Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1922-12-02
DECLARATION OF PRIN,
CIPLES AND RESOLL-
TIONS ADOPTED BY
THE COOK COUNTY
REAL ESTATE BOARD
CHICAGO.


posed of conservative business and
tax-paying citizens. We believe that
business is as essential to our civil
lization as air is to the life of the
individual, that it is the machinery
of business which supports schools,
churches, government and our So
cial institutions but that as air may
be poisoned and deadly, SO may the
evil methods of evil men corrupt and !
debase business, and endanger our
life, our property and menace our
government.
We are alarmed at the power and
influence of the criminal prOfiteer. |
The American people during the war
were told the profiteer would be shot.
He has not been shot, but instead he |
is often found as leader in move
ments to suppress the lesser criminals |
which by his example he has created. |
The profteer at the top is the gun |
man at the bottom, while the former |
gets away with millions the latter, |
following his example, wants to get
away with hundreds in the way best |
known to him. Judges and courts, Off
GERS of the law and legislators in
stead of boldly taking cOgnizance of
the facts and proceeding to put the
profiteers or parent criminals in jail
and driving them out of the commu-
nifty, have, instead, become the dupes
and instruments of those criminals,
and are leading in the hue and cry
against their criminal offspring so
that the crimes of the parent law
breakers may go unpublished.
We apprehend mot the slightest
danger in America from violent an
archy or bolshevism, our political in
| situations offer no soil for the growth
| of such theories But we are in grave
fear of the small group in our coun-
try, brazen, impudent, blind and
| greedy, who have no God nor flag,
nor country and are now in control of
| the money and natural resources of
/ our country, and who are fast assum-
! ing the same relation to our people as
| have been maintained toward their
! people by the similar privileged and
profiteering groups in Europe who
were responsible for the terrible war
and who are now rapidly manufacture
ing other wars.
Inherited and accumulated wealth
IN the hands of the few whose minds
and methods are foreign and antago-
nistic to our institutions is Americas
peril, as it is the only serious men,
ace to our individual lives, peace,
happiness and prosperity
And, whereas, the ownership of our
public utilities in Chicago in private
hands is synonymous with the corrup-
ton of our local government and Of
ficials, and the exploitation of our
citizens is an example and incentive
to thuggery, and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Real
Estate Board and the people of Chi
cago have repeatedly demanded pub
lie ownership of its traction lines
and other utilities, and
WHEREAS, it has been found that
the City, while possessing the power
of condemnation to acquire our trans
portation systems, cannot exercise
this power, unless some plan is de
vised to provide the funds necessary
If such power is exercised, and
WHEREAS, it is absolutely neces
sary that the power of condemnation
be invoked if the City is to purchase
the Surface Lines from the traction
: financiers, as according to all evi
dence and experience, they will de
0 mand an exorbitant price for thei
I properties, and
WHEREAS, there has been a per
sistent and increasing agitation TO
the immediate building of subway
n in the downtown section of the City
e and
WHEREAS, subway construction i
so extremely expensive at the low
est estimate cost, four times as nue.
, per mile as elevated and twenty time
as much as surface lines, and if tn
City undertake the building of tn
subway now, with it's limited finar
cial ability, it will leave no resource
o with which to purchase the lines an
d so get control of the System; no
,r will it have sufficient funds TO bull
more than the mere beginning of
subway system, and
WHEREAS, IL the City SHOuiu III
vest its money in Subway System
the cost would be SO great that tn
interest on the debt would seriousl
cripple il not completely destroy tn
City's chance of purchasing any fu
Their traction properties, and
WHEREAS, there seems to be col
certed effort in many directions
block the City from being placed
position to exercise condemnation
powers, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Cook Coul
ty Real Estate Board reiterate il
position in favor of municipal owl
ership of public utilities, and
RESOLVED, that we condemn tn
proposed subway plan now being az
tated as insincere and hypocritica
and
RESOLVED, that, while We have +
political affiliations or preference
we approve the so-called ThOmpsC
Plan of Ownership and operation
the traction properties with its CO
demnation and trustee-managemel
features as the most practical pls
submitted, and be it further
Il RESOLVED, that copy of the!
resolutions be sent the Mayor, ar
II re ho nd