Cash for Chicago

The millions which Chicago owes its employes were actually in hand last week. Between 43,836 policemen, firemen, teachers, nurses, clerks, other public workers and their first pay day since Jan. i stood only minor technicalities of law and finance (TIME, Feb. 10). To the patriotic urgings of Philip Ream Clarke, president of Central Trust Co. of Illinois, famed cash collector, the city's good citizens and corporations generously responded by purchasing the city's tax warrants.

When Chicago politicians capitulated to Silas Hardy Strawn's "Citizens' Rescue Committee" and appealed for $74,000,000 to tide the city over until delayed taxes come due July i, big taxpayers were at first reluctant to buy the city's script. Such temporizing Melvin Alvah Traylor, president of Chicago's First National

Bank, called "damn nonsense." To promote the sale of tax warrants Mr. Clarke took a week off from his bank office, conjured up all the arts of persuasion and organization which had made him. one of Wartime Chicago's most potent Liberty Bond salesmen. Among taxpayers he loosed 4,000 expert campaigners. He got 183 banks to put up sales booths and placards. Quotas were assigned to different segments of business and industry. The week closed with $58,939,800 worth of tax warrants subscribed.

City officials were kept busy signing tax warrants. The Board of Trad.; admitted to trading shares in the warrant trust to encourage subscriptions. In all the rushed excitement of getting Chicago out of a financial swamp, the only laggard figure was that of Mayor William Hale ("Big Bill") Thompson who sulkily hesitated to approve an ordinance effecting tax warrant interest rates, necessary to put into operation the distribution machinery.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.