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oSW''WWSijl"w!4jWfcW J lX-,. .,, i.nj1'a.'jf rrpsc i "W y5JriliiWt5'.Tf "" i " lv'!,' V- " ' . S5A5 M eon CUm Mattor Oetobor 11, ISM, at the Pott INDEPENDENT IN ALL THINGS, NEUTRAL IN NONE. i at cmeigti nunois, unotr am or iwsrcn ra, 1179. Entartd as Socond data Matter October 11. KM, at (kUM Offlco at Chicago, Illinois, (indtr Art af Narad M, tWk TWENTY-FOURTH YEAR, NO. 18. CHICAGO, SATURDAY, FXBBUAKY 1, 191JJ. flicfiSt7 WHOLE NUMBER 1,215 trflHM as Mend CUm MatUr Octobsr 11, ISM, l th Pott luncnvMncuir iu at Tuium ueitmsit' m mam. TO REMOVE CIRCLE City Council Puts Itself on Record as Favoring Non - partizanship in City Elections at Meeting, Last Monday. i Judiciary Committee Is Delegated to Prepare Measure that Will Remove the Circle at the Top of the Ballot. No Matter How this New Reform Works Out it Is Certain that Candidates Will Be as Numerous as Ever. With the Number of Petitions Being Filed for Aldermen, City Treasurer and City Clerk a Big Primary Battle Is Certain. Chicago aldermen on Monday night put themaelvei on record aa favor ing non-partisanship in city elections. A resolution favoring dominating the party circle was adopted under a bus pension of the rules. JTt-jvoto was 47 to 10. The resolution was introduced by Alderman James A. Kearns of tho Thirty-first ward. Immediately It became known that the mayor had urged the same thing at a Joint meeting of tho finance and Judiciary committees in the after noon the opposition was stopped. Following are the resolutions In troduced by Alderman Kearns: Whereas, The city council Is or ganized on non-partisan lines and without regard to party affiliations iu the 'selection of Its committees and chairmanships; and, Whereas, also, Nonpartisan elec tions are essential to keep pace with tho tendency of the times In muni cipal affairs, now, therofore, bo it Resolved, .That the Judiciary com mittee of this council be, and It is hereby authorized and directed to prepare a bill to be Introduced at the pending session of tho legislature, which shall provide that the party circle be eliminated from the ballot In all municipal elections. It Is futher Resolved, That said committee, i upon the preparation or said Dili, shall take the necessary steps to cause It to be introduced in both houses of the legislature, and that said committee also exert Its best en deavors to procure the passage of aid bill and its approval by tno, gov ernor of this state. All dumping In the harbors and other waters adjacent to Chicago la prohibited In a bill introduced into Congress by Representative James R. Mann last Monday. The measure has been indorsed by the business men of Chicago and was presented to Mr. Mann by a delegation consisting of A. P. Sullivan and George A. Tripp, mem bers of the Association of Commerce, The bill is most drastic. It abso lutely prohibits tho dumping of all asbeB, refuse, dirt and othor recuse In the outer and inner harbors, the Chicago and Calumet rivers, Calumet Lake and tho canals within the limits of the city, except the drainage canal running west and southwest of Robey street. Heavy penalties are provided for violation of the proposed laws, a fine of not less than $260 nor more than 92,500, or Imprisonment for not less than thirty days nor more than one year, or both, In the discretion of, the court. The master of a vessel violat ing the ,law will be liable to lose his government license. The bill creates the office of super visor of the harbor, which, it Is pro vided, shall be filled by ft line officer of the navy. This officer shall be oharged with the duty of enforcing the law. It is provided that a force of inspectors shall be under his or ders, who shall travel on vessels and make Investigations necessary to see that the anti-dumping law Is observed. The supervisor Is authorised to ar rest persons charged with violating the law and to have them prosecuted. Mayor Harrison Is to have a hand In deciding whether Chicago Is to have an Immediate move for a new charter. This was decided by the Council Judiciary Committee when by a vote of 11 to 4 it moved to refer the resolution of Alderman Capltaln for tho appointment of a committee for the purpose of starting such a step to a subcommittee, composed of Aldermen Pltto, Mayer and Capltaln. This committee will confer with Mayor Harrison by the terms of tho motion made by Alderman