Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1899-10-28

cratic following In the House were the
acknowledged representatives Of the
Harrison administration In the Leglsla.
ture. The Introduction Of the bill
showed that Mayor Harrison was n
practical worker In the field Of munich
pal ownership. 1t was eminently calcu.
lated not only to take the wind out Of
the sails Of the Republican stalking
horse--Altgeld-but 1t was measure
SO popular with the general public that
the Republican Legislature ut Spring.
field dare not go on record as being Op-
posed to 1t.
A representative Of the Gas Trust, a
man delegated by the corporation lob
bylst, who worked the wires mt the
Chicago end, promptly made his ap-
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 It do to try to shelve 1t or choke
1t 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 We're
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
$1,000 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 II continues to be SO In the minds
of most of the outsiders up to date.
After much cogitation ana many con-
ferences and consultations, 1t was de-
clded that the eXlgencies of the Chi
cago election demanded the passage OF
the bill through the House. The plan
after that was to kill the bin In the
Senate as soon as 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 it was passed by
the lower chamber. But when It got
over to the Senate 1t was relegated to
the Committee on Municipal Corpora
lions. In that body It was quietly and
effectually smothered.
1t was sent back with the recOmmen.
dalton that 1t lie on the table, and It
was laid on the table, and II Hes there
yet.
This bill would have been, II 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 a
fund whereby the streets could have
been cleaned, the pavements kept In
good order, and the sidewalks put In
decent condition.
The trouble was, however, that 1t
would have diverted hundreds of thou
sands OF dollars annually from the cot.
fers Of the greedy Chicago Gas Trust.
For that reason 1t was doomed to
death. For that reason 1t was done to
death by the Infamous Senatorial syn.
dictate, which got fabulous sum of
money for protecting the trusts and
monop0lies OF Illinois, and the outer