Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1922-02-18
HOFFMAN CALLED
A MENACE

/ ChicagO'S leading suburb, Oak Park.
which has $4,000 inhabitants and
gives 5000 Republican majority,
spoke for the majority of the Repub
lican voters in it's issue of May 20,
| 1920, when it said: 1--WE desire to call
| attention of Republican voters to the
menace of Peter Hoffman to the Re
publican ticket.
1.-The story of Peter Hoffman is one
of the amazing stories of politics. He
! lives in DeSplaineS, the smallest of
six country districts of Cook County.
! By pure political work he has kept
himself in office for fourteen years.
He is not endowed by nature with
such duties as fall upon the Coroner
of Cook County nor has he any train
| ing to fit him for the work. But in spite
of this the other five districts of Cook
! County have taken no part in the i'm
pOrtant duty of selecting a coroner.
The district in which Oak Park is To-
Gated is by far the largest of the
country districts. We may say with
out successful contradiction that it
has voters of intelligence averaging
higher than any other country dis
trict 1t is our duty to see that the
office of Coroner of Cook County is
filled by man of high character and
competent
mo official has such power in the
great city over the unfortunate and
those involved in tragedy as has the
coroner. There are hundreds of ways
to misuse this power for personal ad-
pyy ntoin
agency Coroner Hoffman has given the
idea to voters that he is an ideal man
for the place. But he is not.
''It is difficult for the ordinary voter
to know anything about public officials
but in most offices the offending in
cumbent Injuries people able to fight
back. But when the coroner offends
he hurts the poor, the outcast, the
unfortunate and the weak
Ten years ago this journal at
tackled Mr.. Hoffman's method of form
ing juries for inquests. 1t was the
custom then to have a number of
followers to each deputy coroner.
These followers sat on the jury and
the fees were kept in the family.
When the few real jurors obtained
were given their certificates emitting
them to fees, the deputy coroner
would cash them at a big discount.
This was a nasty way to obtain a
revenue and defeated the very pur-
pose of the jury system which is to
have the case heard by disinterested
citizens and not by professional poll
ticians who heard perhaps half doz-
en- cases each day.
"Mr. Hoffman, however, hopes that
his machine built up during the
years he has misused his authority
will overcome the opposition. His
machine will not succeed -
The Crime Commission is getting
bigger every day. So is crime. The
Commission issued some circulars
showing how crime is increased
among poor criminals on account of
delays in bringing them to trial 1t
never issues circulars cOndemning
the compromising of the felonies of
rich men whom Cook County law per
mits to settle" with their victims
for money, and thus escape prison for
their crimes. This Crime Commission
bunk fools nobody. But the freeing
of rich criminals, because they stole
enough to compromise" with, dis
gusts everybody One law for rich
thieves and another law for poor
thieves may be good law in Cooh
County. But it does not abate crime
very much.
w. M. Schumacher, the bright and
painstaking sales agent of the big
American ApOthecaries Company OF
, New York, is very popular in Chicago
not only with the drug trade but
among the best physicians and sur
geOns in the city. Representing, as he
does, one of the greatest concerns in
it's line in the world he is busy man
but makes friends everywhere while
attending to his duties to the big cor
pOratiOn he represents.
Frank A. West of the Twenty-first
ward is a Republican candidate fol
County Commissioner. His nomina
ton would add great strength to the
county ticket as he is one of the mos
popular men on the North Side Mr.
West is Vice President of the BOARD
of Examiners of Stationary Engineer:
and his ability and training great!
fits him for membership on the
| County Board. His election would bt
| a great aid to the taxpayers.
| The judicial policy of allowing
| thieves to escape the penitentiary i
| they are willing to give back som,
| of the stolen money to victims is
| new one. Its effect upon a soulles
| community and upon the thieving pro
| fession generally cannot be over
| estimated