Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1896-04-25
REFORM the SPECIAL ASSESSMENT
SYSTEM.

Now that the city Oftici0lS conducting
the Investigation Of accounts In the
special assessment department have
unearfhed the fraudulent methods Of
one firm Of rebate collectors. and found
that a complete list Of old rebates Is In
the possession Of these sharks. proper.
ty owners and real estate men are
ready to march on the City Hall and dc.
mand the publication Of the official lists
Of rebates. Mayor Swift has time and
again refused to make public the names
Of property owners to whom rebates
are due, or to send official notices from
the department to them, so that they
may collect the money due them. He
has given as his reason that the city
has no money with which to pay these
amounts. but his statement Is emphat-
ically denied by employees Of the city
eOmptrOller's Office. who assert the city
ls able to pay every dollar due In re-.
bates on demand.
For his attitude on this matter. which
IL Of vital interest to property owners
who have In years past paid In large
sums for special assessments and have
been kept out Of their rebates for years,
the Mayor has been attacked several
times publicly by the Real Estate
Board. ana by committees from that Or
ganizntlOn interested In the improve.
ment Of the system OF levying and col.
Letting special assessments. In add
tlOn to the allegation that the city has
no money with which to pay the old
rebates. the Mayor has asserted that II
would he an endless and expensive
task to prepare a list Of the old rebates
shown on the hooks of the department
as uncOllected. This statement II also
denied by his subordinate officials In
direct charge Of these matters.
Since the expose Of the methods Of
ex-emplOyes ana others In the cOllec-
ton of these rebates there has been u
revival Of interest In the rebate ques.
ton. and the Mayor will soon be con
frOnted by another committee with u
demand for the immediate publication
Of the official lists Of rebates. 1t Ii con
tended now that the officials have the
lists as copied from the books of the
department by william II. Madden
the ex-chief clerk, and that, while II
Is In the possession Of the city authOri
ties pending the trial Of Madden and
Leonard on the forgery charges, the
Mayor can easily obtain copy OF the
list for the public's benefit. 1t IL true
the lists seized In Madden's desk are
quite extended, for the reason 1t com
prises n complete list of all rebates on
the city's books prior to 1894 tina,
amount to So or over. But while it Il
lengthy IL Is In such shape that a clerk
or typewriter could easily make com.
plete copy OF 1t In two or three days
and it would be published within a
week or ten days In the official Council
proceedings, under orders from the
City Council. The Aldermen are clam.
Orlng for Just such material, and there
Is hardly one OF them that would op.
pose the publication Of the list and Its
dissemination throughout the city.
As for the statement of the Mayor
that no money Is on hand TO pay the re-
bates should the property owners come
in and demand them, one Of the Of
ficials OF the cOmptroller's office. who
Is familiar with all accounts In the Of
flee, but would not allow the use Of
his name publicly through fear Of dis
missal, said: I'VE have enough money
on hand to pay every dollar Of the re-
bates on hIadden's list, and there
could be no possible harm to the city
In making the names Of property own
ers entitled 10 rebates public. 1t should
be done, and then such business as
this would be impossible.
The property owners can collect the
rebates as easily as these collecting
agencies, one Of which Is now In trOu-