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ye ,-v f'y r "" V" "INDEPENDENT IN ALL THINQS. NEUTRAL IN NONE.1 VOLUME XXV. CHICAGO, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1901 TWELVE PAGES. NUMBER 638. ANARCHY'S BAD VOICE. It Strikes at tbe Railroads of Illinois and Endeavors to Destroy Them All, Although These Great Corporations .Have Made Chicago the Wonderful City It Is. The Busybodies and Vendors of Pernicious Doctrine Want to Tax Them to Death. The Attempt to Browbeat and Bulldoze the - State Board of Equalization Should Fail, Because It Was Born in Malice and Made Demagogues Who Fool the Citizens. The extraordinary spectacle hn Just been witnessed In this State of it le gally elected body clothed with full authority to discharge Kit duties us pro scribed by law, and bearing, to the discharge of these duties the commis sion of the sovereign voles of this State, being subjected to a system of browbeating, coercion and dictation by a little clique of self-interested tuxeut ers backed up by a few notoriety seek ers. This may sound almost Incredible, but It Is precisely the situation In re gard to the work of llio State Hoard of Equalization In dealing with and adjusting the values of corporate prop erty ami the taxation of the same In till county ami State. The crowd of meddlesome toxeaters and payroll patriots who have been nagging ami snapping at (he heels of our great and useful corporations have now concentrated their lire upon the State Hoard of i:piall.atlon, and calm ly announce to the public their Inten tion of dictating and shaping the work of this body by means of mandamus proceedings In the courts. As might be expected, the Lizard of the City Hall, Is at the) head of the movement. Chicago's fourjkishlng Mayor could , never afford to miss such a splendid op- portuulty for a gallery play as this offers. Harrison, whoso administration has been such a miserable exhibition of In competency and failure, ami who, ever since he took public olllee, has demon strated his conspicuous Inability to at tend to the duties of 11, Is always ready to Jump In and attend to other people's business. This penchant for meddling with thu alTalis of other olllclals while neglect ing his own has been one of the most prominent of his traits as a public oil) cor. The people elected Harrison to run '-. the alValrs of the city of Chicago, and this he has failed to do. The people of the State of Illinois, In cluding the voters of Chicago ami Cook County, elected the Stale Hoard ot Equalization to attend to the adjust- meat of taxes, and this Harrison Insists upon attending to, and, of course, botch ing. When "the Stato Hoard of Equullzu tloln slapped Its doors In his face ami told him to go back to Chicago ami mind his own business If he could, the l.lzard of tliu City Hall was for the tlmo being nonplussed. Hut the gall of Harlson Is unequalod. lie bethought him that by moans of the courts and under cover of mandamus proceedings ho might yet bo enabled to get his linger In the tax pie, and so hero we have hi in galloping around through tho courts looking for n writ of mandamus against tho duly elected Stato Hoard compelling that body to do what ho and his cotcrlo of faddists con sider right and proper. Tho spectacle Harrison thus offerH would lie ludicrous If tho situation was not Ro fraught with dangerous and oven disastrous possibilities. It might bo that some, court could be found willing to issue a writ of man damus against tho Stato Hoard, al though it Is hardly possible to imagine how any Judgo could consistently un dertake to practically dictate tho func tions of au entirely Independent body by one clothed by the voters of the State with absolute authority In the dis charge of such functions. Hut Instances arc not .wanting of courts of Justice being influenced by clamor aroused by schemers among the Ignorant and unthinking, so often mistakenly called public sentiment. There is therefore no telling what may occur In this case, but the State Hoard of Equalization should light to the bitter end any attempt to control or coerce It by mandamus or any other proceeding either in the courts or out side of them. This body has before It now one of the most serious conditions to deal with that ever confronted a similar body In this State. Upon its action depends whether business, trade ami commerce hi Illi nois will be dealt a staggering