Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1912-04-20

streets without paying for permit
to the City Forester. Result, trees
are dying all over Chicago for lack
of care.
No wonder taxes are high. The poor
workingman who owns q little piece
of property Is soaked heavily this
year to pay for officials like the City
Forester. This City Forester bust.
ness is the most useless and costly
fad ever saddled upon suffering
community. All that the incumbent
Of the high salaried job has to do Is
to draw his pay, write articles for
daily papers and address clubs Of
childless women who have hard work
killing time while their homes are
taking care Of themselves. Everybody
knows how hard It is to raise flowers
or fruit trees even on private property
in Chicago. Yet this hign salaried
City Forester advocates the planting Of
fruit trees on public streets, because
forsooth, the children would pluck
the fruit and take care Of the trees.
Taxpayers, groaning under burdens,
may take this statement for joke,
but the following from page 10 Of the
Chicago Tribune for April 3, 1912,
gives an account Of the City Forester's
address to a meeting Of comprising
some never at home women and
others, held at the Auditorium hotel
The City Forester. who draws big
sum from Chicago tax payers for his
valuable services, advocated q tree
planting association, which he said
would soon be formed among the Of
fcers of the civic societies Of Chicago
to get their support In the tree
planting movement.
I'VE must get the boys and girls
Interested" he said, "as well as the
men and women, for O boy or girl
when enthusiastic over anything can
create more general interest thar
can group Of older people.
"A good idea would be to plant
fruit trees in parkways and even or
public streets. OF course, as soor
as they bore fruit the boys and girli
would take the fruit.
"They would then begin to take
care Of those trees in order to gel
more fruit and in this way would
want to plant more trees"
What rot!
The extent to which the American
people are worked to make money To-
dividends for the owners OF the tele
phone monopoly IL shown in the m
nual report Of the Bell system To-
1912 from which we take the follow
ing extracts:
The gross revenue collected from
the public In 1911 for telephone serv
ice by the Bell System-not includ
Ing the connected Independent com
panies-was 179,50O.O00; an increas,
Of nearly $14.O00.000 over last year
OF this, operation consumed 100000,
600; taxes, 100000 or IN per cen
on the outstanding capital; curren
maintenance. S30.200.00O; and pro
vision for depreciation. 32S. 5000.
The surplus was @51.800.000, o
which $13.600.000 was paid In inter
est and nearly S26.000.000 was pait
In dividends"
On page 81 Of the annual report o
the Bell Telephone system for 191.
we find the following ingenious state
ment excusing the raising Of rates:
Wherever these rates have beer
increased It has been done by ant
with the consent of the subscriber
to the exchanges, and with the direc
authority or acquiescence of the pub
lie authorities"
This is certainly good. It woul'
be safe guess to say that the "cou
sent of the subscribers" was neve
asked but that rates were raise,
with the direct authority or acQuiel
cence Of the public authorities"
Are the public authorities of tn
city of Chicago going to acquiesce Il
raise of telephone rates?
Unearth the Small Parks Graft
One ofiicial of the Commission VIII
was an embezzler was let 60 on pay
ing back what he stole. Another o.
ficial ia under charges of gross nei
lect Of duty. The public has hear
rumors of graft. graft. graft eve
since the Small Parks Scheme ha
been eating up the pie. Unearth
all!
Judge Edward Osgood Browns re,
ord on the bench shows him to be q
all times fair minded. hard workin
and upright Judge.
~
Andrew J. Ryan stands high In th
estimation Of all Chicagoans. both -
lawyer and 40 citizen.
w. 8. Johnson. the well known an
highly esteemed attorney, woul
serve with credit in any once With
the sift OF the people.
Il George Mills Rogers stands for
most among Chicaso's ablest lav
ysrs and public spirited citissns.