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Show "Guilty but Not Provm." We presume that the members of the Illinois Legislature think they have vindicated themselves and established for all time their reputation for virtue vir-tue and integrity through expelling from membership member-ship in that illustrious body Mr. Comerford of Chicago, Chi-cago, who recently made charges against some of the legislators. It is hardly a vindication. ' Mr. Comerford is young and his impetuosity exceeded his judgment in making the charges of grafting. He was certain cer-tain that several members were accepting money, but he made his assertions before he had sufficient proof. He should have waited until his evidence was in hand. He was not given a fair hearing by the Legislature. There was no disposition to make a real investigation of the charges and no matter how conclusive Comerford's evidence might have been it would have been ignored in the finding of the investigating committee. It is a difficult matter to prove that boodling is going on in a Legislature unless one of the guilty ones confesses. However, in Illinois and in a great many other States there is enough to satisfy the people that bribes are being accepted and that there is plenty of graft of one' kind and another. As tho Government argued in the beef trust case, there are things that become known to all men. After Congress becomes righteous it may be that the Legislatures will begin to see a light. Suspicion usually attaches to a Legislature and for good reason. rea-son. Too little care is exercised in selecting the. men who compose it. People are. more particular about whom they send to a City Council than whom they elect to a Legislature. A few unscrupulous men get In and easily control legislation. A Legislature Leg-islature should be thoroughly representative of the people but it seldom has that proud distinction. After all, it is. the fault of the people. If they do not care to elect good men they must expect crooked work. |