Chicago Tribune
WOULD WIPE OUT THE FIRST
WARD
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Pastor Suggests Redistricting of City to Curb Power of Old Crowds.
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OTHER SERMONS OF DAY.
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Dr. Crane Calls Babies Real "Defenders of the Faith"; Cure for Worry."
A redistricting of Chicago along new ward lines, to take from vicious centers their political power, was suggested by Rev. Melbourne P. Boynton, preaching last evening in the Lexington Avenue Baptist church. His Subject was "Redeem the First Ward." He said:
"Decent Chicago is rejoicing that at last the infamous First ward hall is a thing of the past. But this so-called hall is but on of the fruits of the bad trees of the First ward.
"The First ward has become a great menace to honest government in this city. The vote is so close in the entire city as to make a few hundred illegal votes of the First ward the balance of power. This explains how the ‘Bathhouse’ and ‘Hinky Dink’ continue to hold power and exert an influence in the city.
Greatest Problems in River Wards.
"While every ward presents its own problems yet the river wards are a greater problem in good government than the wards farther out.
"To redeem these river wards, and especially the First, it would be well to make a number of narrow wards running west far enough to take in a large portion of the better classes of our population so that in no one ward would the bad element predominate. By thus diluting the bad by the good we would wipe out certain evils that now seem so colossal. We would make impossible the election of a certain kind of alderman which, for so long a time, has had such influence in our civic life. We could materially lessen the power of the saloons and put an end to the infamous policy of segregation of vice.
"Supporting we were to take the following wards — First, Second, Fourth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth — and run them from the lake front to Fortieth avenue on the west we would have thirteen narrow wards that would so mix our people of those sections of the city as to have solved many teasing problems. We would have redeemed the First ward."