Pltto. Tho fellows who want to chango the names of streets, evidently want tho resldonts and buslness'men to begin all ovor again in tho matter of loca tion. ' A spirited scrnrableTor those coun cil seats Is now In order. Changing the names of well known streots morely ties up business and confused the community. Tuero promises to be lots of new faces In the next city council. Alderman Henry D. Capltaln's re cent suggestion that a committee of three from the Chicago Real Estate Board be asked to reconcile tho val uations figured by the city and the elevated railroad companies on the letter's real estate holdings, was adopted by the Council subcommittee that Is considering the "L" merger, plan. The difference in the valua tions Is more than 929,000,000, Alder man Block, chairman of the full com mittee, was asked to confer with the Real Estate Board and ascertain If there are any members who will take up the proposition. James J, Rey nolds of the Harbo" and Subway Com mission, who acted on the valuation committee, submitted a list of par cels of real estate which he says represented most of the difference bo tween tho city and the companies, A good way to get a little revenue for the city would be to get rid of tho .dead material that Is now on the pay roll. Take the soft snaps, away and then tho honost employes of the city wouldn't have to have their sal aries roduced. Republican candidates for tho office ot county commissioners In the coun try districts, who sought a recount of the ballots cast at the November election received a setback at the hands of Judge Tuthlll In Circuit court. The court sustained a de murrer, filed by counsel for tho' vic torious progressives, attacking the sufficiency ot the petition. Judge Tuthlll allowed counsel for the con testants' right to amend their peti tion. It is about time for the council com mittee on street names, etc, to com mence thinking ot a new name for Chicago. It would be in line with their previous actions The Appellate court honded down an opinion on Monday sustaining the decision ot the Circuit Court In re fusing to grant the board of election commissioners, appointed In 1909, salaries of 94,000 a year instead of 92,600 a year. A statute 'approved June 10, 1909, which became effective July 1. 1910, Increased the salaries of election com missioners. Thomas F. Judge, Abel A. Bach and Nathaniel Hudson, who took office July 1, 1009, started man damus proceedings In tho Circuit Court to authorize tho payment of salaries of 94,000 a year. Demurrers were filed In which It was sot up that tho constitution for bids Increasing tho salaries of muni- clpal officers during their terms of office. The court sustained the de murrers, In its opinion the Appellate Court held that eleotlon commission ers are 'municipal officers within the meaning ot the constitution, John D. Riley, superintendent of the city map department, on Tuesday told the Cook County Real Estate Board, at a luncheon In the Hotel Sherman, that 15,000,000 square feet of land be longing to the city Is occupied by rail roads, corporations and Individuals without any financial returns to the municipality. He asserted that the land may be valued conservatively at 93,000,000, and that If Chicago wishes to add to Its income It can take poses slon of tho land or recover its valuo If action Is taken soon enough. Governor Dunne Inaugu- rated on Monday. The deadlock In the legislature was finally broken by tho election of Wil liam McKlnley of Chicago as Speaker. Mr. McKlnley Is a warm friend of Roger C. Sullivan and a good man. It was Mr. Sullivan's diplomacy that finally brought about a settlement and McKlnley's election. It was accom plished by the votes of 36 Democrats, 46 Republicans and one Progressive. Mr. McKlnley at once sent a tele gram to Governor-elect Dunne, assur ing him of his warm support In all good measures. Anyone who thinks Mr. Sullivan Is a dead one In politics will have to think It over again. Changing wellHtnown streets to obllgo aldermen from recently annex ed sections of the city Is not popu lar. AS a samoie 01 the street nnmn changing scheme take Webster ave nue, ono or the oldest and best known streets on the North Side. It has no dupllcato and runs from Lincoln Park to Leavltt street on the West Side, a distance of three miles. Yet Its name Is to be changed to Palmer street. , The spring campaign Is now on In earnest. Why