, 1874-12-15

n's,ancc and positive law 10 auppor. 1t.
e@-.e-=N----
THE CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY.
If tltoro l,as boon ono public trust In thiB
city moro neglected mud abused by the Coun-
Gil than my othor, it liz tho Public Library
during the Inst year; and this in apito of it's
great intrinsic merit, tho fidelity and oxcc1-
lcnoo Of its management, the wido.apreatl in-
terest which tho public feel in it, aud tho
close personal attention TINT has bcon given
II by tho Board Of Directors. but tho City
Government under tho rniscalled "1'coplo'a
party" instead of regarding tho Public Libra.
~ rs an important clement In our educational
system, has sot it aside Ill nn insignificant at-
tachment to tho body polite which must talo
care Of itself if It hopes to keep alive. Tho
Legislature has authorized tho city to appro-
priato ono-nflh Of mill Of tho taxca
assessed to the sso Of tho Library, which,
Mt tho present rate of taxation, would
giro it about 100000 q ycar. At tho
Inst annual appropriation, tho Library
Board asked tho amount to which it was On.
titled, on account Of tho urgent demands of
tho public for M incroased number of books,
aud in order to s1,stnin the carly usefulness
Of the institution, and thereby ags,1re n per-
nanont usefulness in the future. But, in tho
faco Of the mcritorious representations the
Board wero ablo to make, tho Mayor and
Comptroller, in behalf Of popular Ignorance,
recommended reduction of the appropria-
ton to $4,000, and tho Council fixed it at
TINT figure. Tho Library Board hnd no con-
tracts to lot, no Jobs to offer, no commissions
to pay. In ono word, thore wns I" no money
in it, )" md tho city officials agrcod with re-
markahle unanimity to cut tho institution of
at the lowest figure that would not kill it out
right.
Mr.. THOMAS HoYNE, tho President Of the
Library Board, has nude au earnest appeal to-
tho new Council to supply tho deficiency in
tho appropriation mado by its predecessor.
The institution needs no other colnmenda-
ton than that which its own record sllowH
It has exhibited already a progress which is
simply unparalleled in the history Of free
libraries in this country. It Inns accomplished
in few months what hns required years 10
attain in other Cities At tic end Of five
months It Ind larger number Of borrowers
Of books than tho Boston Library lad ut tho
end Of five years. grho Cincinnati Library,
after IN existence of six years md with thrice
rs many books, Ind but half the circulation
of tho Chicago Library at tho end
Of six months. Tho destruction of nll
the public md private libraries Of this city in
the great fro Of 1871 accounts to somo extent
for this extraordinary dc1nand,-this thirst
for books. Tho spirit shown by tho Chicago
public in this matter is ono TINT ought to bo
encouraged in every possible way as mattcr
Of public polity. Instead of doing this, tho
Board has been obliged to adopt q resolution
not to buy any moro books, for want Of
money. The number Of volumes now be-
longing to tho Library is 81, ,197 the registra-
tion of booE-bo1rowcrD now shows that there
aro 1G,8l9. Thoro has been monthly in
crease since tho opening Of tho Library Of
1858, and daily inoroaso Of 80. At this
rate, tho number OF borrowers will actually
exceed tho number OF books in n very few
months ii no moro voluntcs are added. It is
impossible to increase the number Of books
under the present appropriation. The fol-
lowing exhibits tho available resources for
tho year
Ne. credit, Dec. I, 1874 taeducting warrants
not yot psld nnd proportion Of dago's dea-
Espeets cs proceeds Of to Unpaid ta1ea
Espcelca p a M easl p1oscsds ot appforra
uon or q, ,eouou
Total. l.............-........ .,S2l, ,d9l.oa
It will require about $1,000 to cover
outstanding orders, and this will leaye