The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1883-05-10
rAmerican Reformer.1
The Shame of A Great City.

West, last week held municipal elec-
ton. Alarmed by the steady increase
of crime, the bold outlawry Of the liq-
uor traffic, and the octopus-like grasp
of the saloon system upon their well
fare, good men Of that city made en-
deavors to secure better officials and a
more wholesome administration. They
failed pitiably. Carter Harrison, the
choice of every gambler, bar-keeper,
thief and pimp, was reelected Mayor
by over nine thousand majority. Nor
atty, decency and good citizenship
were overawed and borne down. From
a report of the days experiences,
printed in the Chicago Tribune next
morning. we take these humiliating
paragraphs:
"If the very lowest slums Of Hades
had been dredged to the bottom it
would have been impossible to have
gathered a more villainous looking set
of cut-throats and thieves than those
who swarmed around the polls Of the
Second Ward yesterday. The propri-
etors of the lowest dives Of iniquity
on the street were out en- masse, and,
aided by the gambling fraternity OF
the city, thieves, thugs, foot-pads, and
noted confidence men, they succeeded
in carrying the day Ill high-handed
and riotous manner.
Everything was in the hands OF
the Harrison gang, and they hung on
with a grip that meant business.
Noted thieves were permitted inside
the polls at all hours Of the day, and
there was little or no effort made by
the Republicans to prevent ballot box
manipulation.
''In the Second Precinct hundreds
of "dagos" who could not speak a
word Of English, and many Of whom
it was said had not been in this coun-
try two weeks, were brought up to the
polls and forced to vote the Democrat
ic ticket. A prominent Harrison man
who stood by and witnessed this pro-
ceeding said to Tribune reporter that
although he was a Democrat, he could
not stand such Infamous rascality,
even among his own party, and went
home disgusted. There was but one
saloon on the street that closed it's
doors or made any pretense OF abiding
by the order prohibiting the sale of
liquor on election day. As a result,
drunkenness and brutal fights were
the order Of the day. Sore heads,
black eyes and bruised and bloody
faces could be seen all around"
1T is to such disgraceful, degrading
conditions that a great city can come
when under saloon rule. With a
Mayor the plant tool Of liquor sell
ers, and with its entire government
in the hands Of men owning the same
master, Chicago has gone deeper and
deeper into wickedness and filth, un-
til all it's better class of citizens look
aghast and wonder what will be the
end. Trade is actually suffering from
the lawlessness prevalent; the city's
good name is rendered by-word, ane
its police power reproach. ''Coun.
try merchants are positively afraid tx
come here to buy goods" said prom
inent railroad official to us in Chica,
go, on the day after election; "ane
amusement trains, formerly well pat
ronized, run almost empty. Every
night we have several robberies and !.
murder. You'll find one reported il
this mornings papers" And we did
To be precise, Chicago has had sixty.
nine undoubted murders since the be
ginning of the year 1881, and Of al
this number only one assassin ha!
been hanged. Moreover, her Mayo
has pardoned some 5000 criminals, i
is said, every 'one Of whom voted fo,
him and swelled his majority.
Let it not be supposed that Chicago
saw clearly defined issue between
the saloon system and Prohibition
Such was not the case; no actual is
sue was made as between saloons ant
no-saloons. High license being ia
vored by the Citizens Union, the sa
loon men opposed that; but no direc
and vital issue came up, which :coult
and did divide men on a real prin
cipIe. When there is such On issue
apart from any fctions of party faitl
and necessity, there will come les
miserable results. Meanwhile tn
problem of the self-government O
cities does not find solution. Thou
sands of good men do business in Chi
cago and New York, and live and vot
outside. They have large propert.
interests where their business is, bu
the host of bar-men and spoils-me1
and drinkers, with no vestige whatev
er of freehold, maintain systems AM
administrations ruinous, and misrul
to political abomination. Where
the remedy?