OUR KIN ACROSS THE SEA. [BY J.C. FIRTH.] II. GREAT CITIES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2248, 4 December 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

OUR KIN ACROSS THE SEA. [BY J.C. FIRTH .] 11. GREAT CITIES.

Amongst the features which moat attract the notice of a traveller in the ''Great West " of the United States (to which my romurkd will be mainly directed) are ittt great cities. The cities I risked are monuments of Ammoan energy and enterprise. The streets of some of them might have been wider, and many of them, especially those of San Francisco, might be better paved, but when it i» remembered that theno cities of thu West, now numbering from 100,000 to 700,000 inhabitants, were forty years ago, either mere village.*, or did not exist at all; that in the city of Minneapolis, with its 150,000 people, the oldest person born in it is not yot thirty-two yearn old ; and that in one of the streets of Chicago, with its 7 0,000 inhabitants, there still stands a tree, which marks the site of an Indian massacre of the early settlers on the shores of the noble Lake Miohigan ; and that men now living, pioked in their boyish days, from the rugged bark of this memorial tree, the arrow-heads of the shafts, sent by Indian warriors against the tortured fathers of the future city ; we may well be amazed that so much has been done, and, in the main, so well done, in so short a time. Generally speaking, these great cities of the West are well laid out. In many of them long aveuues, lined with deciduous trees, stretch far into the level country, affording grateful shade and remarkably pleasant drives in every direotion. Though I regretted the general absence of open squares within the city limits, the handsome parks outside provided abundant breathing* places for the crowded toilers of the city, The splendid parks, avenues, and boulevards which surrounded the city of Chicago, bear honourable testimony to the munificent and fur-soeinjf npirit of its citizen*), both private and public. The introduction and general adoption of the passenger elevator, by permitting tho erection of lofty buildings, some of them nine and ten stories high, has given American cities a massive and grand appearance. San Franoisco, the Queen of the West, is a picturesque city. The bay windows in general use, with their broken lines and deep shadows, with the irregular height of the buildings and the broken contour of their upper lines, give a character to the street architecture of San Francisco more artistic and pleasant than I noticed in any other city I visited. San Francisco, I believe, was tho first city to adopt the cable system of street tramways, a system so convenient and effective that I presume nothing but the heavy expense of its initial construction prevents the universal adoption of thu cable trarncar system.

STREET OBSTRUCTION'S. In all these great; cities which are busy hives of manufacturing industry, little attention appears to be paid to the convenience, or even to the safety of the people who traverse the sidewalks. Many of these sidewalks serve for the roofs of underground stores. These are entered through apertures in the pavement of all fiizis, from two feet to six feet square. The iron doors of these cellars, when op* n, serve as awkward barriers to prevent foot passengers from falling down headlong. On the principal pidewalks it is no uncommon thing for a storekeeper or merchant to place rows of carriages, piles of casks, cases, and almost anything else he please*. In the busy side streets I it is a common practice to placo on the sidewalks pieces of bulky machinery, long | linen of car wheel?, and all manner of ; angular obstructions, sometimes lying, not for an hour or two, but for days and weeks, doubtless greatly to the conveoi* i ence of the proprietor of the adjoining warehouse or manufactory, though not : quite as pleasant to pedestrians. I have even seen a 16 feet steam boiler lying on I a aide walk, for weeks together.

■ THE DIVE. j In most of the cities they adopt a very direct mode of entering the cellars, by a | flight of steps, protected on one side of the path by an iron rail, but open at one end, so that the man in search of whisky } or lager beer may make an easy descent to the " dive " or saloon below, where these articles are to be had. A "dive" is the name given to a third or fourthclass saloon. It is a place or hole where men go to imbibe various drinks, in some cases dispensed by faded, painted, gaudily -dressed women, some of whom amuse the drinking crowd by singing popular or peculiar sonsjs. In this way, j women, wine, and music are pressed into the service of the man who " runs" the dive, to his own profit, and often to the ruin, body and soul, of those who frequent his den.

THE SALOOX. The ealoon is a drinking shop, of a better class. It is entered from the level of the pavement. It is a place where various drinks are dispensed to more respectable, but not. less thirsty people than the class which drinks at the 11 dive." In the saloon, men are Generally the dispensers. One of the superior saloons I inspected was brilliant with glass and light, its walls being mounted with paintings, som3 of which might, with advantage to good morals, have been turned to the wall?. The number of " dives" and "saloons" in most of tho cities where "prohibition" laws arc not in force, is very great. In San Francisco there are are said to be 1200 ; and in Chicago, the Tribune, a leading journal of that city, states the number of these hounes to be 3JOO. I understand that, though laws exist for their inspection, they are, in some cities, only very partially enforced. As a consequence, thoy are, practically, open at almost all hours, Sundays included, These establishments provide no accommodation for travellers— being drinking Bhops pure and simple. They are said to be centres of political intrigue, and to exercise a very dangerous influence in various ways, on the political questions and organisations, of the day. The Chicago Tribune of October 2 says of the •' dives" :—": — " How do matters stand in Chicago ? The dives and doggeries are running wide open. They swarm with thieves, sluggers, thugrs, and prostitute". They make no pretence of regarding the law, because they know that the Mayor will not enforce it against him. They know that, do what they please, violate their bonds as they please, he will not revoke their licenses. Orgies are kept up in them until long after the hours when they are required to be closed. Robberies are an everyday affair, and murders are continually increasing. The character of these places is not only known ro the Mayor from newspaper reports, but from the official reports of his own police captains. These places have been reported to him over and over again, with recommendations that the licence be revoked, and, in more than one case, after their keepers had been convicted of crimes even worse than keeping disorderly dens, and yet he admits there has been but one license revoked since last May, and iv that case, it is believed, the party was not a voter. The police have grown discouraged ; for what use is it to report cases when no attention is paid to them ?" BELT RAILWAYS. The great cities of the West are, as I have said, hives of industry. Each is the vigorous beating heart of the surrounding country, a great railway centre, by which it receives and distributes the varied products which an enterprising, energetic, industrious, and luxurious people require. Of course all great cities do the same ; but the Western cities of the United States, appear to me to do it more effectually, and with less friction, than is done in other cities I have visited. America is not only far ahead from all other counties in the extent of its railways, but in the effective manner iv which it applies them. Indianapolis, for instance — a city of about 110,000 inhabitants — his sixteen lines of railways diverging from it, with one hundred a,nd twenty passenger trains