don't some of those high' priced officials reduce their salaries Instead of taking ft out of the fire men' and policemen, Tho taxpayers .don't care how many wards there are or liosV many alder men, but they don't want their terms extended; two years Is enough. Directors of tho Illinois Manufact urers' Association have Instructed their legislative committee to work for a 91,000,000 appropriation for tho Il linois exhibit at the Panama-Pacific exposition In 1915. The intention is MARCUS KAVANAQH. Judge of the Supsrlor Court. to have Illinois make the best showing ot any state at the fair, New York hav ing set aside 9760,000 for Its exhibit, O. O. Fyffe, attorney for the associa tion, has been instructed to prepare an appropriation bill for presentation to the legislature. A referendum on phone rates would give the people a chance to express their feelings toward the monopoly. Every Una you go to the tslsphoaa you reel un voting against a who favors the Phone Trust e will bo TvjSHKEHnSSBSBBBBBBBBBSBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBE1 V'jsigHtggggggggggg ? .HyBgigggggggggggggggggggggggggH I kS'!gBkmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmWmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmWA 'liiagggHXiliBlfgggH iimKo!mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmWL tfi 'syadMgggggggggggggggggMI '4mMSmmmWmmmUmmmmmB( IMmmmlmmmmmmmWti- VggggslHI HHHlsafgggggBagL W s WggggH 'jgHnBgggggggH ' .1 V """rJgggggggHI hBBJEUBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBK x , v vt lBnBnBnBngsgsgal WaMsWBggggBL 'ii'U iV: & 'Jggggggggfl HaHgggggB'''ggsH HilggWiH-issH gggggggKK'HgggggBai BSBBBBBBBBBBBBJBSBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBjBBBBBBjaBjF ffM'JmWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMm BgggggggggBaKSSnPtl -i- mwmwmwmwmwmwmwmwmwmm 3BiiiiiiiHBjgiiiiR9K',sgggggggggS flgggggggggggggKggggggggS FOR COMPETITION President-Elect Wilson Is Opposed to Monopoly and Favors the Knocking Out of All Trusts. The Biggest Monopoly in the United States To-day v Is, as Everybody Knows, the Tele phone Trust. An Effort Will Be Made to Curb Its Power and Limit Its Influence by the Next Administration Without Doubt. The People Are Supporting Competitive Companies Because Competition Is the Only Thing that Will Completely Stifle and Kill Monopoly. Telephone users who have been pay ing high prices to the Trust view with pleasure the attitude ot Presidentelect Wilson towards monopoly. President-elect Wilson says that monopoly must go and the Phone Trust is tho biggest monopoly In the country. Many people regret that the present administration has not been more vlg- oroua In Its opposition to Telephone Monopoly than it has. Attorney General Wickersbam has called the attention of the Interstate Commerce Commission to alleged dis crimination against independent com panies, especially In long distance service. Calling the commission's attention to the immensity ot the subject, Mr. Wickersbam said: "There are said to be some 20,000 Independent telephone companies, representing investments aggregating many millions of dollars, which to gether operate more than 4,000,000 telephones. No ono ot these companies represents capital or business com parable in slzo with that ot tho Amer ican company or any ot Its principal subsidiary companies. "Tho American Telephone and Tele graph Company, either directly or through subsidiary companies whose stock It owns, operate what Is known generally as tho Bell telephone sys tem, which renches upwards of 70, 000 places, distributed among prac tically all tho states ot tho union, having sorao 4,500,000, telephones In use, and operating tho principal long distance lines between tho states. "It has an Invested capital ot a book valuo ot nearly $600,000,000. It also Is tho owner of a largo block ot stock ot tho Western Union Telegraph company, through which it practically controls tho operations ot tho tele graph and cablo lines of that corporation." A referendum on phone rates will mean lower rates. The Telephone Trust will be fought by the people until It ceases to be a monopoly and until its charges are as reasonable as the government it self would charge for similar publlo service. People who imagine that the pass ing of an ordinance by the City Coun cil will do away with a public demand for better conditions and lower rates In the telephone service are