Chicago is justly proud of its fast growth....But one can also have too much of a good thing, and our municipal offices seem strongly tempted in that direction.

The so-called municipal "improvements" have been instituted in the last five years with a precipitate haste, that decidely has gone too far. Miles upon miles of streets have been filled up and paved, and the real estate owners have paid willingly millions for it, in the hope that the value of their property would rise two-fold and thrice the expense. However, this expectation has not everywhere been fulfilled.....A situation where the owner of a mortgaged house receives for his share in the building only half or three-quarters of the interest rate that he has to pay on the mortgage, is not a healthy one.... Chicago has exerted herself too much and now must suffer for it. One cannot drive up real estate prices in a city of 300,000 in no time, to, if possible, a higher level than that of New York or Brooklyn...Two years ago a wealthy German citizen, since deceased, built a "block" of six houses near the Water Tower, and wanted to rent them in a three-year contract for $1,000 in the first, $1100 the second, and $1200 in the third year. However, the other way around 2is a way too. ("Umgekehrt ist auch gefahren"). With difficulties he was able to make a contract that gave him $1000 for the first, $800 for the second, and $720 for the third year...What follows from this is that the city administrative boards must be as thrifty as possible and must shun all unnecessary "improvements". The tendency of real estate values is not a rising, but a falling one, and cannot be changed by heaping new heavy burdens on real property...

....Especially the German aldermen should ponder this. Among their electors are thousands of so-called small house or plot-owners, who must feel bitterly any diminishing of the value of the real estate....It is up to the Republican aldermen to prevent a new fake "People's Party" from gaining the votes of the taxpayers by making use of the slogan: "Lower taxes! More frugal administration!"