WJLMPTTP LIPE July 19, 1934 WILM ETTE LiF'E WaLuwrru ANnouNCNTxris m Tng KKNILWOaTII Tiu PUBL1SIEDTHURIDAYS Br LLOYD HOLLISTER INC. 1232-1236 CENTRAL AVENUE, WILMETTE, ILLIN4OIS Télephone WiLmETTE 4300 CHICAGO SUBURBAN QUALITY GROUP Chicago Offices - 10 16- 1018 WILLOUGIIBY TOWER Tolophone CENTRAL 3355 SUBSCRIPIrONs $2 PER YEAR SINGLE COPIES 5 CEN TS Ail communications -and contributions intended for publi- cation must bear the name and addregs of the author, flot necessarily for publication, but for our files. Such ma terial must reach the editor by Tuesday noon to be in time for the current issue. GYPPED AGAIN North shore municipalities that have been cotunt- ing on revenues from the gasoline tax to. pay for improvements' to arterial streets or for public bene- fits on wvork already completed have awakened to find that there is attached to the fund a very long and a very strong string. That string lies in the fact. that control of the fund rests with the powers that be in Springfield. When the gasoline tax w~as imposed there was a long and bitter fight hy municipalities to secure a share of the f und for the construction and main- tenance of streets within their limits. After this objective had apparently beenl reached, thiere was an unwarranted, diversion of onie-third, of the f und, for school purposes, which meant that towns and cities would receive only two-thirds of the amounts whicb they had been apportîoned, and to which tbey were justly entitled. As the citizens of these municipalities pay their share int the fund through gasoline purchases, one would think that they should have the privilege of using the money in any way that. local officials migbî determine. But along cornes the chief engineer of 'the State Higbway com- mission with the information that the law prescribes the manner in which the mQney shall be spent. and directs attention to, the f act that it must be used first for the paving and irnproving of state high- ways within corporate limits. After that, if there is any left, it may be spent for improving arterial streets (streets leading mbto state highways), or maintaining such arterial streets.. Lastly, and this is wbere the taxpayer is supposed to be benefited, for the retirement of unpaid. obligations on work completed before the gas tax diversion* law. was passe&. If this interpretation of the law is upheld, the chances of municipalities to receive .. any benefits whatever from, the fund appear to be rather slim, as the commission could demand that it be spent altogether upon state highways. The situation points to tw~o serious errors in the law. First. no part of tbe gas tax f und sbould be diverted to school purposes, or any other pur- pose. It is money paid by' automobile drivers for the construction and upkeep of i... roads tbey use. and should flot be'applied in any other way. And each rnunicipaiity sbould have fulil control of the spending of ils.portion .of the f und.. Only in Ibis way. can the taxpayer be-assured of àny relief f rom. the cost of, improving streets that f eed traffic intoi the state highwayp. TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS No one who cornes ini close contact with traffi. regulations and their enforcemnetit can fail to be impressed with the courteous manner in wbich offi- ciais of nortb shore villages seek 10 secure the cooertin f residanf. and isi;r"inreducingr road bazards andý preventing road accidents. The timfe and money spent in a study of such, accidents, the: causes thierefor 'and means of prevention, is bearing 'good results in the lesséning of casualties.- CÇitizenis are sometimes inclined. bo extreme. ex- aslperation if called. upon to answer for violations which seem'.b them trivyial. But a littie thought should show that such discipline is nlecesýsary if the1 streets are to ýbe made safe. As, a usual ihing ordinances are based lupon exhaustive investigation, a nd not upov, the desire of the authorities to hector someone, or add fôo the municipal income by fines for inconsequential offenses. If certain violations such as parking without lights or parking on the wrong side of the street, or flot 'stopping for through streets. are shown to he responsible for'a certair. percentage of the accidents that occur,* enforcement of tbc ordinances covering those offenses will reduce the rumber of- accidents. Trhe offcials shotuld re- çeive cooperation and nQt abuse. RELIEF COST ln a repo rt just compiled for a legislabîve in - vestigating copimittee 'by the execuitive secretary of the Illinois Emergencv Relief commission, a stag-- gering increase in the cost of relief administration is revealed. It shows that 10 per cent of tbe f unds appropriated for relief work among the state's needy is expended ini administcring the relief. In the item of salaries alonle, according to the report, there has been a tremendous jump. It states that in january, 1933, -the total number of emplovees wvas 4,161. In June. 1934, the total had mouinted to 8,971. It seems that the commission bas discovered aneccssity for more than twice tl,: number of emnployees required in January of 1933. It follows that the money cost bas also risen sharp- ly. In June of 1933 the payroli amounted to $32,3,000, but in June of 1934 it had jumped to $641,000. In the state outside of Chicago the in- crease was f rom .