Show f1AltiH f4 iIl irUSIi Chicago s > Musical l Tnstji JIieJP Wl lie Sp jcisof the Citizens h pe Gitys i Water S RPlyNotes t r and News 4 S I Correspondenco of the HERALD CJIICAGO Aug 22 issi The success of the Thomas summer sum-mer night concerts and the previous pre-vious financial triumph of the Sangerfest evince how rapidly Chicago is growing musical taste and culture Three years ago such enterprises would have been deemed quite impossible The foolish attempt to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Chicago Chi-cago fire with street processions and oratory came to a speedy collapse and HifLSubsequent proposal to erect a vast library Building and art hall by popular subscription the cornerstone corner-stone of which was to be laid on the yth of October appears to have shared a similar fate Th3 latter was about as reasonable as the New York HnaliV proposal that the people of the United States should pay the national debt by private subscription Public spirit does not careto merge itself in this way The lailjibnrtiregrwho can afford to make great bequests prefer to spend tlrefeanbney in their own way and the people of the middle classes and workingmen usually live in advance of their incomes and have no money to throw away in founding public institutions If our magnificent system of parks had but to depend upon public generosity for their endowment en-dowment these beautiful and spacious spa-cious grounds would now either be far out in the prairie or devoted to other purposes Now they are the pride of Chicago and have largely contributed to the extension of the citys habitable limits Beyond what is done by the public corporations corpora-tions in the way of improvement and by private citizens There is comparatively little public spirit exhibited in Chicago The Public Library after the great fire was aided materially by contributions of books from abroad and has now a much larger collection col-lection than before the conflagration It is peculiarly rich in magazine literature and tolerably prolific invaluable in-valuable and rare literary works Its technical departments are not as full as they should be in a generation genera-tion that pays increasing attention to the practical arts but the books of this class are being constantly added to Mr Poole the sagacious librarian is rapidly closing up the work on his exhaustive catalogue of English and American magazine literature which promises to get to the printer early in 1882 Chicago is continually exercised in regard to her water supply New pumping works are to be erected there being a constant demand for a higher pressure system as additional ad-ditional stories are added to the business buildings A glucose factory fac-tory twelve stories high is being erected on the west side There are about 3500 liquor and beer saloons in the city which pay a license fee of 852 each a year 5182000 Their estimated receipts from sales at 610 a day each a very low figure would amount to SlV r75000 of which according to the best estimates over one half is net profit to the saloon men As this business represents repre-sents no genius brains or useful abor it is suggested that the license fee be doubled at least on the I alcoholic drinks while lager beer a temperance drinkcould be kept at the present figure This is a question which must soon come to the front in our municipal crovern rents whose taxes and debts continually inually increasing cause grave dissatisfaction dis-satisfaction and render large cities unfit places of residence for poor nen Taxes are so high here that 10 per cent interest is not considered idered remunerative save at rents hat are out of reach of most work ngmen Hence questions of suburban sub-urban homes and rapid transit are leginning to be discussed Haverlys new theatre is so far ompleted exteriorly that its fine proportions are now visible It will Loubtless be one of the most com ortable and elegant dramatic temples tem-ples in the country but it seems too mall to accommodate such audi nces as the tendencies of the business busi-ness are likely to bring together within a few years The vast aggregations regations of dramatic talent and huge combinations in process of formation for-mation will soon effectually monopolize mono-polize the American stage and will equire gigantic accommodations for the public The theatre of the uture will be democratic and cosmopolitan cos-mopolitan and with the deadhead eature abolished a moderate scale f admission fee established and the best talent provided the busi iess will have j been revolutionized Out on the North Pier a few days ago the writer had a line opportunity ortunity to look at Chicago from the outermost limits of her coming ike harbor TSgovefnnFeiit pier WhiCh will require s several years yet to construct will enable vessels to pass into the harbor and river without with-out danger The North Pier exI ends about a quarter of a mile into hel ire and at its end stands a i ighthouse r This isthe riorth lined line-d the Jake entrance to Chicago titer So far as built the goy = rn lent pier extends from the south rline of the river nearly half a mile outh and serves as a breakwater protection to the harbor low Jncle Sam is starting another i reakwater > abouthalf a mile northeast I north-east of this pier as a further protec ti ion At present it is extremely I LiScult at certain stages of the wind for vessels to make Chicago River J < even with ho assistance of a tug and without this aid it is next tt impossible to reach it Ultimately the aiseeing men predict all of Chicagos commerce will be ac om = modated on the lake front Tears ago Wm B Ogden commenced to lay out and fill up the lake in the vicinity of the North Pier with this f view He built this pier and several sev-eral slips where vessels now land I their cargoes and filled upI up-I several hundred acres of land which are now utilized by I docks and dockyards Had I he lived he might have realized in part his grand conception but someone some-one will yet carry it out for the internal in-ternal traffic and immense crowds that throng Chicagos streets cannot many years longer remain subject to the serious inconveniences the twenty or thirty drawbridges across the river occasion It is about impossible so frequently are they turned to cross from one division of the city to another an-other without delay Recently an ordinance was passed exempting one hour in the morning and one in the evening when the great throng laborers and clerks cross the river from this vexatious delay The latest proposition is to allow nothing but barges drawn by tugs to enter the river their cargoes being transferred from vessels in the lake harbor in order that the nuisance of opening the bridges be suspended We have had a beautiful summer A few hot days alternated with very cool ones The lake breezes give us comfortable nights Our drinking water is now pure our city government is as good as such machines usually are and on the whole Chicago might be worse off than she is E N F |