blow, and the Interests of the great mass of the people, particularly the wage earners ami the wealth producers of Chicago and Illinois, shall ho trampled under foot for the bencllt of a hungry army of taxcaters and parasites on the body politic. Of course if the Champions of graft and of laxeatlug manage to cripple the State Hoard of Equalization and coerce that body through the courts, then the board will be no longer re sponsible for the results, but the An archists, tint faddists, the notoriety hunters and the busybodies will be held to a stern accounting by tho pub lie later on. This argument, we believe, holds good In regard to all the useful cor porations of this State, now being crowded and harassed by the mischief makers, but It Is partlculaily so In re gard to theiallroad corporatloiiswhlch seem to be the particular object of the most persistent and venomous attacks of these people. Why those attacks should bo tin strongly concent rated upon tho rail road corporations can hardly be ex plained, unless it Is that the forces of Anarchy have always hated and op posed most ilercoly those great com binations of capital, Industry and en terprise which have contributed most to tho ciuiso of civilization. That tho great railroads have been pre-eminent In this direction every body knows who has studied thu his tory of this country. Upon this point Tho Englo last week quoted the Piesldent's message, The words of the Chief Executive of the Nation were directly to tho point, ami titled the ease under discussion so thoroughly that Tho Englo repro duces part of tliem again tills week with n view to Impressing them upon tho minds of ltn readers and particu larly of tho members of thu Stato Hoard of Equalization. Hero Is whnt tho President says; "THE CAPTAINS OK INDUSTUY WHO IIAVK DRIVEN THE HAIL WAY SYSTEMS ACROSS THIS CON TINENT, WHO HAVE IIUILT UP OUR COMMERCE, WHO HAVE DE VELOPED OUR MANUFACTURES, HAVE ON THE WHOLE DONE GREAT GOOD TO OUR PEOPLE. Without them tho material develop ment of which wo are so Justly proud could never linvo takcu place. More over, wo should recogulzo tho Immense Importauco to this material develop MR. MARVIN HUQHITT. The Highly Esteemed President of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Company. ment of leaving as unhampered as Is compatible with the public good thu strong ami forceful men upon whom the success of business operations In evitably rests." This expression of sentiment by President Roosevelt should nerve thu State Hoard to do Its duty fearlessly and Independently of the clamor of demagogues and Anarchists. The matter that seems to be now most under discussion Is the assess ment of the railroad side-trackage and the manner of assessing it. If the Chicago Anarchists, dema gogues and notoriety seekers can have their way this would be done by the Statu Hoard lu such a manner as to bring tlnanclal distress upon the man agement of tho roads by Imposing an enormous and Intolerable load of ad ditional taxation upon them, ami all for the purpose of Increasing the pay rolls of the taxcaters of Chicago ami Cook County." It would not lie a particle of benetlt to the general public, and the mass of the taxpayers would tlml their bur dens not a whit lightened by the op eration because any Increase that might le brought about by It In the public treasury would be all too little to till the maw of the pap suckers. Resides all this the object which Is sought to be attained by means of mandamus procccdhu; would work un outrage and Injustice upon the people of the S(iate outside of Cook County. We quote fioiu a recognized authority on this point: "Tho revenue law plainly require the Stato Hoard to treat each rail road as an entirety to find its value as a whole, Including all the lands and lots It owns and uses for railroad pur poses. This total vuluo is then divided by the entire mileage of the road In the Slate and a value per mile Is fixed and each county Is then credited with such value multiplied by tho number of miles of tho road that it contains. Tho effect of this method Is to spread thu value of the Chicago lands ami lot, belonging to each railroad ter minating there U along its Hue. That Is thu law and It has a Just result, bo cause It Is thu business and tratllc from the country districts that makes the terminals In Chicago and other cities valuable. Hut this just result Is precisely what tho