Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1901-12-07

The Eagle has no hesitation In af
frming Its belief that with a good busi.
ness management and a careful and
scrupulous Board of Education this
amount of revenue Is ample and should
be more than sufficient to run our
school system on most complete and
satisfactory basis.
The trouble is. the financial affairs of
the Board of Education are not now
and never have been properly admin
istered.
If there were less jobbery in real es-
tate on the part of the board. less effort
directed to the boosting of prices of
unimproved property in certain dis.
tricts by the purchase of school sites
and options" there would he more
funds for the specific purposes of cdu-
cation, and no excuse at all for the
tax faddists to yawp about salaries.
pensions and the like.
But even under the inefficient man.
'agement of present and past school
boards. there has always been ample
money to pay our teachers stan fair
salaries. and as tax-eaters they should
be the last to howl against the heavy
taxpayers in this community.
There are twelve hundred married
school teachers in Chicago, supporting,
In almost every case, some lazy. loaf.
ing husband. who performs the culin.
airy duties at the home while his better
half Is engaged in a necessarily un.
profitable effort of teaching the young
idea how to shoot.
Why not begin the work of reform In
the public school system itself by dis.
missing every married school teacher
from the service and appointing in
their stead competent young unmarried
women. who would be glad to do bet
ter work for less money?
There Is also very well.grOunded
idea that the executive staff under the
Board of Education Is exceedingly top.
heavy. ana some pruning could be done
there which would effect a very sub.
stantial retrenchment and i'm no way
impair the efficiency of the public sys-
TEN.
But these are but side issues. and are
merely mentioned here to show that II
we are to have "reformers" connect cd
with our public school system there is
wide field for their activity much
nearer home than the State Board OF
Equalization.
To return to the subject of the in
furious results liable to arise from the
taxation agitation. The Eagle deeires
to emphasize the following facts:
II such corporations as the traction
companies are compelled to pay the
enormous increase In taxes now being
demanded by the agitators they will in
the first place be compelled to reduce
the pay of all their employees, which |
would carry suffering into 10000
homes in Chicago. represented on the |
pay rolls Of the traction companies |
alone.
The Union Traction Company, as as
sessed for 1900. and before the addi- |
tional assessment was added. was
greater than the assessment of the land |
In any one of iifty-nine counties In the
State.
The average assessed value of EACH
MILE Of railroad In the state of ILL.,
nois Is greater than the average rs.
sessed value Of 900 acres Of any other
land In the State of Illinois.
II all the harm that Is likely to arise
from this agitation was simply the con-
fiscatiOn and destruction Of the raii-
road corporations the city and state
might Outlive It, but when we remcm-
ber that such II elimination would |
reach every money center In the world.
md that the effect would be that no
man who has money for investments
could be Induced 10 invest 1t where
such condition was brought about by
popular clamor, then we might begin
to realize how far-reaching In Its evil
effects this crusade would be. ana The
realization would come home to us
with irresistible force that zeal without
knowledge In this case Is the same rs
1t has been during all the ages.
II the Crusade" Is kept up 1t can be
safely asserted, ana no person who has
studied the situation Will contradict
the statement, 1t would take this State
Ut least twenty years to Outlive the in
Jury wrought by this sensless attack,
the object aimed ut was ac.
or not.
~6
There Is one thing You will have to
top, Mayor Harrison, IL you want the
support of the Chicago business men,
md that Is the periodical and frequent
touching" Of merchants In your name
md that Of the city administration.
rhe Eagle believes that you know
iothing Of this, but 1t Is very hard to
the business community, ana
those having business with
he City Hall, that you do not. You
ire standing on bigger volcano In
his matter than you are aware of.
~~
More money has been stolen from the
aXpayers under the Harrison admins.
ration than under any other in history.
~9A
Talk about the traction companies
armlng the city. DO the traction com {
anies put down rotten pavements; re-
use to pay rebates: tell the people that
Uphold water Is good to drink, and rob