE will succeed
II holding the Office Of Mayor another year,
md the villainies, corruptions, and oppres-
ions Of our City Government will continue
nd iucreasa- Co1va can only be Displaced
U tn nav Councils s1satng- ans at THAR