representatives of the taxcaters In that city are com plaining about." This Is a very fair and reasonable statement of the situation, and the tax- eaters' brigade, the anarchists and tho notoriety hunters of Chicago and Cook County hail better bewiiro how they ex cite tho resentment of tho rest of tills State, because with tho balance of Illi nois arrayed agalust it Cook County has found out on moro occasions and lu moro ways than ono that It Is not tho whole thing In tho "Prairie Stato" by any means. Hut this campaign against tho rail roads has not tho support of i united Cool; County. Tho peoplo of Chicago know tho true mituro and character of this agitation. Thoy know and estimate nt their prop er wortli those who nro back of It. Thoy have a fair Idea of tho princi ples at stnko and of tho true facts and the justlco of tho cose. They kuow iini ill ill lHK H In HI llf iii i LLLH III III Mm HHPHPk LLLLLH III III 11 m K? 'HsUI UII Sill EX v vH In HIE lli!' i ErfH M Mill Iini HP ItiwiEi' jH I nvuiiiii liii'ii k Hki m I IHIIIIlIilfiii h'HhifcLB .H Hlllil illlyHBFrn In linill jljlUKr H that the railroad companies cannot con ceal their property. They make sworn returns of every Item they possess, and of their earnings and expenses, and It Is the duty of the State Hoard, elected by the people, to llx a Just value per mile upon them. The Supreme Court many years ago held that the Statu Hoard, lu llxlug railroad values must take Into account how other property was being valued by local assessors, because the constitution requires equal ity lu the principle of assessments, as between the different classes of prop erty. They kuow further that It Is said upon good authority that If the pres ent assessment on personal property in Chicago was Increased three times over .what It now Is, no Injustice would be done, and that all thu lauds lu Cook County, aside from city ami town lots. nro actually assessed at less than half the amount of their assessment twenty- four or twenty-live years ago. The State Hoard of Equalization Is composed of gentlemen representing every part of the State, and those who represent the districts outside of Cook County are hi the majority. Very naturally they wllliefusetotake any action that may milltito agalust tbe interests of their constituents, and It Is only to be expected that they will resent Interference and dictation from Chicago's inlsllt Mayor, who has proven such n conspicuous failure In the dfc- charge of his own duties. In this they will, we believe, receive tho support of the Cook County members who under stand perfectly well that they have no mandate ftoni tho voters of this city and county to tax to death tho great and useful corporations which have made Chicago what It Is. The whole attitude of Harrison lu regard to this tax campaign Is lu direct opposition to the feelings and senti ments of the public ol Chicago, We believe we are correct hi saying that he represents only his own Inor dinate desire to maintain Ills grip on the Mayoralty by continually keeping himself lu the public eyes through some form of demagoguery. In this course we bellevo Harrison's cunning Is for once at fault. Tho public has become so accustomed to his methods as to be enabled to see through his schemes. Tho unfairness of both nro patent. His attack upon tho Chicago and Northwestern lo.id is a case lu point. The peoplo know that this groat rail road system has been ono of tho great est of this city's benefactors. It was the tlrsl railroad running Into Chicago, and the growth, progress and commercial greatness of this city Is co incident with the appearance hero of this particular railroad system. It has dono wonders lu building up Chicago, has brought tho wealth of tho North west to our doors, built up our contrib utory territories, employed our labor, and brought wealth and prosperity gen erally to Chicago. And yet this Is ono of tho great cor porations singled out by tho Mayor and tho tag rag and bobtail that howls In his wako for oppression and ruinous taxation. Tho Eaglo repents what It bos said from tho outset, that If this campaign Is to bo carried out until tho objects of those responsible for It arc attained, It will be the worst blow Chicago has received, since the big lire. It will lie the first step and a long one toward the destruction of this city's commercial supremacy, and It will be particularly disastrous to the army of