Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1899-11-25

Of the citizens committee which
fought the Allen bill and the gas bills
before the Fortieth General Assembly
at Springfield last year. II calls on the
voters TO defeat the men who may seek
reelection to the Legislature in 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 llli-
nois at the regular session stand out In
giarlng relief. They were not party
measures. The members who flocked
TO their support were not induced to do
SO by any fealty which they owed. nor
by any pledges which they had given.
None such. at least. were 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.
isiature solely in response to the de.
mands of corporate greed and rapaclty.
The influences which induced the mem.
bers TO forget their duty to their con.
stituen;s 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.
tulatlons. Committee after committee
of publlc.spirlted citizens, with no mo-
tive save to protect the public from
p.under and the State from disgrace.
by public meetings. by printed pam.
phlets and by arguments to the men,
bers themselves at Springfield and ut
home. had exposed the revolutionary
and 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 cnacting clause was str'ck-
Ell out by an overwhelming majority
and the enemies of the people Were
routed and temporarily driven to GOV.
or. Those who voted for these meas.
ures on their final passage slnned
against great light. and they have no
coax for their sin.
The lnlqu!,ous gas bill provided for
the wholesale consolidation of the gas
companies and gas business In any
city In the State. This bill was with
gu, shadow of justification or excuse.
and none was even pretended. Ii was
passed solely ut the dlctatlon Of the gas
trust. II definitely abrogated all provl-
sions 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.
dent.y broken by them under the shell.
ter of this wicked and corrupt law.
The settled and uniform policy OF Ill.
nols to 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
sc know them"
Ii may well be that some OF those
whose names follow were gulltless Of
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
at work to secure support for these
bills. These guileless innocents, IL any
such there be. ought to he kept mt
home o. nights by their friends for
their own safety.
The Senators whose names. postof'
fees and districts are given below
voted for the Allen bill upot Its final
passage. 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.
John Humphrey, r., Orland, Cook
9-Wm. ]. O'Brien, D., Chicago, Cook.
ll-Fred Lundln, r., Chicago, Cook.
III. j. Morrison, r.. Chicago, Cook.
l7-Edward j. Dwyer, r., Chicago
Cook.
2l-C. NJ, Netterstrom, r., Chicago,
Cook.
- pdu ~ iiuut, w. i'hdip' peNu'o'
39-D. T, LItt!er, r., Springfield, San
CANON.
i3-R. L. McKlnlay, D., Paris, Edgar.
All. II. Klpgsbury, H., Olney, Rich
land.
47-D. II. Sparks, r., Alton, Madison.
al. A. Willoughby, r., Belleyllle, 81.
Clair.
SIP. T. Chapman, r., Vienna, John
son.
These Senator's all voted for the gas
bill except Messrs. Klngsbury, WIZ
oughby and Chapman. Sparks voted
for the frontage and against the con
sOldatlon features Of that measure.
The following Senators, whose terms
expire In 1900, voted for the infamous
gas bills:
+Danlel +, Curley, D., Chicago, Cook
G-Wm. sullivan, r., Chicago, Cook.
s-Flavel X. Granger, H., McHenry
McHenry.
l0-De.os w Baxter, r., Rochelle
Ogle.
lo-Homer +. Asp!nwall, r., Freeport,
Stephenson.
Il-Henrv ~ Evans II Aurora Kane