Omaha daily bee., 1889-07-28
ANNExINe SOUTH OMAHA.

so,n is generally pronounced a bore.
But there are occasions when look
backward may be instructive.
When the Omaha charter was before
the Legislature three years ago, THE
BEE vigorously opposed the effort OF
the contractors and syndicate combine
to cut out the section that would
have enabled Omaha to extend
her limits over the territory
now covered by South Omaha. But the
oil room lobby and Doodle judiciary
OF the legislature succeeded in mutilat-
ing the charter presented by Mr.. Lin
niger, and substituted for it bill that
has set Omaha back five years, and was
the prime cause of the setback in
suburban real estate.
by cutting the park provision out OF
the charter we are deprived of the OPP
portunity to convert from one to two
thousand acres of suburban lands into
parks and boulevards and thus taking
out of the market surplus unimproved
lands and enhancing the value not only
Of the adjacent lots and lands, but OF all
property in the city. And yet, such
men as Tom Brunner and other real
estate agents were most active in giSing
this black eye to Omaha, either because
they were in accord with Vauderbum
and his oil room gang or anxious to
snub Rosewater, who in their opinion
welded too much influence.
In cutting down the area of Omaha
from thirty to twenty-five miles the
boodlers of the legislature acted out
the dictates OF the South Omaha and
stock yards syndicates. These short
sighted and selfish people forced the
incorporation Of u new town which
even in name has become a thorn in
the side of Omaha. On the map, and
in fact, South Omaha is part of Omaha,
but in all the directories and in the
next census South Omaha would figure
as one of the smaller cities in Nebraska,
as much disconnected in the minds of
the uniformed as Council Bluffs Is
ana always has been.
The pretense under which South
Omaha was made separate
city with municipal machine
of its own was that il would
relieve property owners, and especially
the stock yards and packing houses,
from the heavy burdens of taxation that
are imposed on property within Omaha.
They went even so far as to declare that
no capitalist would locate packing
house within the corporate limits of a
city. And yet in the face OF this, look
at Kansas City and Chicago.
South Omaha had no sooner become
q corporate town than the very people
who objected to Omaha's heavy load of
debt and extravagant city government,
entered upon system OF tinanciering
that came very near bankrupting the
town. An enormous floating debt was Gre
ated, and on top of that q bonded debt was
piled up for improvements which should
have been made by the syndicate and
the railroads. Against this suicidal pol
icy THE BEE vainly entered protest.
The people were literally bulldozed
into voting that enormous mortgage on
South Omaha and the most active advO-
Gates of funding the fraudulent debts
and bonding for grading roads through
the syndicate tracts and building the
viaducts, which the railroads should
have built, were the men who foisted
this separate town government upon
the people. notably both the Herald
and World. Now that the inevitable
consequences have presented them
| themselves the parties and papers have
fallen into line with THE BEE in favor
of amalgamating South Omaha with
Omaha. Having done all the damage
| they could to both the cities they are
now trying to undo the mischief.
In this as we'll as in other matters
THE BEE has had the best interests Of
| Omaha at heart. 1t has always dopre-
Gated the establishment of separate
town governments in the suburbs of
| Omaha. The experience of all great
cities has been adverse to divided
municipal control. Nearly every
| parliament has been called upon to
deal with the troublesome problem
| of annexation OF suburban towns to
| London. In this country the same pro-
cess is going on around every great
city. New York and Philadelphia have
found it to their advantage to amalga-
mate with suburban cities and villages,
and Chicago has just completed the
annexation of n dozen SUBJ
urban towns that will add
over three hundred thousand to her ag.
gregate population in the next, cen.
sus. The contest in the suburban towns
Of Chicago against annexation was
waged by syndicates and factory barons
like George M. Pullman, who loved to