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ýTRAL 335S SUHSCRIPTION $zPER YEAR SINGLE COPIES5 CENT~S Al communications, and contributions intended for puhli- caion muet bear thenaine and address of -the author, flot aecessarily for publication, but 'for, our ies. Socb material must reach, the editor by Tuesday nioon to Le in time for the current issue. LIMITATION ON TAXES' The insistent demand of taxpayers that- some way be found to limit the aMount of taxes that cani be levied against.their properties is becoming louder and louderand is gradually reaching the cars of the legisiature, from, which relief inust cone. The unbearable' load under which prop- erty' owners are now staggering, the ceaseless cry of taxing bodies for m ore and*more money, the. gross' inequalities in taxation, al motivate those who must pay taxes in a demand for- relief that must be met. In an "dresî before the revenue committee of the Illinois legisiature on December 12 last, the Hon. George F. Barrett, a former judge of the circuit court of: Cook county, said: û"We, have. seen taxes in Cook county ju!np froni $6,382,741 in 1915, to $290280,586. in 1930, * an increase of 324.5 percent. We have been forced to witness the levying in. Cook c ounty, during the years 1928-1931 of outrageons and confiscatory taxes amounting to. $1,034,160,377." After explaining that one of the main causes for high tax bills is the amount required each year for payment of principal and interest on bonds, Mr. Barrett continued.- "If real estate is to recover from its present desperate condition there must be not only a limitation as to its tax load, but a definite limit as to the total bonded debt that nlay be placed on al properties in Cook county." Economiy in: governmnent, *as, given by Mr.' Barrett' as the key to, taxt reducti on in -these words: 'Wc know thaï failure to, pgy taxes has 'compelled econom .' The tax bill againtctzns of Cook county was .$Z3,445,282 less in 1931 thani * it was ini 1930, and it is estimated that it wilI be $37,635,244 less for 1932 than for 1931. So we sec that under pressure there has been a reduc- tion ini tax bills ini two years of $61,O80,526, and still greater econotnies can be made without in- L terfering with any necessary-governinental funie- ,Ur. Barrett concluded his speech with these words: "The crying need today is for relief for the taxpayer. 'to accomPlish this government nmust bce made lest expenuive and its cost sprcad over a wider field.. Revenue Iaws must be rovised.. Wastc and, exravagance must be wiped' out. a 'harmonious" legisiative body, the inférence being tbat such a body, ini whiich there is no di- vergence of opinion, at least so far as the public may be aware, is essentially efficient and admir- ably qualified te render public service. While harniony of action en the part of those entrusted wit h thë conduct. of governuiental units is highly desirable, it must occu py second place to abilityý, independent 'thought and that courageous devo- tion, teo.principle which unmistakably marks. the capable legislator. 'tee ofte>n,"harmon.y" means simply that the legislative body is subservient to some strong Will or influence with which its in- dividual members have neither the powerno the desire to cope. Sometimes, too, it means that candidates are selected for office with little to recommiend tbem, beyond a willingness teo "go- along", and 'vote as they are directed. That is private, and flot public,*,service. The, best interests. of the public. are nlot served when it S affairs are placed in the hands of one man or even a small group, no matte r how civic- minded or sincere they may be.1 Harmony in, the, selectiont of candidates of. outstanding caliber. is the best ass urance of the proper kind of "har-, mon.ious" legiuiative body. UNNECEssARtY TRAFFC "STOP'S In a village that is«otherwise as efilciently con- ducted. as is Kenilworth, it is strange that a system. of operating trafic lights more favorable to the c onvenience of the public has not been, found. Reference is to the automatic signais installed at Kenilworth avenue and Sheridan road, and at Melrose avenue and Green Bay road. The. former off crs only a slight problem.because of cross niotor trafic, and the latter none a.t ail, as Melrose avenue simply connects with, Green Bay road and does flot cross it. An oficer is stationed at this cr.ossing during the school year to con- trol traffic. and afford protection to cbildren who must cross the through highway on the way to .and frorn schooL.. And yet at. both these points motorists'are constantly annoyed by. being .com- pelled to wait for the green light when there is not even pedestrian tra-fic to justify it. Atten- tion of the authorities is directed, to this incon- venience with the suggestion that nianual 09cr- ation might offer a solution. provide onc more route by which the éity niay be reached with a minimum of traffic delays. Whether one makes thie trip for business or pleasure, a reduction in the time consumed will add to thie attractivencis of thenorth shore as a. place.of euideuce. CHICAGO SUBURBA Chsicago Offices -ior6-, TcIepho ne Ci If the "New Deal" does* not provide for a scolof English for radio ann ouncers we are goin g to wring1 the neck of our blue* eagle and feed it to the cat. Listening to a1 woman an- nouncer extolling the merîts of a certain brand of stockings, our cars were jolted by t.his: "Rvery woman will want to biiy several pairs of, these hosieries."l ,hy cau p (long US., rive a , that TaU. PRa&NT.M lbRZPITK However, we have noted in late news that there is, some question,. of Mayor Kelly's ability .to keep Governor Horner's shirt after having taken it away from him. The boys downstate seemi to have some foolish scruples against passing legis- lation for the control of hard. liquor that would apply only to Chicago. So, there may, benetr bars nor ladies to shove the -umen around. What to do? Washington is having a lot of trouble with the Codes. Attempts to figure one o ut for the cemnetery. industry has. them stumped. What is - fair practice in sellinga grave? As usual, it. will be. sttled without - the accupant.of the propety haigauything to, say JAn explosion ini the. gasoline industr. in the east threatens té, blow Up the icode and dis- rupt the price situation The coal barons and. miners are.flot behaving accord ing to the rules as laid down, in, the code under which they are supposed to operate ..Mr. Johnson, the more or Iess well - known crack - downer. says that industry bas flot absorbed, unemployment ýto the expectedý per- centage, andhe- will have to shorten the hours to. thi*rty-twoô per week instead of forty, 'but ex- presses serhous doubts of inclustry's ability. to stand the added load . . . Mr. Mussolini, other- wise known as, Italy, accuses Uncle Sam of plagiarisni in stealing bis fascist baby and calling it NRA. Then said: "Ilf 1 anticipate. a judg- mient at all it would simply be that Mr. Roosevelt's monetary manuevers will flot bring any durable rise in prices. You only delud.e people when you tell them yo r hving your money. How can you really believe that multiplying monetary sym- bols increases the riches of the people?" Canada is boasting that its business is greatly. improved and that it is showing the way .out of the hole without "NRA theories." Claims pri- rteinitiative.is the only road . Swat toý do? il