The evening times., 1900-01-22
CHICAGO'S INCOME WANING.
Falling on in the Item of License
Puzzles Financiers.

CHICAGO, Jan. Chicago. with less
than oue-half the population Cf New YORK,
expends in a year. approximately for mu-
picipaI expenses SO, ,oO0. 900, the item Of in
terest on the city debt, which is less than
Sl7. 600 0e5. being a small one, and the d.
rect contribution or Chicago TO the Stale
administration Of Illinois al Springfield
being likewise, a modest one
Chicago is just now in the throes Of some
forced fnauciering" 10 make its muni-
cipal revenues meet the required ds0urse-
ments. and II has been ssccrtained. ac-
cordlng 10 tae report Cf the city collectors.
that there has been a heavy falling OF
Of the ciry's receipts from licenses, aver
aging 10 per cent in over twenty classes.
Discovered at a time when the CITY IS
confronted by a deficit in its general fund,
the shortage Of license receipts Is an orca-
sion for surprise. Chicago collects license
fees from peddlers. owners OF vehicles.
plubers butchers, brewers. and theatre
managers. as well as from aUCtiOneers, ba-
kers. bOatmeH. druggists, keepers OF table
d 'hote restaurants, guEpOwder stores, and
hospitals. from hackmeL junk dealers.
produce YeRders. runners. public scales
soap factories. street ears, wagons, and
workshops
The dininutiOn In the revenues from
these. $500 0O0 in 1883, has been $4,000.
the largest item CT falling on being in the
case Of the plumbers, although the muni-
cipaI refOrmers OF Chicago. less numeT-
Gus class than in New York, discern no
humorous significance 10 this. Deither co
they offer any explanation OF the fact that
the number OF licensed wagons in the city
has decreased 700 compared with year
ago notwithstanding the fact that all re-
tail as well as wholesale business has IN
Chicago. as elsewhere, been largely IL
Creasing.
Although twenty items OF license
revenue in Chicago have decreased during
the year. other items Of license revenue
have either remained stationary or grown
larger and the statement Of the number
Of these shows the extent TO which
municipal license is carried on IN Chica-
90. That city received last year $4,000
from the license on dogs, S2s. eco from the
license on cigarettes, So. coo from milk
peddlers. S25 900 from brokers. $4,000
from second hand clothing dealers, $4,000
from pawnbrOkers. and $4,000 from milk
dealers in stores.
The largest separate :. n of license
receiY PTS in Chicago is. OF course. the one
derived from saloons of which there are
no Gy-aTth. The revenue from this source
last year was y. Z -OUV, utninS increase
over the year before. but the other
licenses named fell on IN the aggregate,
so that despite iJs increase in wealth, en-
largement OF business and alleged in
crease in population, Chicago's revenue
from licenses was less last year than the
year before. though there has been no
corresponding reduction in the rates
charged.
What is regarded by some Chicago men
as an unaccOuntable decline in public
license revenue is under the heading OF
boats" There is a S25 fee for steam
boats. s. for rOwbOats. 50 for salboats.
and $27 for junkbOats. Assuming that
there was but one steamboat. one rowboat,
enc sailboat and one junkbOat in the city
a strict enforcement of the law would
bring $50 AS il was, the city got Sll-
Ten years ago the city derived 81 400
revenue from boat licenses.