The Shadow Over the City Attorney's Office

In determining whether to cast his vote for Mr. Piles for city attorney, the voter must consider only the man and his official record. It is true that Mr. Piles is not popular in the Pioneer Square office, and his unpopularity dates from the last convention when, after having been a member of the Republican county and territorial conventions and while professing to support the entire Republican ticket, he worked and voted for at least one opposition candidate and to that extent played the part of a traitor to his party. The Post-Intelligencer is not making a fight on Mr. Piles based on the score of his personal record, but he should be defeated because he is incompetent to fill the office of city attorney at such a time as this. In choosing Mr. Haller for mayor upon a platform of devotion to the interests of the city, the wisdom of that gentleman shows a lamentable lack of judgment. Mr. Haller is the regular attorney of one of the railroads running into the city. In the general reorganization along the waterfront which will take place within the coming year, it is safe to say that the interests of the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad will not always be identical with the interests of the city. If Mr. Haller should be elected to that position, in case of a conflict of interests, the position would be a curious one. On one hand, he would be the mayor of the city and, on the other hand, he would be the attorney of the railroad company.