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24 WINNETKA WEEKLY TALK, SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 1925 -- ELECTION APRIL 7 President [] John S. Miller Village Trustees 1 John D. Pierce J HL. Racin [[] Walter Strong Village Treasurer [J] William E. Davis Police Magistrate [J Clark T. Nerthrop Village Marshal and Collector [[] Theodore Flynn Library Trustees [[] Mrs. Carrie B. Prouty (J Walter T. Fisher Park Commissioners [] Arlan W. Converse [] Sidney Wellbeloved Candidates endorsed at Village Caucus 1925 VILLAGE TICKET 1925 PARK DISTRICT TICKET Vote the tickets endorsed at the Winnetka Annual Village Caucus Read this Resolution adopted by the Caucus RESOLVED, That this caucus of citizens of Winnetka assembled for the purpose of nominat- ing candidates for the Village offices to be filled at the coming April election hereby adopts the fol- lowing statement and declaration of its principles, purposes and policies, and requests the Secretary to have the same published for the information of all voters, together with a list of the candidates nominated at this meeting: The rapid growth of Winnetka in recent years has added to our village many new residents who are naturally unfamiliar with local politics. For their information it seems appropriate to explain how the village officers have been nominated in the past, the history of this caucus, the policies for which it stands, its organization and procedure. History of Caucus. This caucus is the successor of similar meetings held each year for the last ten years. The candidates selected in every instance have proved acceptable to the voters and were elected at the polls without opposition. Participation in Caucus. All citizens in sympathy with the ideals and policies of the caucus are in- vited to participate and their co-operation is wel- comed. To insure attendance of a considerable number, special notices have been mailed to those who have attended previous meetings or have in- dicated some active interest in community affairs. Any citizen notifying the Secretary will be placed on this list for future years. The caucus is not, however, intended as a universal town meeting or open forum to settle all issues and could not so function or serve its purpose. Radical differences in policy should not be finally determined by major- ity vote at any meeting attended by only a portion of the voters, but by the presentation of alternative tickets for the consideration of all the voters at the polls. The aim of this caucus is to bring to- gether a representative body of citizens fairly harmonious with respect to policies in order that a ticket of fit candidates, standing for those policies, may be presented to the voters. Any other group out of sympathy with these policies will always be at liberty to put its own candidates in the field. The Ideals, Purposes and Policies for which the caucus has stood and continues to stand may be summarized as follows: 1. Qualifications of Candidates. To insure able, efficient and honest administration of the vil- lage affairs by securing candidates not only of unquestioned honesty, but of proved ability-- men whose success and good judgment in their own business affairs and other matters justify placing the village problems in their hands. In carrying out this policy the caucus has avoided office-seekers and let the office seek the man, With few, if any, exceptions the candidates put forward by the caucus have consented to act and given their time at considerable personal sacrifice from a sense of civic duty and in re- sponse to the persuasions of the nominating committee. 2. Discouragement of Unnecessary Parties. To discourage artificial and unnecessary divisions into more than one party where there are no fundamental differences in policy. Permanent party alignments along national or state party lines or otherwise are not needed in the village affairs. They only tend to confuse the local issues, divide and weaken the forces of good government and build up self-interested organ- izations of office-seekers. 3. Municipal Water and Light Properties. The caucus has stood, and stands, unequivocally for the municipal ownership and operation and retention of the village water and light prop- erties, and points to these operations with justifiable pride as indicating what may be done with an efficient and non-political administra- tion. 4. Track Depression. The caucus has stood, and stands, and pledges its candidates to work for grade separation and track depression of our railroads. The frequent killing of our citizens and increasing number of high-speed trains make this one of our most important and press- ing problems. Much work has been done on this matter by our present officials and we con- gratulate them on the progress made. Within the last year both railroads have been com- mitted to track depression in principle, and negotiations are now in progress regarding the terms and conditions of the necessary ordi- nances. 5. Referendums on Franchises. Our candidates are pledged to grant no franchises to railroads or other public utilities without first submitting the matter to a referendum vote of the citizens. 6. Preservation of Residential and Community Ideal. Last but not least (for it is a matter of vital and growing importance) this caucus stands unequivocally for the preservation of the Residential and Community Ideal for our village. By this we mean the preservation, so far as controllable, of all those desirable fea- tures of our community life which have brought most of our citizens here and have caused some who have surveyed the suburban life of Amer- ica to call it the ideal suburb. The great major- ity of our citizens, perhaps ninety per cent, are commuters with business interests in the city, who have come here to escape the bigness of the city and give their families the benefit of a more open and healthy country life and the more healthy interests which can only exist in comparatively small and homogeneous commu- nities. Bigger and busier is no motto for a res- idential suburb, and all principles of democracy and majority rule demand that the residential ideal prevail over the commercial. It will not prevail, however, unless constantly watched and guarded. This question touches our lives and the problems of our village officials in many ways. The very fact that it is an ideal res- idential community increases the danger of ex- ploitation for profit. This caucus stands for the carefully studied Village Plan, for enforce- ment of the Zoning Law, for discouragement of commercial and industrial developments be- yond the needs of a residential community and for exclusion, so far as possible, of apartments and hotels. In particular, it opposes the ex- ploitation of the low lands to the west of the village. Undue and forced expansion into naturally undesirable lands, bringing large in- creases of population of a different character and perhaps new commercial and industrial centers and activities means direct and rapid progress backward toward the confused city life, and will be even more destructive of our present homogeneous community life than apartment development. Such development, aside from all other considerations, can only result in expense to our present citizens for un- necessary drainage assessments and increased tax burdens. The expensive reclamation of these lands is not justified by any lack of avail- able or better suburban lands, and the needs of Greater Chicago will be better served by the establishment of many suburbs of Winnetka's size and type, rather than by exploitation of the attractions of our village to the point where these very attractions are lost. Our fair- minded merchants and business men have rec- ognized their community of interest with the other residents in the past and we are con- fident will continue to do so in the future and co-operate in maintaining the residential ideals of the great majority, and in return this caucus pledges its candidates to give their needs and interests fair consideration. 7. Endorsement of Village Administration. This caucus endorses the present village administra- tion and congratulates it upon the successful progress towards improvement of the Village Center and erection of a new Village Hall. 8. Endorsement of Park Board Administration. This caucus endoses the present Park Board and approves its program for extension of the Park System along the western boundaries of the village. Procedure of Caucus. The present caucus procedure has evolved from the experience of years. The policy of selecting candidates who were not office- seekers, some of whom might be unwilling to serve after nomination, has made it impossible for the caucus to begin and end its functions in one meet- ing. For some years the plan was tried of holding a second meeting, but the attendance at the second meeting became nominal. Some delegation of power and advance preparation for one well-at- tended meeting seemed a better plan and accordingly for some years past each caucus has appointed a large nominating commiittee representative of all sections of the village, to carefully study the situa- tion and recommend nominations to the next year's meeting. I hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was adopted at the Village Caucus held at Com- unity House, Winnetka, on March 11, 1925. RALPH MONROE SNYDER, Secretary. 1925 Village and Park District Tickets Campaign Committee Eugene A. Rummler, chairman i Ey gtd TRAD.