, 1875-09-05

serve all the purposes for which II 1s ~
tended.
PAVING STREETS BY PRIVATE CONTRACT:
II ought to be generally understood tnat
there is only one practical way IN %n1cu
the streets of Chicago can be Paved anu tnAs
is by the private enterprise and eonnsc' o
tha property~owners on the street to Dc III
nrored A good many thoughtles7 people,
who appreciate thswretched condluon ., oui
streets. but are not informed as to the oossa-
cles in the way. wonder why the city Goes
mt put down the pavements and MAKE 'ne
people pay for them by general tataoop: T.
The city has not the authority to 40 thls'
it had. where would the money come from
The people are already paying more taxes tnan
they soy they can afford to pay. II the Pa'e.
ment OF the streets were at the discretlon o.
the Common Council, and to be PAID tor ou'
of the general fund, the outlying ~afos'
where parements are not neeoeo' "oo1o'
probably, be the first to receive paVe"ente,
and taxpayers in the business districts "o"u
be bled outrageous1y for improvements 'na'
ara mt needed. But all this is out OF the
Question, since there is no authority 1oF tne
procedure, and oug ght not to be-
There are others who wonder why tne
Common Council does not order the paving
Of certa;n streets and make special assess-
ment on the property to pay Tor H. defe ID
q sample Of prevalent notion:
TO sas Editor u Ts* cAsenao Tribune: 1.
cu1c4no. Sent. 2-permit me to call attention 70
,,o nd condition of Michigan avenue, and IN tho
future will spare you 50 far as an concefneo ine
oueatiou has been repeatedly asked, Why don't oo1
CITY Fathers pavo Michigan avenuo7 But no one aas
ham ab,e 10 give satisfactory reply or thro" any
1,obt upou the subject whatever The cnrbstono was
laid from Randolph Twelfth street sonas two years
aeo snd then there some prospect that tho Work
commenced would be speedily pushed to completion: !:
but now 1t seetns there were no Intention On tne
part Of City Fathers to pave the street ut a since
the Chicago City Railway commenced running theis
cars On Wabash avenue the travel Michigan avenue
has been greatly augmented Notwithstanding the street
is in terribly bad condition. and, after slight
shower is utterly unfit to drive upon It being tae
on,y thosoughfare by which vehicles can readily gain
to the southern part Of the city we see no rea-
.ou ,shy the required improvements should not oa
made without delay. Why do not the City Fathers
nska an assessuent and complete tho work this year
am sure It would meet with general approval BY AL
the residents from Randolph to Twelfth street, as the
would greatly advance the price o. reaa
estate. and add much to the beauty Of the avenue
This work been neglected so long that seems u
II io,tpediute action should be taken, and tho WORK
couolesed at the earliest possible moment else We
may be obliged to wait one, two, three years, and
still find our street in the depiorahe condition.
FRANK E. HAwKs, $40 Michigan avenue.
Tbs writer Of the above suggestion IS eV1~
dent1y Ignorant Of the long and tedious pro
cess incident to such course. Under the
present law (the charter Of 1922, special
assessment requires that the Council appoint
| three Of it's members as Commission to e1.
anime into and report upon the cost OF the
Improvement This having been done, the
Council orders petition to be fled in Cour'
for proceedings to assess this cost on the
propertv-owners. The Court is then required
| to appoint three Commissioners to ascertai.
| the comparative value of the improvement te
the contiguous property, and assess it accord
inely. This having been done, an assess
| ment-rcn is made out and returned II
| Court. Then notice is served by mail npo1
| all the persons on whom an assessment il
made. After the lapse Of the prescribed time
the matter comes up in Court, and judg1nen
is rendered by default where there are no ap
pearances. When there are objections, ther'
must ba formal trial before jury, IS in al
the other cases at law, aud the jury assesses
| the amount to be paid in each case. q
course there is an appeal from such judgmen
| to the Supreme Court, where the matter
buried for years. This is the long md cum
bersome process which requires about two t
| four years from the first movement to secur
final paving Of the street.
It will be readily inferred from this de
acription Of the length Of legal red tape re
ouired for paving streets by special assess
ment that it is utterly impracticable in
large city like this, and particularly when
many of the streets should be paved lmnoe
diate1y. The only way for the people q
Michigan avenue to do is to proceed by cou
mon agreement to pave their street. The
can make better contract than will be mad
by the city. They will get better pave
ment And, finally, they will get their paw
ment Immediately, and just as soon as the
nav for it. If they wait for special asses
ment, it will be two years after portion {
the property-owners have paid before th
work viii be done, and the men who pay vi
be at the mercy Of the tax-6ghters.
THE GENESIS OF COIN.
The opponents of gold as the basis Of Gu,
? rency foolishly assume TINT mere coincident
, Of views and force Of custom is the only re
l son why specie money as standard OF 70
+ ues passes from hand to hand. Nothin