Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1903-02-07

Municipal ownership fads and fan
cies are being kept whirling around
the heads of Chicago Aldermen these
days by few individuals Interested
in exploiting themselves through what
they deem good gallery plays.
Some of the late Council meetings
have furnished striking illustrations Of
this. Municipal hobby horses of all
kinds have been trotted around. inter
spersed with referendum crochets and
other crank ideas. until anybody try
ing to keep track of them must inevi-
tably become bewildered.
Meanwhile the real business Of the
city Is being neglected to such I'm ex.
tent that the streets are In n most
atrocious condition never paralleletl,
even in the history OF Chicago: the
bridges are closed, the alleyways are
filled with dirt accommodating In Its
coat of frost and frozen snow ready
to be released with the spring sun
shine. when II will reek and smell to
high heaven. spreading disease and
pcstllencc all around.
While demagogues and sclf.scekcrs
are paltering ana monkeying with
such hobbies as municipal ownership
Of public utilities ana other phanta.
sizes. the people of Chicago are suffer.
Ing all the woes that befall % great
community which has absolutely no
city administration or municipal gov
eminent.
The so-called municipal coal yard"
by the way. IL sample of what Chi.
cago might expect II the cranks and
demagogues who for one purpose or
another keep continually DINING mu.
nicipal ownership were to have their
way.
After much fiourishing of trumpets
the self-advertisers In the City COun-
Ill induced that body dhe majority Of
which. by the way, II composed Of re-
spectacle and sensible mem to under.
take to sell soft coal to the public ut
cost. The result was the worst kind
Of failure. The deluded people who
through the representations made
through the press believed the city
was going into the coal business. flock.
ed to the City Hall by the hundreds,
ana from thence to the sO-called m,l.
nicipal yards. which were located nj
some of the pumping stations. only t.
ind out that the city had neither cOal
nor sufficient help to distribute II. A
few meageriy filled baskets OF tn,
fuel We're handed out, but the Who'll,
undertaking proved to he little better
than n piece of tOmfoOlery whereby
the poor of the city We're the chief suf
ferers.
This Is only mentioned as a case II
point, ana for the purpose OF givlni
the readers Of The Eagle some idea OF
what they might expect II the cit!
went into the municipal ownership o
street railways ana other lines OF In
dustry.
&6
II Is to be noted, however, that til,
faddists have not succeeded In Occu
plying all the time of the city father
and that some have awaited thcmselve
of opportunities to do business OF cvel
more mischievOus character thar
merely neglecting the affairs Of tn,
city for the sake of idle discussion
over impractical theories.
one incident of last Mondays SEES
sion Is "a ease in point, and Is some
thing that cannot be characterize,
otherwise than as an outrage. one %
our daily contemporaries In Its rep0r
of the proceedings thus refers to 1t;
"a number OF Aldermen who unlte'
In censuring former Building Commits
sioner Kiolbassa and finally fOrcln
his retirement for violations of tn
building laws, united again last nigh
for another purpose. This was To sane
ton violations of the law.
In spite of the protests Of Alderman
Mayor and few other members o
the Council, the majority force,
through orders on the building depart
ment allowing the erection of fran,
buildings within the fire limits, an,
agreeing TO violations Of the new
building law"
This incident, by the way, seems Il
throw peculiar light on the Kiolbass,
incident above referred to. Here ",
have the spectacle Of a clique of mu
nlcipal Legislators who harassed ant
prosecuted good and faithful cit,
officer on account Of an unfortunat,
occurrence for which bad prcccden
and not he was responsible, uniting
for the purpose Of committing the mos
Migrant violation Of the very laws gov
erning the conduct Of that municipa