Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-08-07
A STORY OF 100000. 900.
The True Inwardness Of the Chicago
Lake Front Fight for the Worlds Fair.

Lake Front Fight for the Worlds Fair.
| Chicago correspondent Of the Louisville
| Corier-Jouyndl writes: Five hundred mil
lions Of dollars is tidy sum Of money. II rep
resents the value Of the property involved in
the lake front controversy which il as yet Q
factor in the worlds fair circles.
II is now possible for the first time to make
public little of the secret history Of the local
| complications which have retarded and embar-
| rassed the work Of the worlds fair directors
| The country at large has been no more mysti-
fed than have the people Of Chicago, many Of
whom have considered themselves on the
inside. The propounding Of the question,
''Shall the lake front be used as the site or q
part Of the site of the worlds fair2" brought
| into existence a condition Of affairs at once
startling and novel; it created q problem the
solution OF which was freighted with possibli-
| ties OF destruction, exceeding in enormity the
losses sustained in the ever memorable fire
which desolated Chicago nineteen years ago.
Few Of the citizens Of Chicago are even slightly
| acquainted with the facts Few realize how
narrowly Chicago has escaped losing the CO.
| lumbar exposition. which was secured after 10
| determined an effort.
| Sooner than place in the hands of the CITY
| council Of Chicago the disposition of the $50
acres OF land 1t is proposed to reclaim from the
lake. the board of directors will bury the
! Columbian exposition so deep that Gabriels
trumpet will not reach it on the resurrection
| morning"
The above is the exact language used by one
! OF the most influential of the local board Of
directors. At the time this statement was
made there WAS imminent danger that the lake
front could be used only on the condition that
the newly created land would revert back to
| the city of Chicago at the close of the EXPOSE
ton. subject to the undisputed control of her
city council.
THE QUESTION BRIEFLY STATED.
Briefly stated the question thus presented
itself to the board of directors of the Column
ban exposition. They had offered to the
United States commissioners a divided site,
consisting OF the lake front and Jackson Park
The lake front. as il now stands contains about
seventy acres OF ground. The title of this land
Is IN dispute, and has been for years. The Hi
nois Central road claims certain rights and is
prepared to defend them at all costs The
worlds fair directory proposed to fill in $50
acres OF Lake Michigan. on which were to be
erected many Of the buildings of the great ex-
position; They proposed that, after the fair,
this land together with the seventy acres now
| forming the Lake front, should be placed at the
disposition of the south park commissioners
and converted by them into a magnificent
breathing place In the heart of the city, The
city council refused to accept this proposition
and insisted that the lake should be filled in
only on condition that the land thus acquired
should revert to the city of Chicago. subject to
the absolute control and disposition of her city
council. The acceptance of this proposition bv
the board of directors would have placed in the
hands OF the city council power greater than
ever before welded by a municipa body: a
power which could have been used so as to
have caused the bankruptcy of thousands of
business men whose interests are conferred in
the present business district The present
business district of Chicago is bounded as fol-
lows: On the south by Harrison street on the
west by the south branch of the Chicago river
ON the north by the Chicago river and on the
east by Lake Michigan. The area thus embraced
amounts to about l4.000. 900 square feet 1t ia
doubtful If any equal in the world is COW
cred with grander buildings. representing a
greater outlay of capital. This real estate is
worth from $1,000 to T15 00Oa front foot. The
land which the worlds fair directory proposes
to reclaim from Lake Michigan has an area Of
1l,OOO,OOO square feet. On this $50 acres the
city council of Chicago looks with hungry eyes,
They see possibilities for plumber never before
presented TO corporate greed. 70 the business
men and property owners of the present COM
mercial district the $50 acres over which Lake
Michigan now rolls comes TO them in their
dreams. waking and real. a nightmare. fore
bodlng and horrible. To them the possible
benefits derived from the fair appear as bag
atelle compared with the losses which would
inevitably result from the city's unconditional
ownership of this magnificent piece of prop
erty. They would unhesitatingly abandon the
fair sooner than consent to the conditions
which the city council attempted to impose on
their use of the land thus acquired. The rsa-
son for this is simple.
NEW BUSINESS DISTRICT.
The 800 acres which, at the conclusion Of the
fair, would revert to the city of Chicago would
form an area exceeding 1900, 900 square feet.
Through this territory the city council could
order new streets opened. and offer for sale to
the highest bidder the frontage thereby Gre
ated Assuming that this frontage was pur-
chased at an average figure of 90 900 a foot-an
pNtremalH fe a., ,,,t.>
the city treasury of Chicago the colossal sum of
s5OO.OOO.OOO. There would thus be established
new business district, almost equal in extent
to that on which Chicago's massive business
blocks now stand; business district in every
way superior to the present one, so far as loca-
ton Is concerned; a new business district
whose real estate would soon equal and whose
resources would be placed in direct competi-
ton with those of the old. This is the situation
This is the possibility which has thrown the
business interests of Chicago into a spasm of
fear. In their imagination they see the value
of every foot OF land now contained i'll the BUSH
ness district cut squdrely i'll two They see the
holders of leases, whose terms are based OH the
present valuation OF property, driven into
bankruptcy. To sum it all up they see $780,
100000 taken from their pockets, placed in the
city treasury OF Chicago and in addition see
themselves confronted with a competition CO.
lossal and runous. 1t may safely be asserted
that no part of the worlds fair will ever be held
OH the lake front long as there is the re-
hottest possibility that the Chicago council will
have the disposition of one foot of that land
ms Is hardly the most remarkable feature
OF this most remarkable state of affairs 1t NAV
be well to quote director. whose name Is
withheld, On certain phase OF this question.
In an unpublished interview this gentleman
said:
THE DIRECTORS AND THE ALDERMEN
should the city council obtain possession Of
that property and determine to offer it for sale
ON the open market the men whose interests
are Identical with those of the present business
district OF Chicago would be pOwerless TO pre-
vent the contamination of the deal. notwith-
standing the fact that bankruptcy would in
evltaby come to hundreds OF them The alder
men would come before the people armed with
arguments which could not be met and
would be upheld and reelected by over
whelmlng majorities. In answer to our
protests they would say: We pro-
pose to put five hundred million or more
dollars IN the city treasury of Chicago. This
money is to be obtained from the sale of
newly created property. While 1t may tenn
porarlly result In loss to certain parties 1t
will be sustained by men abundantly able to
standlt There is a certain stern justice in this.
Into the city treasury of Chicago will flow part
of what Henry George calls the unearned in
crement of land Back to the people will
come at least $500, 600, 900, ali of which and
more has been created by the community at
large, and which Is now owned BY the fortu-
nate pOssessors of limited tract OF land in the
center of the city, whose value has steadily
been enhanced by the community. With this
immense sum OF money the city council of
Chicago, as the authorized representatives Of