The Washington herald., 1913-07-27
Taught School to Help Pay His Way Through College and
Later Drove Team-Man Of Moods, HeL
Gay and Sad Alternately

chises Of the street railroads In Chicaro
expired at different times. People wanted
street railroads in early days. fran
chise would be given. a road would be
built and q jackass and a car would be.
gin hauling passengers back and forth.
!! By and by the road would be extended
under new or an amended franchise. So
it went all over the city. Finally there
was fierce contention over the whole
question. Bills and propositions In great
numbers came into the Legislature 1
voted ultimately for a bill giving the
City Council Of Chicago power to grant
franchises running no more than fifty
years to the street railroad companies
The whole issue. / thought, thus would
!, be transferred to Chicago. where 1t be.
longed.
Il was a new man in the Legislatups
and couldn't read the signs which were
later plain enough to be seen in the light
Of a fuller experience and intelligence.
/ came to believe afterward that a good
deal Of money was spent to pass the
Allen bill. Some of the newspapers in
Chicago said was corrupt, and daily de-
scribed me as being an undesirable and
faithless public official. I said I should
leave my case with my own people. My
county was flooded with abusive pubIi-
cations. but I was renominated and re-
elected without trouble.
How He Dcflcd the Interests.
'T went back to Springfield in 1880 with
blood in my eye. I told Gov. Tanner that
1 was free lance. meant to speak my
mind, and crack a good many heads.
Now Tanner was a machine man, and
my part Of the State was opposed to the
machine. Tanner said my program
would do me no good. Go quietly into
the Legislature and be a useful member
as heretofore he advised me. Shortly
after he informed me that he purposed
using his influence to elect me speaker
Chicago came out bitterly against me-
but Southern Illinois, under the leader
ship OF Tanner. and Northwestern Illi-
nois, where the people knew me, stood
together. and l was elected.
"A repeal Of the Allen law was at once
attempted. Charles T. Yerkes, the great
street railroad boss in Chicago. said /
could send the repeal bill to a committee
and thus keep it of the floor of the Legis.
lature- He wanted il smothered, you un-
derstand. 1 said in reply that the Allen
law had had its day in the House of
Representatives and that the repeal bill
would take the same course. regardless
Of Mr.. Yerkes or anybody else.
IF that's your answer Yerkes said,
III drive you out of politics.
Go ahead l answered, but repeal Il
to be debated and a vote taken no mat
ter what happens
The Allen law was repealed, as I knew
it would be. Every vote but that of Al
lens was cast against it. 1 shall always
be criticised for my support of the bill
in the first place. Ny action while
speaker caused a rupture between me and
William Lorfmer. So i lost all around
still, 1t does not appear. and-I say n
modestly, that the people of Illinois lost
confidence in my character was elected
Lieutenant Governor in 1904, and last year
as a candidate for United States Senator.
was given plurality of 50,O0s votes at
the Republican primaries"
Copyright. 1918. by James B. Morror)