Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1899-11-04

cratic following In the House were the
acknowledged representatives of the
Harrison administration In the Leglsla.
turc. The Introduction of the bill
showed that Mayor Harrison was
practical worker in the field of munici.
pal ownership. 1t was emlnently calcu.
lated not only TO take the wind out Of
the sails of the Republican stalking
Observation-Disclosures 1t was measure
SO popular with the general public that
the Republican Legislature mt Spring.
field dare not 60 on record as being Op-
posed to 1t.
A representative of the Gas Trust, a
man delegated by the corporation lob
byist, who worked the wires ut the
Chicago end, promptly made his mp.
pearance ut the State Capitol.
He became exceedingly busy. consult.
Ing hourly with thu members of the
Senate syndicate.
1t was agreed on all sides that It
would never do for the Speaker to kill
this measure with the gavel. Neither
would II do to try to shelve 1t or choke
It of In committee, for McGoOrty was
not the man to stand that sort Of non.
sense.
1t was this measure and these consld-
eratlOns that first created the necessity
for the hiring Of the outer circle In the
Senate. The "cheap skate" Senators,
us the members Of the outer circle were
called, devOutly thanked their stars for
the introduction of the McGoorty bill,
as they regarded 1t as the first meas
ure that dlsarranged the plans of the
der outside assistance necessary. The
$4,000 apiece for the cheap skates
might never have been forthcoming
were 1t not for this formidable meas.
ure; at least that was the belief then,
and 1t continues to be SO in the minds
Of most Of the outsiders up to date.
After much cOgitatiOn and many con-
ferences and consultations, 1t was de-
clded that the exigencies of the Chi.
cago election demanded the passage Of
the bill through the House. The plan
after that was to kill the bill In the
Senate as soon rs the election was over.
This program was adhered to almost
to the letter.
McGOOrty forced the bill through the
House. The Republican clique In that
chamber did not offer much opposition.
They dared not, so II was passed by
the lower chamber. But when 1t got
over to the Senate 1t was relegated TO
the Committee on Municipal Corpora
tloDs. In that body It was quietly and
effectually smothered.
1t was sent back with the recommen.
| dation that 1t lie on the table, and II
was laid on the table, and il lies there
yet.
This bill would have been, If passed,
one of the most useful measures for the
citizens of Chicago that was ever intro
duced in an Illinois Legislature. 1t
would have saved the taxpayers of Chi
| cagO thousands upon thousands Of dol
lars 1t would have served to provide n
| fund whereby the streets could have
| been cleaned, the pavements kept in
good order, and the sidewalks put in
decent condition.
| Inc trouble was, however, that IL
! would have diverted hundreds of thou
sands cf dollars annually from the cof-
fers Of the greedy Chicago Gas Trust.
For that reason 1t was doomed to
death. For that reason it was done to
death by the Infamous Senatorial syn
dictate, which got a fabulous sum of
money for protecting the trusts and
monopolies of Illinois, and the outer
circle of Senators who got $4,000 each
for betraylng the rights of the people
and crawling on their bellies before the
corporations Of this State.
Recently The Eagle detailed how
and when these latter got their wages
OF infamy. Later 1t will tell WHERE
; the money was paid, and at the proper