Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1902-01-25

The increase demanded 10y the patrol.
men would not aggregate over S1WU,Wn
Il year. but the Mayor prctcnds To- re-
gard this demand with holy horror.
! In regard to the Corporation Coun-
sells office. aud the munidccnt hand.
out" which it receives in the shape Of
an appropriation. there is another cN-
traordinary feature.
The entire SI9,gD has been appropri.
ated In bulk. the lump sum being turn
cd over to Corporation Counsel Walker |
to disbursc it us he may see fit.
In former days appropriations for the |
| Corporation Counscls office were based |
upon specified items Of expense
The number of assistants. with the |
remuneration of each, the total clerical
force. with names and individual sal
aries, were all set forth and specified
in detail.
The public was thus enabled to tell
lust how every dollar of the uppropria
ton was expended.
Hut with Iiarrison's pet. Walker. II
j. entirely different.
The total sum of SIo.oW is turned
| 'N'l bbNlllN w 'Ht iII'N ivy VI
poraton Counsel. and no specifications
uf any kind us To the mode of cNpcndi.
turp H. demanded.
What splendid thug II Is To he. Il
pct-a hale fellow well mct-with car
ter Harrison
Scvcuty.nnc thousand dollars ana
no questions asked.
What splendid plum this Corpora.
ton Counsrlshir is. tn he sure. under
the administration of Carter II. llarri.
soil
When Chicago had splendid and sue.
ccssful law departments they could be
run at II cost of less than $4,000.
Men like John =. Miller the brilliant
lawyer. who won the famous LAX"
Front litigation: +. =. Winston. John
\. Green. John Mayo Palmer. Harry
Rubcns. .\iolph Kraus. Jonas Hutch.
inson, Murray +. Tulcy AMI Frank
Adams, all of whom filed the office
which Mr.. Charlie" Walker rattles
around In now. were able to get along
on Il third of the sum which llarrison's
pet gets.
And these men won suits for the city
and saved vast sums of money to the
: public treasury, while nobuly ever
hears of the present law department
meeting with anything but defeat and
disaster.
When u temporary success meets the
efforts of one of Walkers subordinntcs,
such rs that In the gas trust litgn.
ton. pacnns Of victory are sung by the
mannikin Mayor.
but much as Harrison may howl
with delight. and many though th"
bouquets he may throw ~ himself
over II very rare and very temporary
legal victory for the city. the fact re-
mains that these are but the few cXccp.
lions which invariably prov" the rule.
I,ut here Is II subject for consilcra.
ton and thought In this connection
which has not rs yet been touched upon
In this article.
II Corporation Counsel Walkers pre-.
,lcccsSors were able 10 run the city law
department successfully upon S2T.TWl
per annum. what becomes of the differ.
cncc between that sum and SI9.9OO. tho
amount turned over to the present In
cumbcntI
There Is II sum of SOL 200 here that l.
not accounted for. because the expense,
of the Corporation COunscl's office ar,
not itcmized In the appropriation bIll
Can Mayor Harrison explain how II
Il that under his "ccOnOmcnr' and
business" administration this on,
small department ,small In the number
| A ito .,nt,lnvnSl nvnr AZ
nearly three times more than II did un
der previous administrations:
Bridges may be broken down ol
closed for want Of repairs. streets ma!
20 unpavcd or kncc.drcp In mud an,
mlrc III" police may go with INSULT
Client pay, the iremcn may clanOr II
vain for more wages and for reason
able hours, life and property may Z,
unprotected because of thr dcmoraliZc,
. and dishcartcncd condition of the pG
r. liz" and fire forcccs--all of these thing
may he, but the soft snaps and tn
juicy plums for IIarrison's pets mus
-, go on for ever.
,r Seventy-nlnc thousand dollars for tn
Charley BOY" corporation counsel. u,
I'm matter what may happen.
N. And such II law department.
,n The head of II can never br seen,
.o The upholstery of the furniture II
N. his private office Is too comfortable 4
II he neglected for the sake Of granting
10 audiences to mere taxpayers.
The somnolent influences that SUI
round Walkers inner office can hardl
W., be- disturbed by the able young lawyer
=, who constitute his stan,
" Little legal lore and small glory IL
- they receive rs u result of serving u
~ suborlinates to the present corporation
counsel
~, Bright AMI capable attorneys like Nj
NJ Fitzgerald ana Mr., T"cfy resign from
H., the place in disgust.
T.. But the appropriation bill still con
~ tans, ana doubtless will continue 4
contain. It's fat item for this depart
Emo mcni, and the public may whistle 70
~ its answer to the query, What abou
M III. sol ,OOO:"
And Yet the Mayor prTitcS about econ