The municipal election of April 4, 1899, in Chicago, resulted in the reelection of Mayor Carter H. Harrison, Democrat, by 149,000 votes, against 107,000 cast for Zina R. Carter, Republican, and 46,000 for Ex-Governor Altgeld, radical Democrat, running independently. In the opinion of a correspondent of the "Review of Reviews," "The campaign disclosed three interesting results—namely: (1) the growth of independence and of attention to local issues; (2) the dominance of the street-railroad issue; and (3) the growth of sentiment in favor of municipal ownership. Nearly two-thirds of all the votes cast were against the Republican candidate, and our correspondent regards this as largely due to the belief that he, more than any of the others, represented the interests of the street-railroad corporations." This writer holds that "in all probability any practical proposition for municipal ownership and operation of the street-railroads would to-day be approved by a popular vote in Chicago." {75} CHICAGO: A. D. 1900. Opening of the Drainage Canal. An extraordinary public work was brought into use early in the year, by the opening of what is known as the Chicago Drainage Canal. This was constructed for the purpose of turning the natural flow of water in Chicago River backward, away from Lake Michigan, its natural embouchure, into the small Des Plaines River, which runs to the Illinois, and the Illinois to the Mississippi,—the object being to carry the sewage of Chicago away from the Lake, where it contaminates the water supply of the city. Part of the city sewage was already being sent in that direction by a pumping system which carried it over the divide; the purpose of the canal is to take the whole. The work was begun in September, 1892, and practically finished, so far as concerns the canal, in little more than seven years, at a cost of about $34,500,000. Changes in the city sewage system, to fully utilize the object of the canal, were still to be completed. When the full use is realized, there is said to be provision in the canal for a maximum discharge of 600,000 cubic feet of water per minute. Some have anticipated that such an outflow would seriously lower the level of the lakes; but there were no signs of that effect in the season of 1900. Nor did it seem to appear that the sewage then passing by river flow westward was doing harm to towns on the Illinois and Mississippi, as they had apprehended; but the discharge was, as yet, far short of what it is intended to be. It is possible that ultimately the Chicago Drainage Canal may become part of a navigable water-way from the lakes to the Mississippi, realizing an old project of water transportation in that direction to compete with the rails. The canal has been constructed upon a scale to suffice for that use; but the