198 Urdahl—The Present Fee System in the United States. 
The ratio is about the same in the other large cities. 1 
The relative amounts which are derived from the various sources 
vary in the different cities according to the climate, location, 
and other peculiarities of each, also according to the wisdom and 
foresight exercised by their respective municipal and legislative 
bodies. St. Louis received in 1896 nearly $75,000 for street 
railway franchises, while Philadelphia with a much more valua¬ 
ble system did not receive a dollar from this source except by 
way of taxation. Philadelphia, on the other hand, receives 
large sums each year from the fees collected by prothonotaries 
and other court officers. Chicago, New York, and other cities 
derive comparatively little revenue from this source. The ten¬ 
dency has been prevalent in some of the corrupt city councils to 
grant away valuable franchises and other privileges, which other¬ 
wise would have yielded annual sums into the treasury. 
Indeed, many of the legislative bodies in our large cities exercise 
almost as important and far-reaching powers in this respect as 
the absolute monarchs of the seventeenth century. History fur¬ 
nishes numerous examples of commercial monopolies and other 
exclusive privileges, granted as trifling tokens of royal favor to 
some favorite courtier, which when exploited were found to 
yield fabulous sums. So it is with many municipal bodies. A 
little, harmless-looking ordinance is introduced involving fees 
which are apparently insignificant; and a few years later it 
may be discovered that the fees provided for yield annually a 
small fortune to some official. 2 
1 Fees of the city of Chicago: 
Amusements. $21,434 10 
Dog licenses. 84,480 00 
Pawnbrokers. 18,750 00 
Wholesale liquors. 28,693 00 
Wholesale malt dealers licenses. 33,985 09 
Saloons. 2,991,965 34 
Street car companies..... 68,841 00 
Building permits .. 43,902 95 
Certificates of inspection. 14,636 00 
Insurance .. 22,767 67 
Poundage. . 1,008 00 
Total. $3,627,930 47 
[The sum of the amounts given is a little over $3,329,000 .—Ed.] 
2 Chicago Times-Her aid, Jan. 27, 1897, p. 1. In the spring of 1896 the 
city council of Chicago passed an ordinance which required all peddlers to 