wageworkers which is to-day the pride as well as the bono and sinew of Chi cago. If our corporations nro to be taxed to death, employment will cease, thou sands of heads of families will be thrown jiut of work and after that heaven knows what. That the Interests of tho laboring peo ple are vitally connected with this tax agitation no person who has paused to give the matter tho slightest thought will deny. Upon this point we again quote Pres ident Roosevelt. Here Is what the Pres ident of the United States says: "Moreover. It cannot too often be pointed out that TO STRIKE WITH IGNORANT VIOLENCE AT, THE IN TERESTS OF ONE SET OF MEN ALMOST INEVITAHLY ENDAN GERS TEE INTERESTS OK ALL. Disaster to great business enterprises can never have Its effects limited to the men at tho top. It spreads through out, and while it is bail for everybody, It Is worst for those farthest down. THE CAPITALIST MAY HE SHORN OK HIS LUXURIES; HIT THE WAGE WORKER .MAY HE DE PRIVED OK EVEN HARE NECES SITIES. This, however, Is what Chicago's Demagogic Mayor and the swarm of wild-eyed theorists and tax reformers would do. They would "strike with Ignorant violence" at I ho Interests of tho railroad companies which have built up Chicago, and would thereby deprive the wage-workers of this city of tho liaie necessities of life. Hut what does Harrison care for the wage-workers? They are as tho dust beneath his feet when It comes to a question of exploit ing himself. He has the Interests of but one Individual in view lu everything he ever does either In public or private, and that Individual Is Carter II. Har rison, What does tho petticoat lulgade which operates through tho Touchers' Kcderatloii care about thu working peo ple so long as the payrolls of thu Hoard of Education are fat and plentiful' It may bo said by sensational Jour nals that tho agitation has for its ob ject more school room, so that the chil dren of thu poor bo not deprived of edu cation. If there wero loss real estato truusae tlous and "deals" on tho part of Hoards of Education thero would bo more sehoolhousos, Tho question now Is, however, which Is It hotter for tho poor man's child liavo warm clothes and n full stomach, or to stnrvo to death upon text books and fractious. "AH tho self-respecting peoplo of Chi cago, and, above all, Its wage-earners, nro vitally Interested In tho outcomo of this light, and It Is to bo hoped that It will cud In tho humiliation of tho self seekers and notoriety-limiting mlschlof makers who nro chiefly responsible for It. i TAXES FOR GUM DROPS Tbe People Demand that the City Treas urer Be Given a Stated Official Salary, And the Enormous Fees Which He Now Pockets Be Used for Public Improvements. The Present Incumbent Gets Twice as Large a Salary as Does President Roosevelt. The Aldermen Were Very Anxious Awhile Ago to Haul Up the County Treasurer, But They Have Overlooked the Well Known Bolter, City Treasurer Gum Drops Gunther. It Is stated on very good and reliable j authority that In tho near future steps' will be taken lu the City Council to ascertain Just what is the amount of remuneration to which Gum Drops Gunther Is entitled us City Treasurer, and to compel that olllclal after that amount has been deducted from the Interest accruing upon the funds lu his possession to turn tho balance over to the city. Tills is only right and Just to thu people. Tho taxpayers of Chicago are sick iiud tired ot being compelled to witness enormous emoluments Illegally drawn by their public serv ants, ami they are determined It In dividual political debts are to be paid lu cash consideration, that tho money shall not como out of pockets of the public. Must think of nn Individual like old Gum Drops Gunther pocketing a sum of nearly .flun.OOO per annum lu the shape of pay for handling tho public funds of thu clty Does he get this for tune? If he gets 1 per cent of the amount of Interest earned by tho city's money, he gets between ?