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Plan of Evanston
often result in the demoralization of whole neighborhoods. It has been the experience of scores of cities that districting regulations were necessary, and a number of them, notably New York, Boston, Baltimore, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, Milwaukee, Seattle, Washington, St. Louis, and Los Angeles, have adopted them. The most drastic regulations have been established in. the last named city, which, by ordinance, created distinct industrial and residential districts, and excluded certain kinds of business from the latter, even though they were already established in the proscribed district previous to the passing of the law. The California Supreme Court has upheld the validity of these ordinances.
These examples seem to give assurance that the districting of American cities is no longer an experiment, and it seems clear that Evanston should not lag behind in dealing with this vital question. The longer the attempt to deal with it is postponed the more difficult and the less effectual any solution will be.
The kernel of the difficulty is, of course, that while we might unanimously agree that the restriction upon the building of industrial, commercial, or apartment buildings from certain districts would be a good thing, so long as it did not abridge our individual liberty or impair the value of our property, it must be admitted that we would, to a man, look with aversion on any proposition in conflict with our individual interests. And if, in addition to seeing our own interests jeopardized, we had reason to believe that someone else was profiting at our expense, we would resist as long and as violently as possible.
It will require, then, skill, careful study, and the most complete and unquestionable disinterestedness to draw up a system of districting regulations which would be acceptable, as a whole, to the citizens of Evanston; which would protect our merchants as well as owners of residential property; which would stabilize values without causing dry-rot; which would allow to each individual the greatest measure of liberty con-
