Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1910-09-24
The following communication "

AuC AOAsVWSh8 CVAumuulC0tIOu Will
explain itself:
Chicago Heights, Sept. 10.
Editor Chicago Eagle:
I was talking with q well.known
Chicago Heights business man yester.
day about graft and water and easy
conditions here. He was full Of inter.
esting information on the subject. He
said among other things: "This town
10 pie for grafters, and the bigger It
gets, unless halt is called, the worse
It will be. The tax payers are sbso.
lutely at the mercy Of the gang. They
will have to take their medicine and
come up with the coin whether they
like It or not. The City Council can
pile special assessment on special as.
sessment and the people have no re.
course. They can let contract after
contract and no one can stop them
unless somebody takes the trouble to
get out an Injunction. have q book
full Of newspaper clippings and an.
other book containing clipped printed
official proceedings Of the City Coun.
ell for years back. have also kept
tab on the amount voted to pay for
printing these proceedings for several
years. It 10 quite an interesting sub.
ject and you ought to look It up. I
have also jotted down what ordinary
people have to pay for some things
and what the city Of Chicago Heights
has paid for the same service. The
difference 10 enough to make q grand
jury sit up and take notice. Perhaps
one may do 20 some day. The reason
why things can be carried on with
such q high hand here 10 that no one
pays any particular attention to what
Is going on. The place 10 too near
Chicago to support daily newspaper
which might call attention to slaring
frauds and too far from Chicago to
interest the Chicago dailies In matters
OF interest to Cook County legal
authorities"
There 10 good time coming.
Who the Boss" II In this town has
not yet been made public. Some day
1t may be.
The reason for his present obsouri.
ty 10 obvious.
On page l6 Of w. T. steads great
book on the reign OF rottenness in
New York, entitled "Satan's Invisible
World" find the following. which
think Chicago Heights people might
read with interest
Tweed was fellow Of INFINITE va.
riety, and he seemed almost to revel
In the diversity of methods by which
he could plunder the public. One very
ingenious and simple fraud was his
securing an act Of the Legislature.
making little organ which he owned
the Official organ Of the city govern.
ment. In that capacity he drew
100000 q year from the rates and
taxes. AZ compensation for printing the
report Of the Common Council"
One million dollars In q city the
size Of New York would not amount,
per capita. to more than $4,000 In a
city the size Of Chicago Heights.
Besides grand jury might find out
that In the past some "official proceed.
ings" paid for In connection with
printing bills often aggregating he.
tween fifty and sixty dollars q week.
or $4,000 to $1,000 per year. were not
run In advertising columns, but were
published a. news In the regular read.
ing column Of so.called oficial papers.
In this way the grand jury might
discover that some oflicial papers had
been smart enough to XIII two birds
with one stone.
The tax payers. II they were smart
enough. might find out where part
Of their hard earned money had been
swallowed up.
But Q little leaveneth the lump and
I shall be happy to refer to 1t more
explicitly anon.
The water.meter.in.every.house Job
Is simply straw.
The city buys tons of cast iron pipe
for water mains and strews them
around In alleys just as II we had a
high pressure water system and plen.
ty Of water.
Somebody gets the benefit Of this
prolific supply Of water main material
for alleys.
The tax payers certainly get the