The Prescott daily news., 1910-08-31
ILLINOIS GOVERNOR TALKS AT TAYLORViLLE ON THINGS
 POLITICAL.
AN UNUSUAL SITUATION
Three Features That Have Attracted Attention of Nation to Affairs In State of Lincoln, Logan
 and Douglas.

Taylorville, H., Aug. Ex-Governor Charles s. Deneen delivered speech in this city Tuesday evening, in which he scored his political opponents in the Republican party and presented an outline of his plan for the future conduct of state elections and other political affairs.
 The unusual political situation in Illinois," he said, has attracted na- tion-wide attention. It has been char acterized as the breaking down of party government which, under our political system, is the breaking down of representative government.
 "The elections of 1908 in our state were uniformly successful to Repub- lican candidates. The party elected the governor and every other state of ficer. After the election the Republic an party had S9 representative out of the 153 In the house of representa-. tives and 3S out of the 51 members of the state senate"
 The governor then discussed. as the unusual features of the present political situation in Illinois, the cleo. tion of Speaker Shurteff by a bi. partisan coalition. in the legislature, the election of United States Senator William Lorimer by the same coali. tion. and the disclosure e the jack pot
 Of the last named, he s9~5, "The jackpot is a common corr ,l fund gathered from various soC es during a legislative session, to be distributed afterwards among those who have earned the right to participate in 1t by selling their votes upon legislative measures for cash consideration. Who it was that furnished the cash for this particular jackpot to bribe Illinois legislators and purchase legis- lation has not yet been disclosed, but we know. at least, some of those who distributed 1t and some of those to whom it was paid.
 'It is plain. however, that those who have been exposed are not the only ones implicated in this jackpot business To make jackpot effec- tive requires the participation of a considerable number of such as can be held together by the cohesive pow CT of public plunder. and an organiza' tion which must be able to control to some degree the course of legisla. tion in the general assembly. These conditions are necessary in order to establish q channel between the illicit interests on the outside who purchase Legislation and the dishonorahle pub lie servants who sell 1t.
 This could not be accomplished without the exercise of the power to appoint committees and determine their character; to decide to which committees particular measures should be referred and control their course therein: to afford or deny to such measures an opportunity for discus sion or a vote in the committees or on the floor of the house; to deter mine what bills should be called on the calendar. and. generally, to manip' ulate the progress of legislation in such way as would best serve the particular measures in which the men higher up" were interested"
 The campaign for state primary law then received attention, and the governor said: ''In view of the fact that so many of these men, against whom there is a strong suspiicon in the public mind of wrongdoing in con nection with legislation. are candi- dates for renomination. it is manifest from their opposition to primary leg. islation that. knowing the risk of the nsfarious traffic in laws in which they were engaged. they did all in their power to defeat legislation which would give the people an opportunity to pass upon their records and pre- vent their nominations"