Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1899-05-20
LARGEST
WEEKLY CIRCULATION
IN CHICAGO.
THE INSIDE STORY OF THE LATE
GAS LEGISLATION At SPRiN0.
FIELD,

The inside story of the life. adven.
lures and death of the gas frontage
and consolidation repeal bills has come
ont. At last the cat Is out of the bag!
The animal Is highly interesting
specimen Of the feline race.
The story Is an interesting one and
the Eagle IL In a position to give the
leading points Of IL TO the public.
When the taxpayers of Chicago have
transaction they will not entertain as
high an opinion of the Forty.first Gen
cral Assembly rs they have been led
to form through the kind offices OF cer-
tain Chicago dailies which are dom.
mated by the Gas Trust. When the
doing of the Senatorial syndicate"
In regard TO gas and other legislation
In the last Legislature have been OK.
posed, the Fortieth General Assembly
will bear fairly decent reputation
when compared with the FOrty-tirst.
In the first place 1t may DE stated that
Speaker Sherman. the man who looks
like Lincoln, and who Is now u candi-
date for the Governorship of the State
Of Illinois, Is charged with being main
ly responsible for the death of the gas
frontage and gas consolidation bills,
and II he should, through the influence
OF the Senatorial syndicate, be NOM
mated by the Republican party for that
office, he and they will have a great
deal of explaining TO do.
Very carefully have the details of the
murder OF these popular measures been
concealed by the authors of the deed.
But murder will out" and II was
Inevitable that this, too, would come
to the surface.
Ever since the untimely adjourn
ment of the Legislature one month
ago. the air has been filed with the
mutterlngs, complaints and denuncia-
tons Of the members of both houses
who were not 'let in on anything,
and who couldn't even get within hail
Ing distance Of the syndicate. several
Of these individuals, however, We're in
a position 10 get on" 10 the arrange
mcnts OF the Senate Syndicate" anu
Of the Pccksnitiian Speaker of the
House, who played the House Juliet
10 the Senate Romeo, These out
sdcrs," many OF them halling from
Cook County, have, 10 Use the hOmely
phrase Of one OF them, been eating
them dry all winter In Springfield,
and after all was over been compelled
to walk home" poorer but wiser men,
These men are shouting their dcnunCia-
tons on the street corners.
They say that speaker sherman
played ball' In great shape, but only
with very small and favored few.
II was a perfect battery" they say
Sherman being pitcher" the Senate
syndicate was catcher throughout
most Of the game, but sherman was al
the bat when the gas bills were up fol
action.
Representative Bob" Brown, a lead
Ing member OF the dlscOnsolatc and
refractory Republican majority, who
were kept on 1.-THE outside" by Sher
man and the syndicate, was the man
who introduced the gas frontage bill
IL the House. 1t wound tortuous and
weary passage from first to second
reading, having had hard time mean
while in getting through the commit
tee stage. The original plan was that
this bill should be passed through the
House, sent over TO the Senate and
there smothered by the Senate syndi'
cate. That was the policy and general
plan OF action mapped out In regard IL