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Show WHAT TTC0ST. An interesting little story of the inefficiency of municipal government or of the inability of a large corporation to deal with small matters comes from Chicago. A youth in that city several years ago hurled a stone at one of the municipal street lights, and, strange as it may seem, the stone went true to its mark, breaking the globe. The feat for a time appeared a triumph for the young man's ability, abil-ity, which no doubt encouraged him to try his skill with baseballs thrown at nigger babies for two- fer cigars. But as time wore on, the conviction awakened within him that he had done wrong, and to make restitution he remitted 25 cents to the municipal authorities to square his conscience. While all will agree that the young man did the right and proper thing in the premises, the results of his contribution to the city show plainly that the sin against the public was not compensated by the mere payment of the 25 cents. They also show that a large corporation like the city of Chicago doesn't know just how to take care of the pennies. In the first place, the department chief who received re-ceived the 25 cents was compelled to apply to the chief statistician of the street lighting department for a computation, which made it necessary for the latter to look up the cost of street lamp material two years ago, and to furnish data which would enable en-able the head of the department to estimate the amount of damage caused by the breaking of the lamp. This was finally determined to be 6 cents, or 19 cents less than the amount remitted. Inasmuch as the conscience contribution was 19 j cents too-great, and as the great city ot Llucago cannot under any possible circumstances use money which does not belong to it. it is plain that the young man has a rebate of 19 cents coming to him. The 'Chicago Inter-Ocean says that anybody who has ever done business with the city hall knows well that, while it is the easiest thing in the world to pay money over to the officials in that establishment, estab-lishment, it is the most difficult thing in the world to get any of it back, for if there is a tight institution, institu-tion, an unyielding institution, a cold and utterly unresponsive institution, under the sun, it is the city rebate bureau. And yet the fiction prevails over there that all money that does not properly bo-long bo-long to the municipality must be rebated that is, must be paid back. So it is probable the entire force of the rebate re-bate bureau was put to work figuring out the exact amount, which the young man has coming to him. When it is settled upon he will receive a notice telling him to appear and be identified and sworn Then he will receive a notice informing him that 19 cents stands to his credit on the books of the city, and before he has time to call for it he will be notified that while the 19 cents is due him, yet there is no money at present in the rebate fund, and asking him not to take any stops until he hears from the bureau again, which may be next year, or the year after, or the year after that. The great city of Chicago having como into pos-I pos-I session of G cents of new revenue, it is necessary to distribute the sum among the various departments of the city. The Inter-Ocean figures that after some thirty or forty clerks have straightened the matter out perfectly, the total cost of taking care of the 6 cents will be $92. or just $91.94 more than the city has been enriched. All of which shows the extent to which the red tape business can be overworked. As a sample of municipal inefficiency the. story may be slightly overdrawn, but it at least possesses the earmarks of truth. |