$18,000. to $180,000 per month. The report also warned that furbber increases would be necessary during the faîl and winter. An important point flot mentio ned in the report. however. is where the money is coming f rom. It states tiat thé commission expects that. funds de- rived fromn two bond issues, tobaling $50,000,000, wiIl be exhausted by the end of November. An attempt to authorize further bond issues will un- douhtedlv meet with stiff opposition in the legis- labure. Thbe commission, it is said, is depending upon the federal government to provide sufficient fund-i to carry it until January 1. Wbat then ? AN ACHIEVEMENT The pulse of ail truc norbh shore music loyers must have quickened witb expectancy of joys to corne when the. Winnetka Music. club made known the galaxy of brilliant musical stars that has been secured for concerts and programs during the ap- proacbing seasQt). To offer in five presentations six such outstanding artists as John Charles Thomas. Sigrid Onégin, Nathan Milstein, Myra, Hess, Emùanuel Feuerrnann and Ninon Vallin is an achieve- ment forwhich the club is most highly commerîded. Their success in se curing these notables. of the music world, however, depended largely upon bhc splendid- support received from the music-loving subscribers of norbh shoreco mmunibies. Only an appreciation of true musical values an d a recogni- tio n of real artisbry could have -afforded our people the opporbunity of bearing prograrns of such un- uistal mer. The Music club is to be congratulabed. Mr. Hitler, the kindly -direcior of affairs in Germany, says that hie killed 77 traitors. Traitors to whom or what,? And what court convicbed NEWS- C.OMMENT. They held a school -election down in Kentucky recently and only two men were killed. Well, it's rather -quiet everywhere. Thiat farnier who went out one day recently and foùund several broods of newly hatched cliickens. a new calf, colt and a litter of piggies. and then returned to the house to find a brand new son, wvas mighty lucky after ail.'The son might have been quinffiplets. The hope that the kidnaping and d eath of the L.indbergh bl)b would lead to stringent penalties and closer watchfulness to prevent suchi atrocities seemns to l)e fading. The Connor baby is the latest vict i. Ini a speech the other da,,y "Crackdowner" Johnson said that ail oppopents of the NRA and his .pet eagle could "go and take a jump ini the lake." Meaning by that that they were to drown them- selves and thus make the - . country unanimous for the a 1 p h a b e t ical experiments.- Thinking, quite naturaily, that we had to foliow orders, we started for the lake. But, on second thought, we decided that if we did that we prob- ably would neyer know how long the American people would stand for the "Crack- downer," the NRA and the -.mb--à blue eagle, and we are con- sumed with curiosity to finid out. So we began a search of the various codes under which we operate, to learn in just which section of which code the "Crackdowner" is given the Power to make us jump in the. lake and drown. And we couldn't find a thing about it in any of 'em. Then we indulged in a hearty laugh at the. chief en- forcer, and sent him a telegrarn telling him to just tr.y to make us jump in the lake and drown. We positively refuse to do it unless it is in the Code. The "Crackdowner" is funny at any time, but he occasionally, reaches heights at which, he is a perfect scream. The Ku Klux Klan is being revived in Okla- horna. The-blazing cross marks the spot. A te legrarn to a New jersey rmatron from her boy friend making a "date" f el into the hands of friend husband. Now the lady is suing the telegraph company because the husband "be- came suspicious and jealous and discontinued the comfort and security he had formerly provided." Seems as thougli husbands are just naturally un-. reasonable. During the course of a bridge game a St. Louis man called his wife a. nitwit, and just for that she got a divorce. Xes, it's that, easy. The U. S. S. R. is objecting strenuousi-y to the efforts of other countties to relieve' hunger in the Soviet republics. They consider it an unwar- ranted interference with the ýoperation of the planned economy. OnIy about 7,000,000. died of starvation there last year, but they expect to do better this year, when the number -is estîmated at around 10,000,000. Looking at the crystal house at A Century of Progress the first lady of the land remarked, "What a wonderful place it wouild be for the re- publican national committee this year. It ivould put a crimp in their stone throwing.» Yes, indeed. And it is too bad that the crystal house had not been invented in 1928. It might have preventedl the four-year "smear Hoover" campaign under direction of Chief Smearer Michelson. july. ý19,.1934 WILMETTE LIFE