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the ventilation ordinance, you can sue and sue in the courts and you can't collect anything. The city law yers can sue and sue and they can't get anywhere. The reason is ihatthe Chicago Surface Lines is not a corpora tion. It's as much outside the law as any pauper in Cook county, so far as you can get anything from it in courts. The C. S. L. is only an op erating company. It is not a financial institution, a regularly chartered cor poration with funds and backers re sponsible to the state or the city. This is the swindle State's Att'y Hoyne will attack Saturday in quo warranto proceedings before Judge Goodwin. The "unified operation" ordinances of last year had jokers in them by which the car companies are able to give rotten service as ever and nobody can be held responsible. The Chicago Railways Co. (north side) and the Chicago City Railways Co. (south side) and" the two smaller companies were hooked together in an operating agreement. Through routing was going to end overcrowd ing. All the big loop newspapers gave their readers the idea it was going to be a blessing to all strap hangers. Hoyne's statement last night says: "Since February, 1914, the four companies owning, all of the street railways of Chicago, disclaim any re sponsibility as to the operation of their premises; that all of these prop erties have been operated by a group of seven individuals, claiming to have the authority under the so-called 'merger ordinance,' passed by the city in December, 1913. This ordi nance purports to authorize the com panies to turn over to the seven in dividuals, constituting the Chicago Surface Lines board of operation, complete authority to operate all of these street railways until 1927." Hoyne's language is polite and reg ular. A state's attorney must use de cent language. Yet he comes about as near as. any man can in court lan guage to saying that the traction companies are trying, through the merger ordinance, to put over a raw skin game, plain on the face of it to anybody who will look at it The Hoyne statement goes oh: "These seven individuals are not incorporated. Under the laws of this state only corporations can be au thorized to operate street railways. Individuals attempting to operate are exercising powers which can only be conferred upon corporations, and their operation, is therefore altogeth er unlawful. "As the city cannot authorize such individuals to operate street railways under its laws, it follows that the city can have no legal authority to con trol such operation by these individ-uals.- The operation is without au thority of law, is not subject to legal control and is wholly irresponsible. "By the supposed 'merger ordi nance' the companies are thus ab solved from the responsibility of op eration. "There are other conditions im posed by the 'merger ordinance' that would warrant this proceeding on my part. The ordinance was skillfully and adroitly drawn for the purpose of confirming in the corporations rights and privileges which they have usurped in violation of the 1907 or dinance, which if held legal would have conferred upon these companies great financial returns which by the 1907 ordinance would be preserved by the people." o o DEMOCRATS MAY FLOP The latest report from the Spring field senate scrap is to the effect that Senators John Broderick, Francis Hurley and Al Groman, Democrats, wfll flop their party and join hands with the John Dailey-Sam Ettelson Dick Barr clisue. o o -. Peter Fairro, 1322 Arthington, pur chased horse from two boys for 10 cents. Turned it over to police. Be lieved stolen. .sfcHr. (itffr