OCR Text |
Show LETTER FKOtt CHICAGO. (-Special Correipondenco of the llKEALr. ) Chicago, Marches, 1S73. CHICAGO CHARACTERISTICS. There ro moro seedy, out-at-tho-olbows, digusted, disconsolate men and women in Chicago than in ny other city of the United States. There are more persons on the eve, as they will tell you, of seeking to penetrate immortality immor-tality through the euthanasian field. There appear to bo more dead-beale, aonfirtmd ewind'ers acd geniuses who speculate on the ruir-fonuues of others, than in any half dozen citicB on the continent There is less humanity, sympathy and brotherly feeling exhibited exhib-ited in Chicago than in somo much smaller towns. Tho cut throat game seems to bo tho favorite ono, and an honest, modest man is hustled out of sight by tlie crowd as if ho were a small pox pationt. Woo unto him, who unwilling to work upon the streets, and has no taste for thievery of some description. Were tho god like I Daniel himself, without funds in Chicago, Chi-cago, he could not evrn get a possinir notice from iho Times unices he could manago to commit somo sensational atrocity, which might be worked up with startling head lines. THE "BOARD OF SCAUERS." Yet Chicago is ooly a little smarter, 1 perhaps no wickedur, than o'.her oilies, and she prides herself on tho fact. The - heartless and reckless manners of our commercial civilization arc in keeping with our political life. Our trade ' morals arc founded upon the rules of ' the piratiral craft rather than upon 1 mercantile honor and legitimate compe-1 compe-1 titior. What opportunity for an honest 3 dealer is to be found in our board of 3 trade rooms, whoac inmates one of our pipers torms "Scutper.-!" Tha victims 1 of this in -it.it urion are innumerable. A " youug man who has had &omo country fc experience in grain or produce, and J gained credit for fair dealing and more or less cawh, cornea to Chicago and be-e be-e comes a member of tho board of trade. 0 He imagines himsell perhaps among 0 honorable gentlemen and proposes to e transact a legitimate business. Di-" Di-" rect'y a "ring" is formed to go for "that innocent young man," and he 10 is "piped off ' and "shadowed" and all his peculiarities aro soon in tho , possession of his warm friends, who pay him tho most particular attentions; , while in the meantime they aro giving him good advice as to ho market and its tendencies. If ho falls Into the trap, and ten to one he will, his time is short in Chicago. Ho will soon relinquish re-linquish his memborship in tho board of scalpers and may deem himself lucky if he has funds sufficient to buy a ticket to Oihkosb, or to whatever rural oity he may ohoose to hide him-fo'f him-fo'f ir. A I'ANICKY PARAURAP1I. It may be asked if the scalping and swindling business is a paying one. Sometimes it is; but money is now too close, margins too sunll, and victims too lew, to render it extremely lucra tivo. As finances tighten, there is moro prudence and caution evinced among business men, who have to look out sbarp to keep their heads abovo water, and gradually tho speculators specu-lators will have to ouccumb to hard faots,nnd many of them will retire from the field. If anything oan restore confidence con-fidence and fair dealing to tho country, it, will be hard, pinching times, bringing bring-ing all things to their true level. It will be a bitter pill for tho shoddyites and the extravagant and reckless; but the atmosphere will be purified, and common honor and honesty again find their Toward, in political as well as in commercial life. TRUE AS PREACHING. Th's is a glorious view of affairs; but it is useless to evade it. The country is drifting swiftly on to a financial panic, which may bo arrested a few mouths by treasury manipulations, and extra issues of greenbacks, remedies that will only heighten the disease. No country can stand tho process of over-dosing on so gigantic a scale as we havo practised. No system oan survive such wholesale fraud and swindlng as is carried on in tho United States, until almost every transaction of business and institution of hnanoo and trust, seems to be tainted or sus peoted. Look at tho Southern States so rotten is their condition that in order to tone the American credit, congress con-gress is asked, and will be obliged, to pay their debt3. And in the north, too, tho farmers are groaning over their profitless labor; meohanios aro striking for higher wages, business is derauged, and nobody is happy, save the publio men at Washington, whoso salaries have been doubled at tho expense of the tax-payers, and the bankers and money-brokers, who never were moro prosperous. RAILROAD REGULATIONS. The legislature of this State has perfected per-fected and will probably pass an aot punishing by heavy