, 1881-12-11

Next tn the inadctiuacy Of the present po-
lice force for the protection of life and prop
erty, the greatest callse of complaint III this
city is the condition Of the streets. The tic
| sired street improvements may be ni:ldc by
t special assessments; but. u.aleSs the ntv
| paycElell;s as well rs the paved streets we
| now have shall be properly cleaned and COLI
stantly kept in repair, there will be no relief
| from the constant fifth and rapid decay
| which have beco,len curse to the people who
live III Chicago. As the saloons ,re chiefly
responsible for the extent OF vice and crime
| which requires an enlarged police farce, SO
tiie rapid destruction Of the street payenents
is due in the main to the heavy loads which
arc f!auIed in wagons and trucks with mar
row tires. As the stuons should be coliI-
peted to support tile police to when they
give occupation, SO the people who destroy
ard wear oil. the street p1yelacnts should be
required ut least to help Keep them in repair.
There is Il Wny to Ito this. Next May the
following ordinance gt,cS into effect:
for tito better protection of tue paved streets.
alleys, uid other tbniDuEutlrcs ot the City Ut
Cuisu:;o, no te.liclcs Ut any description with
fecS md tires rsS than 1ur it>cEto III ErGtLth
shall be permitted t. uG drawn 1- 10 pass over
said ;l. cnse;its " itE !. greater bururn 1i :. 10
}h1ulttS HEtHut 1HH St1lC!c Ii NHt HcSCIfptsOA
with feiiues u1,I tires less than live iucncs III
brcut.th shall be permitted to he drawn nr To
pass over tho paved streets alleys h1ad thos-
Uu;.nfares Hfurcsnd with IL :sreuter bur1rn than
sixty hunt1rclweEht. And every owner or
Owncrs Ut SUCH vehicles tor burden y Hhicll Shntt
be drawn contrary 10 the true 'ntcnf aud
lueanIs OF this article shall fur every scli uf-
fcEst be 1incL i'll Il sum liot exceeding S:-' to-
Eether with ti1e cost ot prosecution,
LII lieu uf this, pruyisiur. there might be a
lice1lst. fee for all vehicles used for hire, or
for the services Of whc, their owners make
1t charge, such us the delivery OH earth,
stone, brick, coal, sand, etc.-whcther the
Charge be assessed III the price Of the COLL
modify delivered or specified fur the service
rel.lered-saiA fee to be regulated according
to the breadth OF the tire in proportion to the
capacliy Ut The vehicle. For instance. III
order To confirm to the requirements con-
be provided that all vehicles with IL carrying
cupacity not exceeding $500 pounds, but
using tires less than four inches wife (they
only average two inches now), shall pay :,
per month, or at the rate Of S2f II year, license
fee, but that the same cass Of vehicles with
tires four inches wide shall be licensed for =;
Il year, as this will represent the difference
i'll the damage to the streets by Il narrow and
Il wide tire wagon. Also. that vehicles with a
carrying capacity Of three tons or more, flay-
ing tires less than five inches, Shall pay
81 q month, or. at the rate of SIS per
year (they now are only two to TWO and I;
half inchcs), while vehicles Of the same ca
pacity having tires four or more INCHES
wide shall be licensed ut s. Il year; vehicles
with capacity less than one ton and having
+;r J,-c II e},
made to ply 81 per month, bu: with tires three
inches should be licensed tor - per year.
Such system would reduce the wear and
tear On the street payetnents enormously by
causing general substitution, of wide tires,
and yield fund that would 70 far III keep
ing the streets in Il condition of repair which
would greatly pro1Uug the life Of the pave.
Ments.
> The license system of Chicago, as fixed by
the charter, includes amusement places, ped
dlerS, pawnbrokers, keepers Of ordinaries,
hacks, drays, trucks, cabs, omnibuses. ex-
pressllen, porters. runners billiard-tables,
bail-alleys, and number of other items. 1t
is not unlikely that the whole list of fees
could be revised in such a manner as to be
farcr than now, and at the same time yiet1
more revenue, in addition to the Increase
we have suggested on saloons and trucks
with narrow tires. The Mayor cannot do
the city 4 greater service than by undertake
ing such a revision; but, if lie shall neglect
it, the Citizens Association should caust: a
tariff to he prepared, showing the revenue that
it niy be made to yie1d and bring it before the
Council and tho public. !