Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15th., 1930. LESSON FROM CHICAGO.

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 February 1930, Page 6

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15th., 1930. LESSON FROM CHICAGO.

JT is good occasionally for towns to be thankful that they are not as others are, especially when these others are like Chicago, and some other cities in the United States. Americans delight to tell the world of their triumphs, efficiency being claimed to be the national slogan, and the rest of the world takes similar delight in reminding the Americans of their failures. Prohibition enforcement cannot be hailed as a lesson to outsiders seeking tuition in the art of administration, the method of election of officials from the President downwards is not such as to arouse envy in foreign hearts, the Press standards are not equal to those of British newspapers, for instance, New York’s “Tammary Hall” is duplicated in many other centres, and generally, the situation in the United States is a curious mixture of achievement and defeat. If the Americans paid as much attention to the latter as to the former, they would be a greater nation.

Chicago is prominent in the news of late, crime and bankruptcy being rampant. Some of the reports cabled seem almost incredible, even allowing for the vast “foreign” element in the city’s population. Murders, bombings and robberies are daily occurrences, and it is no wonder that the better class of citizens are banding together to restore law and order. Chicago does not seem to have much on Canton, to use an Americanism. The Chicago police force is honeycombed with corruption and. graft, and the round-up of the criminals cannot be effective whilst the former subsidise those engaged in chasing them. As for the city’s administration, this should be perfect if quantity of official government could make it so. There are eight principal governmental authorities and 25 minor ones in the city, and the metropolitan area, with a population of 4,000,000, is able to boast a grand total of 1673 governing bodies. "When to these authorities are added those who inflict by force and threat, their will on the people, Chicagoans must wonder what slavery is, if they can boast of being free. Mayor Thompson, familiarly termed “Big Bill.” who won notoriety for his proclaimed ambition to keep “King George’s snoot” out of Chicago, and educate the city’s youth as “one hundred per cent. Americans,” is reported to be meditating flight, and that is not difficult to believe. With the city treasury empty, taxpayers refusing to meet demands, the civic employees wageless for weeks, and destitution among hundreds of thousands, “Big Bill” must find it difficult to retain popularity, and a change of scene is probably advisable for his health’s sake. If the newly enrolled citizens’.association really means business, Chicago should soon be over the worst of its troubles. President Hoover is also taking action to bring about a better state of things, and a clean-up is likely of administration as well as crime. Meanwhile, the outside world can take warning from Chicago, which did not reach its present corrupt state in a hurry. Little by little wrong-doing increased and as the public were apathetic, bad became worse, and a crash was inevitable. The lesson for outsiders,

who pride themselves that Chicagoan doings could not be emulated. in their own midst, is that anything is possible where there is want of public spirit or apathy concerning public affairs.