Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1902-11-15
Annual Meeting Of County Central Commit.
tee, Now Near at Hand, Promises Sen.
sational Developments.
Victory for Robert E. Burke in the Secre-
taryship Contest Seems to Be
Assured.
Will Be Combat Between Loyal Democrats
and the "Unted Order Of
lngrates."

Echoes of last weeks battle of the
polls In Cook County, some of them
more or less interesting. are still float.
ing about in the political atmosphere.
Contests In some instances are said
to be likely to arise as a result of the
formal or official count, and this would
lead to recount of the ballots, which
would prove q tedious and long drawn
out operation indeed.
OF course most interest centers
around the newly-elected Sheriff-Mr.
Thomas +. Barrett, his sayings and do.
ings.
The first thing that came to the sur.
face In regard to the Sheriff.elect was
the fact that he has over 400 jobs at his
disposal, and this report was sufficient
to drive the newly-elected official out of
town and into temporary retirement In
hot haste.
So Sheriff.elect Barrett has had to do
his talking at long range right from the
jump.
He has In a sort of general way de-
fined his position In local Democratic
politics. In which he will Of course from
now on hold commanding position.
That Mr.. Barrett will be one of the
leaders who must In future be reckOned
with. goes without saying. and great
deal depends, 1t Is claimed, as to the
political future Of several other people
upon the attitude he takes up.
Until, however, he comes upon the
ground and has chance to size up the
situation from close quarters, nothing
absolutely definite can be expected
from the Sheriff-elect.
One thing which seems to be pretty
clearly indicated by his utterances thus
far is that Mr.. Barrett will not be a
party to any attempt to precipltate the
Democratic party and Its organization
into the thrOes Of another factional
contest for the benefit Of Mayor Har.
rlson or any City Hall cabal.
The haste. by the way, with which Mr..
Harrison and this same City Hall cabal
have started In to hatch plots to gain
absolute control of the machinery of
the party and to permanently Oust men
who have so long and SO successfully
handled its affairs, has been one of the
features Of the aftermath of the elec.
tiOn.
The open declaration of warfare upon
Robert Il. Burke, the discoverer of the
younger Harrison, as he was the re.
habilitator of the elder, is the culmina.
ton OF one of the most extraordinary
campaigns Of political ingratitude ever
witnessed In the domain Of politics In
this county. 1t Is pronounced by all
who have taken cOgnizance Of II, as
being In its way unique.
After months of delving under the
surface, Of pulling strings behind the
screens, OF significant reticence on vital
matters and garrulOus volubility ON in
significant generallties. during which
the Eagle did Its best to expose the true
conditions Of affairs, and to force the
Mayor 10 show his hand, that individual
has at last been smoked out into the
open.
He declares he Is against Robert T..
Burke for reelection to the office of Sec
retary Of the Democratic County Cen
tral Committee.
The open hostility Of the Mayor and
his satellites has occasioned little or no
surprise among those who have been
observant of the trend of events, how
ever. 1t has but confirmed what the
Eagle has said all along concerning
that individuals attitude toward the
man who made him. AS for his hang.
crs-on, they Of course but obey the
crack of the whip when it is sounded
over their heads. "'Tis theirs not to
reason why"
Mr. Burke and his good friends are
not surprised at anything the payroll
brigade may choose 10 do. They un-
derstand that in their case the mean
Ing Of the old adage applies in its full
est sense when the wolf cometh the
hlreling flieth."
Meantime Robert f.. Burke Is going
ahead in his own quiet, persistent way
To prepare for the battle which comes
next month. In accordance with sec
tion ] OF article III. of the constitution,
which provides that the Central Com
mittee shall meet and organize by elect
Ing lis said officers on the first Tuesday
or each December annually" the Dem
ocrat!c County Central Committee will
meet in less than three weeks hence
10 select It's officers. In another col
umn The Eagle has predicted who the
chairman will be, and right here IL
predicts that Robert T.. Burke viii be |
reelected 10 the secretaryship which ]
he has so long, SO faithfully and so
successfully filed.