()i),00O and .?1X,(KR) per annum. Tho Eaglo Is borne out and sus tained lit this by no less au authority than the tluaucu committee and thu comptroller of the City of Chicago. Through a recent report emanating from that quarter, tho public Is In formed that the amount of funds now In thu hands or control or the City Treasurer reaches the enormous total of $!)'00,000. Tho various banks in which these funds are deposited by tho City Treas urer allow two per cent Interest, on tho money, and under present arrange incuts It Is alleged Gum Drops Gunther Is allowed to keep one-half of this amount for himself. It Is very easy (o ilgure up what this means as a sum total paid by Mr. Gunther to himself for his services as City Treasurer would bo under such au arrangement as this. One pen cent per annum on .fO.oOO, 000 amounts to Just )?l3,000. That Is tho rate at which Gum Drops Gun ther Is now said to be paid for doing the city the honor of allowing himself to be called Its City Treasurer. So far as actual or active services are concerned, they uru merely nom inal In his case. The only duty that Gum Drops Gun ther perforins for thu city so far as anybody is able to make out Is to draw ids half of thu Interest on the public funds, An what u sum to bo paid this an cient mariner of Our Democratic (iivu tho mark!) City administration. Almost twice the' amount of tho salary drawn by President Roosevelt. It Is simply monstrous, and wo are glad to learn that tho City Council has at last mndo 'up Its mind lo tako a hand In tho matter, It has very good and excellent grounds to go upon. It cnti If It desires to proceed cautiously, begin by demanding of Corporation Counsel Walker nn opin lou covering tho right of the City Trensuror to rotnlu any part of tho In torcst accruing upon tho public funds and If there is any such right, tho amount that olllclal is entitled to bo retain. If the Mayor has too abiding nn af fection for Gum Drops, tho City Couu eil itself can request tho opinion. Then thu public will be in a position to Judge of the consistency of Mr. Walker's legal thinking apparatus. It will bo able to Judge whether or not tho Corporation Counsel believes the law looks lu one direction when dealing witli tlic County Treasurer and squints in entirely the opposlto when being applied to tho casu of thu City Treasurer. It will bo enabled to do this by n com parison of Mr. Walker's two opinions dealing with the subject In question. Here Is one opinion recently rendered by Mr. Walker at the request of Mayor Harrison, lu regard to the retention of interest on public funds In tho hands of County Treasurer Raymond: "It Is tho duty of the County Treas urer and Collector to treasuro tho coun ty's moneys and It Is thu duty of thu City Treasurer to treasuro tho city's moneys;' and tho County Treasurer and Collector's duty among other things Is to collect the city's taxes and without demand "Pay over to such City Treasurer as often as once lu two weeks, from tho time he shall commence tho collection thereof, all such taxes as ho shall then have collected, till the whole tax shall have been paid over." 1 nm of the opinion that If any In terest has accrued to or any compensa tion has been paid for the use of funds lu the hands of the County Collector collected by hint for tho city of Chi cago, such Interest or compensation bo longs to tho city; that under thu de cision In the Hughes ease it Is tho duly of the County Hoaid upon Its next settlement with tho County Treasurer and Collector, required by law to bo made in December, to ascertain bow much, If any, Interest or compensation for the use of public moneys has been paid to tho County Treasurer; and If any, that tho county should, according to the letter of tho statute, "account for uud pay over to tho oily of Chicago its Just proportion of tho same, "While It must and of courso should lis assumed that thu County Hoard will do Its full duty lu thu premises, not only to tho county but lo tho city, I nevertheless beg to udlso you that neither action nor Inaction upon Its part will preclude any right of tho city to recover Its own." If this bo good law for tho County Treasurer, why should it not bo equal ly good for the City Treasurer? If there be any "arrangements" or "understanding" whereby Gum Drops Gunther Is allowed to escape compli ance with thu Hlrlct letter of tho law tho City Council should at once abolish ihem, and place this otllco and Its pres ent Incumbent upon tho sumo basis an during preceding administrations. There certainly can bo no Justifica tion either lu point of law or under any friendly arrangement or understand ing for this man Gunther to retain such au enormous sum of money $03,000 per milium as tho pay for perform ing tho duties of his olllee. Why Mayor Harrison should hnvo i hucii a woiuicriui oiiecwou mr out uuiii Drops Gunther Is something that pass- i 4li