Evening star., 1927-04-21
Chicago No Different
Despite Great Knocks
From the Chicago Daily Tribune.


that was not dominated by the boot
leggers, thieves, thugs and dregs of
the underworld" says the Flathead
Monitor of Kalispel, Mont, that sec
tion must now capitulate with the
election" why this popular upris.
ing against good government" asks
the New York Times. Shades of an
cient Sodom and Gomorrah." says the
Astoria Budget of Astoria, Greg, "of
imperial Rome, of Paris when volup-
fades them all in wickedness and rot
tenness.'
Other cities" says the Topeka
Daily Capital. "can be thankful they
are not as the people of Chicago" ="
The whole campaign took on the
semblance of a large group of thugs
endeavoring to choose a leader says
the Fargo n Oak. Forum. Not
creditable to the intelligence of the
Chicagoans," says the Philadelphia
Inquirer. Shows an undue preva-
lence of saps," says the Wichita Bea-
con. "Shames and disgraces the sec
ond largest city in the United States, ;"
says the Lincoln, Nebr., Star. ''An
city which would sacrifice the inter
ests of half the Nation TO keep its own
tax rate down" says the Detroit
News. "The spirit of lawlessness in
fects Chicago like a disease says the
Vancouver Sun. Chicago seems to
like it," says the Baltimore Sun.
Causes little surprise, but a good deal
of regret outside that city," says the
New Orleans Times-Picayune.
"Chicago's rum runners, bootleg
gers, blind-pig keepers and the whok
kit and bilin' Of contrabandists from
the whisky moguls and beer bandits
to the alley barkeeps make up
rather exclusive guild of the traffic."
says the Fort Wayne Journal.
'They have the run of the town. l.
they do not actually run the town"
And SOS your old man." says the
Chicago Tribune.
In the American family of cities and
commonwealths, Chicago does not feel
itself a stranger. 1t is at home. Oc-
casiOnally it exchanges gunmen with
New York or Boston or gets a safe
blower from Omaha. 1t does not see
much that is unfamiliar at home or
elsewhere. 1t gets some hard eggs
from the Minnesota and Wisconsin
woods and some from down the Mis-
Its electorate is about the electorate
of any other American city. Slice it
down and it would make Cleveland,
Philadelphia, Birmingham, San Fran
cisco, San Antonio or Boston. Slice it
further and it would make Columbus,
Ohio, or Yellow Springs, Emporia
Kans., or Red Dog, Sioux City, or
Painted Post, Plymouth, East ST.
Louis, Little Rock, Baltimore or
Salem.
We might put Honey Fitz and Sweet
Adeline in the city hall, but 1t was
Boston that did. New York turned
down Mitchell for Hylan, and Hylan
for Singing Jimmie Walker, and con-
tinues to exist even with Singing
Jimmie crashing the gate with his
gang and taking the ringside seats,
for which the patient citizenship has
paid it's good money.
Indiana is proud because it has q
governor in the penitentiary and Illi-
nois hasn't. 1t also has Wiz Stephen
son of the Klan in there and has wall
ed him in as tight as possible, fearing
that he'll slip some information out
which will make everybody uncom-
Portable. The Marion County grand
jury has been discharged of duty in
the Klan investigation, because the
less any one learns of these matters
the easier many citizens may sleep.
Philadelphia would count it per-
fection of municipal reform If it could
get anything but q stack of cinders to
show what had been done on street
paving within a measurable period of
years after the assessments had all
been paid.
We might elect Cole Blease to the
United States Senate, but we haven't.
We merely elected Smith. We might
have sent Heflin there, but again it
was only Smith. We are not respon-
sible for Tom Blanton in Congress.
We have not elected Ma and Pa
Ferguson, Pa first and then Ma after
Pa had lost his citizenship because
of the conduct of his office. That is a
Texas contribution to the sanity of
democracy. Maybe we've done no
better or worse. but citizen of Illi-
nois and citizen of Texas could
shake hands in perfect understanding
and sympathy. We weren't accounta.
BILE for Magnus Johnson, the amiable
eccentric of Minnesota. All we ever
did for Ekern, the former attorney
general of Wisconsin, was to give
him desk room and some law practice.
We may have held our own with
Tweed on one side and Sockless Jerry
Simpson on the other, from their
times down to the present, but for the
most part it is about a piece off the
same bolt of goods, This is the great
American democracy, stepping high,
wide and handsome.
The pot and the kettle are play
mates. Les all get chummy again
within the happy family.