The City Attorney's 'Wretched' Tenure

It is announced that Mr. Piles, the present city attorney, will present himself to the voters of Seattle as a candidate for re-election. Having received the endorsement of the convention on Friday evening, he appeals to the people for an expression of approval of his official course and requests a renewal of their mandate.

Mr. Piles should not be re-elected. Not in point of ability, not in point of character, and not in point of standing in the community is he qualified for the position. Anyone who has watched the city attorney's office in the last year can have failed to see how wretchedly its affairs have been managed. In the ordinances drawn by Mr. Piles, error, omission, and worthlessness are the rule. Only a few days ago the council passed two ordinances purporting to condemn the right of way for new streets. These were drawn by Attorney Piles. It is strange to relate he had left out the condemnatory clause; consequently, the ordinances as passed were utterly worthless, and the council was compelled to rectify Mr. Piles’ error at a subsequent meeting.

There are other reasons why Mr. Piles should not be re-elected. During the coming year, the office of city attorney will be one of the most important in the city government. The legal proceedings threatened against the city will render necessary the possession of a high order of legal ability by the attorney who defends the city's cause. Such ability Mr. Piles certainly does not possess. Further than this, the interests of the city will clash with those of several powerful and wealthy corporations. It will be necessary, therefore, if the city is to be properly represented, that the city attorney be a man beyond the suspicion of corruptibility. This, Mr. Piles is not.

The confusion and disorder which broke up the city election on Friday evening was precipitated by the 'dramatic appeal' of Samuel Piles for fair play. Mr. Piles stated that the ballot box was not in favor of his opponent and that, if another count was taken, he would be satisfied. He threw a serious imputation upon the tellers who acted as officials, an unfounded slur that will not be appreciated. In counting the vote, Mr. Albertson, one of the tellers, found a batch of ballots which had evidently been cast by one person. Mr. Piles called the attention of the tellers to these, yet he persisted in calling the unanimous vote for his opponent fraudulent.