penalties any unjust un-just discrimination in freight charges by the railways; prohibiting the practice prac-tice of levying a larger charge for carrying carry-ing produce ashort distance than is tax-od.tor tax-od.tor a long.one. It is doubtful whether Buch a law will prove oi much benefit, as the corporations will probably find somo way to evade its provisions. Ultimately, wo shall have to oome to a central regulation of railroads, as of other matters, aud if wo oan manage to secure honest and intelligent legislators, legisla-tors, we may bo rolieved of a great part of our miserable, bungling and complicated machinery of government. As capital increases, consolidates, and beeomes more powerful, it is ablo lo manago our petty State governments as it likes; but iu the hands of a responsible res-ponsible national government, corpo-ato corpo-ato wealth may be kept within bounds, as the uselul servant, instead of tho master of the people. THE COMING PARTV. Tho next great party, whioh shall drivo tho Grant dynasty out of power, will, I predict, be the strongest na- uuuai uiiiuttuju 1 1 jn nab yet u&imcu, and it will bo composed of members of both parties, who have become sick of tho small local politioiaos who have managed State aud national affairs, in the interest of their own pockets What a pretty mesa we have got into through their tricks I ARTESIAN WELLS. Thcro are some thirlj-scvcn artesian wells in operation in Chic.igo, of a depth from 1)30 to l.li'JO feet, and they each supply ftom eighty to live hundred hun-dred gallons of water per minute, which is used for fountains, e'eansing purposes, pur-poses, stock yards, distilleries, and as a reserve for extinguishing fires. On account of its obemical impregnations and organic impurities it is nut, used for drinking. As no one has been at the bottom of these wells it is not known whether ihc supply is incx-haustable, incx-haustable, or where the lluid oomcs from. The quantity flawing to the surface varies largely in somo of the wells at d liferent times, and rises to various bights above ground, indicating that their sources vary as well as tho pressure upon the stream. Tho first artesian wells were bored in Chicago by a parly of spiritualists, spiritual-ists, who under the direction of their thoughtful men lord in the spirit land, were promised a large flow of oil. They baa to be contented with water; and their wclli arc still flowing, the liquid having been put to profitable profit-able uses; and the forty acres of land which they purchased at a cheap rate in the suburbs has now become a part of the city, and has proved a grand investment in-vestment PLENTY OF yiIlSKT. But the vastness of our water supply sup-ply does not appear to les.-cn the sale of whisky and beer, any more than do tho laws, yearly framed, v?hosc design is to inikc our people temperate. 11 there is any pron'iaUc burioess here, it is evidently the whbky trade, judging judg-ing from the number ol i-crsuUd who ru.-h into i. Somcbjdy figures out an increase of nearly .VJO siIujds otcrla-t season, aud notwithstanding thy W-mouiiion-i of the clergy and tbc Young Men's Christian Association, drJnking is evidently on tho increase, OLhj.ice the warnings of tho confident watches who upon the gallows lecture Ho peo ple upon iho power ful effects of bad whisky. Such warnings appear to bo lost upon thi ordinary mind, and young and old America slicks to its whisky, as a relief from love and overwork, over-work, or no work at all. MISCELLLANEOL'S. The exposition papers are not all in, and it is not known whether it is to bo or not to be; but njall subscriptions aro taken with tome readiness. Chicago Chica-go is not apt to back out in such an enterprise. Our supreme ojurt has juH decided that a hunband is nut responsible fr an alleged libel perpetrated by tiis will) upun a third person, any more than he is for her debts contracted before marriage mar-riage or her "torts" generally. This will bo gratifying news to some bui-bandf. bui-bandf. The weather is still wintcrish, and snow and sleet fell last night iu quantities, quan-tities, which to-day is followed by rair. Tho papers tell us that real estate is about tho only active coramodkv. Large purchases of property, contiguous contigu-ous to the city, a o recordec'l for subdivision, sub-division, and there is somo inquiry for suburban residences. A good many dwellings will be built this season, but Btorcs and otlioos are extra-abuodant, and it is not likely tbat largo numbers of business houses will bo put up. It is conceded that business rents must drop after the first of May. Thero is no city in America Letter supplied with this class of building than Chicago. Booth cIosob his succoFbful four weeks engagement this week. WlNNETKA. |