, 1876-01-23
TIE pERuous coNpITIoN or THE CITY.

! TIE PERIL0US C0ND1Tf0M OF THE CITY.
The City of Chicago is no exception to the
| general rule of Late years that Governments
In large cities are standing menace to the
peace and protection of the property rights
Of the people subjected to their authority.
| But Chicago is just now placed in q condition
Of additional peril not included in those
| ordinarily experienced. Fortunately it is not
| one on which political parties are divided; it
| ia one affecting the whole community.
III 1874 there Was an effort made BY some
citizens to induce the Common Council to
submit to vote of the people the question
Of adopting the general act Of incorporation
known as the charter OF 1872, and the Com
mon Council declined acting on the petition.
The Legislature meeting in January, 1875, q
new and more acceptable general charter WIGS
enacted, which the Legislature required to be
submitted to vots Of the people on day
named The request for the submission Of
the charter Of 1879 was then abandoned.
Suddenly some person '*learned in the law
suggested to the Mayor and Council thst, il
the charter Of 1872 was ratified, it wo.1h e.
tend the terms Of all theAldermen. and y ~
officers elected in 1873 until 1876, aad thf,t n
the Mayor until 1877. Acting Oh tUs xno.
gestion, the charter Of 1872 vas submitted
and, after the notorious ba1lot-bo1 st,,f;no
forged returns, and scandalous foyn Of e1ec,
ton, that charter was declared adopted and is
now the law.
The readiness and zeal displayed BY the
Mayor and Council to rEtify taat charter
which they had previously Opposed ware mot
understood for considerable time. and when
the great body of the peop2eJof the city had;
become reconci1ed to the @.z4enlulent1y adopted:
charter, because it provided for the election
Of an entirely new City Government in Anrj,
1876, it was disclosed thet the motive for 4h+,
governmental support Of the chgster WIS TINT,
under it the Common Coupci1 and various
other officers would hare tk.eir terms e4t.nd.
ed SIX months, and that tie Mayor, elected in
1873 for two years, would be continued in
office until April, III. The legality Of this
claim to hold oo.ce has been brought before
Inc ouprem', Court Of the State, has been
argued, ar4 ia now under consideration by
the Cor ~
4S u6H 4lGI ACPE1ao AAO N4A U41Q+ IL
, ..,olished the existing Office of Mayor, and
provided for the election of Mayor under
changed conditions, at different time Of the
year, and invested him with new powers. It
abolished the existing Common Council, re-
quired new division OF the city, aud
changed apporhonmont of representation.
It provided specific days on which the cleo
ton Of these new officers should take place
and directed the special election Of Mayor
to FILL any vacancy. The only Mayor legally
holding Office in Chicago must be one holding
his Office under the only law which creates
that Office. The new charter provided that,
in case of its adoption, the "city officers then
in Office shall exercise the powers conferred
upon Like officers in this oct, until their suo-
cessors shall be elected aud qualified" it be-
ing the intention to cover the interreenum
between the abolition Of the one set Of Offices
and the filing of the newly created Offices By
election by the people. For such election,
either for full term or part Of
term, the charter contains ample
provisions. It is assumed, however, that
these words continued the Mayor, whose Of
fee had been abolished, through tho first
term Of Mayor under the new charter. Our
Constitution provides for two modes Of fill
ing oh6ces,-frst, by appointment, and Sec
ond, BY election It specially prohibits the
appointment or election of officers by legisla-
ticn- The Legislature lawfully abolished one
office and crested another, and provided that
the man At the tins holding tho abolished
office should s1srsiss the powszs Of the nsw-
lr~c1satsd efacs until The psopls slscied tha