The broad ax., 1922-12-30
ALDERMEN LIFT PEAN OF
VIRTUE OVER "EXPERTING"
Lyle and Toman Ask Why n. v. L
Stops at Vices
By Oscar Hewitt

Aid. John H. Lyle delivered glow
ing tribute 20 the city council and a
severe criticism of the Municipal
Voters league Wednesday - both in
one speech. The occasion was the
last council meeting of 1922 and the
cause was the leagues report on the
very sorry part" which the council
played in city experting-"a scandal
that smelled to heaven"
Aid. Lyle said that the present
council has "the greatest accomplish
ments of any council in the last
eighteen years" and that "the alder
men are not the skunks and imbecile
public officials which some folks
would have the public believe" He
said the report was unfair because it
did not list the virtues as we'll as the
vices of the council
Hits Report on Junketing
Aid. John Toman. after Lyle had
finished, said that the league told "a
deliberate lie, a DAMN" in its report
few weeks back on junkets of al
dermen.
I'm not a candidate for re-elec-
ton" said Toman to the council,
'but why don't you find out where
the league gets its money, who its
executive committee is, what they do
for living, and how they get their
money? When Carter Harrison was
mayor the Illinois Central railroad
was out after a grab. Mayor Harri-
son had the sergeant at arms stop a
former president of the league, Les
sing Rosenthal, from lobbying.
"On the aldermanic trip to Europe
the league deliberately lied. 1t said
that Mayor Thompson paid the ex-
pense of the trip to get votes for DR..
John Dill Robertson for member of
the board of education.
Suggests Trip Around World
That's damn lie. The mayor sent
for me, but that subject was not men,
toned directly or indirectly. He
wanted to know if the trip would do
any good. told him yes, that l
would have aldermen sent all over
the world. These so-called junkets do
great good. Because of one of them
Chicago adopted the license tag on
autos, and that little thing increased
the license money s1,O24,OOo in one
year.
The league says that the Euro
pean trip did no good. That's a lie,
too. 1t stopped waterbound pave
ments. wish Aid. Lyle had lifted
the blanket from the league, because
he worked for the league and knows.
/ indorse all he said"
Makes Charge of Duplicity
Aid. Lyle said that he had been in
the newspaper business and had
worked for four years for the league
and there he had heard nothing except
gray wolves and scandal" He re-
ferred to an oriental saying to the eff
feet that each must serve time at his
trade, save critics. who are born, not
made. He intimated that the league
is two faced. He said:
"In its report the league credits
Aid. Alberts with being 100 per cent
against the people, showing that he
voted four times for the experts, and.
therefore, should not be returned to
the city council. Yet a few weeks
back the league said that Mr.. Albert
was "a leading alderman, his own boss,
and was Straightforward, independ-
ent servant of the people"
It is understood the league will
later have something to say on this
charge. Aid. Lyle referred to his rat
ing by tie league in its last report,
three votes @for the people" and two
votes for the experts" in the leagues
opinion. He said that he had not
been criticized nearly as much as other
aldermen, but expected that he would
be hereafter.
Experts Inherited, He Says
The aIderman's chief complaint was
that the league n its report on expert
ing did not list the Accomplishment"
Of the council. He eontended that the
council had attempted to protect the
people IN the exporting business. He