Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1899-12-23
THEY Made bad GAS LAWS.
Officers Of Citizens Committee that
Fought the Allen and Gas Bills
Issue an Address to the
Voters Of Illinois.

An address has been issued for wide
circulation in this state. giving views
of the citizens committee which
fought the Allen bill and the gas bills
before the Fortieth General Assembly
at Springfield last year. 1t calls on the
voters to defeat the men who may seek
reelection to the Legislature i'll spite
of their records on bad measures. The
address Is signed by the President and
Secretary of the committee, and is as
follows:
To the voters OF Illinois:
Two VIGOROUSLY bad laws passed by
the Fortieth General Assembly of 1ll-
nois at the regular session stand out in
glazing relief They were not party
measures. The members who flocked
TO their support We're not induced TO do
so by any fealty which they owed. nor
by any pledges which they had given.
None such. ut least. We're known TO
their constituents. No party dared to
assume responsibility for these laws.
No public interest demanded them.
The extraordinary privileges which
they conferred were given by the Leg
islature solely in response TO the de-
mands Of corporate greed and rapacity.
The influences which induced the mem.
bers to forget their duty to their con.
stituents and to the State must have
been most potent and persuasive.
These bills were not passed without
sufficient opportunity to know their
character. The public press had rung
for months with warnings and expos
tulations. Committee after committee
of philosophical citizens. with no mo.
tive save to protect the public from
plumber and the State from disgrace.
by public meetings. by printed PAM
phlets and by arguments to the men,
bers themselves at Springfield and at
home. had exposed the revolutionary
aud destructive character of the street
railway and gas bills. Nay. more than
that. when the street railway bills
first came to the House of Represen-
tatives the enacting clause was strlck.
en- out by an overwhelming majority
and the enemies of the people were
routed and temporarily driven to COW
er. Those who voted for these meas
ures on their final passage sinned
against great light, and they have no
cloak for their sin.
The inlqultous gas bill provided for
the wholesale consolidation of the gas
companies and gas business In any
city in the State. This bill was with.
out shadow of Justification or excuse.
and none was even pretended. 1t was
passed solely ut the dictation of the gas
trust. 1t definitely abrogated all provi.
slons which had been made to secure
competition and protect the rights of
the people.
The most solemn pledges given by
the different gas companies for these
purposes, and without which they
could never have obtained the privil.
eyes accorded them, have been impu.
IDENTIFY broken by them under the shell.
ter of this wicked and corrupt law.
The settled and uniform policy Of ILL.
nois 10 prevent and punish combina-
tons against public interest was thus
reversed and betrayed by recreant
members of the Legislature. Let the
people not forget by their fruits shall
ye know them"
1t may well be that some Of those
whose names follow We're guiltless Of
corrupt motive in the votes they cast,
but they are found in the very worst
company and In extremely suspicious
circumstances. Possibly some of them
were even not aware of the influences
ut work to secure support for these
bills. These guileless innocents, II any
such there be, ought to be kept at
home o. nights by their friends for
their own safety.
The Senator's whose names, pOstof-
fees and districts are given below
voted for the Allen bill upon its final
&c. Those whose terms have ex-
pred are given in the first list Of Sena-
tors. The names OF those whose terms
expire In 1900 are given farther on:
l-P. V. Fitzpatrick, r., Chicago,
Cook.
SC ii. Crawford. r., Chicago, Cook.
I-John Humphrey, r., Orland, Cook.
9-Wm. J. O'Brien, D., Chicago, Cook.
ll-Fred Lundln, r., Chicago Cook.
l5-J. J. Morrison, r.. Chicago, Cook.
l1-Edward j. Dwyer, r., Chicago,
Cook.
2l-C. NJ. Netterstrom, r., Chicago,
Cook.
20-Dan ID. Hunt, r., DeKalb, DeKalb.
SD. T. Litter, r., Springfield, San
CANON.
AIR. l., McKinlay, D., Paris, Edgar.
All. Il. Klngsbury, r., olney, Rich
land.
AID. Il. Sparks, r., Alton, Madison.
al. 4. W!lloughby, r., Bellev!lle, ST.
Clair.
5l-P. 4. Chapman, r., Vienna, John
son.
These Senators all voted for the gas
bill except Messrs. Kingsbury, Will
Oughby and Chapman. Sparks voted
for the frontage and against the con-
so!idatlon features Of that measure.
The following Senators, whose terms
expire IN 1900, voted for the infamous
gas bills:
4-Danlel +, Cur!ey, D., Chicago. Cook.
G-Wm. sullivan, r., Chicago, Cook.
s-F!ayel X. Granger, r., McHenry,
McHenry.
10-Delos w. Baxter, r., Rochelle,
Ogle.
l9-HOmer L, AspInWall. Il. Freenort