arriving at, and departing from its central depot daily. By the adoption of the admirable " belt " ayatem — that is, a railway, in this case, fourteen miles in length, running round the city, with which all the railwayi connect— the city is relieved of much bustle and heavy traffic ; very much more room is afforded for manufacturing operations, much ex* pense saved and damage prevented by unnecessary handling of goods of all kinds. I cannot but regard the man who invented the "belt system" of railways, as a genius and at a great benefactor to his fellows.

STATE FAIRS. In almost every city I visited " State Fairs" were being held; sometimes in large and handsome buildings erected for the purpose, every city vying with its neighbour in the beauty of the building and in the quality and excellence of the exhibits. These annual fairs are exhibitions chiefly of the products of the agricultural and manufacturing arts. They attract great numbers of people, and by bringing inventions and machinery of all kinds into close contrast and competition, they undoubtedly exert a very stimulating and beneficial influence in every direction.

ASYLUMS. I was pleased to learn that the poor, the sick, and the insane were generally, both in town and country, carefully and wisely provided for. I was informed that the number of insane patients was large, and that in some districts they largely consisted of farmers, and more particularly of farmer's wives. If that be true, possibly isolation and heavy, hard work may to some extent account for it.

CHICAGO. The great heart of the West is Chicago. This great city, with its 700,000 inhabitants, is in various ways a itriking instance of the marvellous enterprise and indomitable energy of the American people. Ten years ago an area of three and a-half square miles of the finest part of the city was burnt down by the explosion of a kerosene lump. Almost before the fires were extinguished, the smokebegriroed inhabitants set to work to rebuild their city on the old lines. They would not give themselves time to rearrange and widen the streets, and so lost an opportunity which, it is to bo hoped, will never again be given them. Notwithstanding the narrow streets, the lofty buildings of a plain but massive architecture, invest the city with an unmistakable grandeur. The black fumes of the innumerable factories of every kind have rendered the city as black and dingy as if it were centuries old. Except in the main streets, the sidewalks are chiefly of wood, full of steps, holes, and traps. Even in some of the main streets flights of three or four steps, entirely unprotected by railing, descend from the well-paved sidewalks to the basement floors of pretentious buildings. The-»o holec, traps, and steps render walking in the streets at all times unpleasant, and ut night, not a little dangerous.

THK RIVER AND MAIN SEWKR. The Chicago River, 280 feet wide, though affording groat shipping facilities to a limited number of ripari in proprietors, is a p-reat obstruction and a dungeroas nuisance to a much larger number of tho inhabitant". It is a receptacle for much of tho sewage of the great city. It would be more dangerous to health than it is at present had it poured all its pestiferous contonts into Lake Michigan', from which Chicago obtains its water for drinking and other purposes. Happily for the city, the engineers, by cutting a canal and employing other appliances, have turned the river, with much of its sewage abominations, into the Ohio River, so partially freeing the pure waters of Lake Michigan from pollution. How the Ohio people liko tho arrangement I do not know.

SWING BRIDGES. At the various streets which cross this filthy stream its navigation is secured by iron swing-bridges. When a Ftearaer going up or down stream with a vessel in tow arrives at a bridge, a signal bell is rung, and the bridge swings round for the vessels to pass. When theao have passed, the bridge swings back, and the bell rings to show that the bridge is again in position. It is curious to see the alacrity which the long lines of waggons, bupgies, tramcars, and vehicles of all sorts, use to cross before it again swings open. Nevertheless, many of them are too late. Then begins a new accumulation of a long line of vehicles and foot passengers on each side of the bridge. Not unfrequently, before the bridge again closes, a hundred waggons and carriages will be massed in a long right or left line on either side of the bridge. A regular jam ensues. The crush is often tremendous, and the language of the drivers, if not choice, is equalled by the excitement of the surging crowd. The bridge again swings round, and a grand stampede across it follows in opposite directions. And so on, all day long. How the people submit to such con- q tinual obstructions in great thoroughfares is a puzzle to me. I fancy it would pay the city to buy out the riparian owners, and cloie up the dirty stream, leaving only sin ice gates at the lako to sweep away the whole of its foul abominations into the far- distant Ohio river. CHICAGO STREET^ AT NIGHT. Those who have not seen the effect of the electric light in the streets of a great city at night, can form no adequate idea of the splendour of the illumination, created by the starlike brilliancy ot the magnificent arc lights. I have said starlike, but the electric lights shine with a thousandfold the brightness of stars of the first magnitude. A night drive at 8 p.m. through the principal streets of Chicago, with its innumerable gaslights, transformed into golden globes by the dazzling splendour of the silrery arc lights scattered along the streets in wild profusion, is a spectacle worth seeing. When the use of electric lights becomes general, the effect will far surpass the wildest dreams of the imagination.