mistaken. Tho telephone Is a necessity to the people and no one knows this better than die monopoly which controls it The purchase of newspapers or the purchase ot public officials will not help the cause of monopoly. The nowspapers which support mo nopoly have lost their Influence with the public, which Is intelligent and possessed of a good memory. Public officials who give away the pooplo's rights or show favors to the telephono monopoly will not be for gotten. On tho contrary, they will be prop erly branded and will be retired to private life. The people are In no frame ot mind to be trifled with. They are showing this every day and at every election. Tho man who sells them out to a trust taay win the approbation of somo mllllonalre-owned dally paper, but the common citizen, who Is in sulted, neglocted and overcharged by the telephone service, will not forget There Is one thing that the average voter has a knife up his sleeve for. That thing Is the publlo official who favors the Telephone Trust. The fact Is dawning upon the pub lic that the Phone Trust hangs on to its antique and out-of-date equipment Just to keep prices up, The older the kind of instrument In use the easier It is to pile up a lot of figures, prov ing the great cost ot maintenance; and this great cost has to be added to the telephone bill of the subscriber, The only reason why the telephone Trust will not use the automatlo sys tem is because it can make more money out ot the publlo with its anti quated service. England has adopted the automatic service, and so has tar away Australia and New Zealand, The Trust is so busy garnering a great fortune from the people of Chicago that all that it wants is a number of friendly aldermen, and "the people be d d." Every effort is being made by the Trust to cloud the real situation and get away with another sehodulo of" high prices. Every subject except the real one overcharge of telephone rates is brought up by the company's agents at Council Committee meet ings. The rates should be cut in halt to begin with, and the company should be obliged to install automatlo secret; service. Tho Trust Telephono Company, which is suffering so much from want ot funds, according to certain city "experts" that it will have to raise telephone rates on the people In order to exist, paid 8 pes cent in dividends lost year. Think ot 1(1 Eight per cent on twenty-seven Bil lion dollars 1 This Is the company that started with a capital stock ot halt a million and now has a capital stock ot twenty-seven millions. It pays 8 per cent annual dividend on twenty-seven millions and pits up a twenty-two story modern eOct building besides. The people of Chicago are such easy marks that the phone crowd want to get more out of them and asks for an Increase in rates at the hands of the City Council. And two "experts" agree that this "poor" company Is losing moaoyl In 1911 the Trust Telephone Com pany paid 8 per cent in quarterly divi dends of 2 per cent March 81, I par cent, June 80; 2 per cent, September SO; 2 per cent, December 80, 1911. Here is a nice little nest egg ot 82,160,000 divided up among the stock holders. When to this Is added the profit! paid the "parent" Bell Telephone Company, the amount grabbed off the people ot Chicago Is simply enormous. Instead of raising telephone rates, the City Council should lower them. A referendum on phone rateB Is domanded by tho people. Tho phono trust docs not own Chi cago oven though It may think so. It the Council abolishes tho flat tolophono rate for tho reason that the telephone trust asks It to abolish it, then the Council should order the company to give a rebate ot two cents upon every five-cent call. The tele phono trust complains that flat rate phones increase Its burden 25 per cent. That users of flat rate phones only pay one and a half cents a call, while the whole service, medium and flat, costs the company over two cents a call. Very well, let the Alder mon say to the phone crowd: "We have cut oft 25 per cent ot your bur den. This will increase your revenue. Give the people the benefit and let them have a rebate ot two cents m every call," The people are entitled to lower telephono rates. The aldermen have a chance to help out their constituents and save money for them in this direction, Will they do it? Give us theIniuatlvo and Referen dum and lower telephone rates. ffigtfits&i'fl yy Im'i - a ? .'& r - .!)