HOW CHICAGO GROWS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 74, 26 September 1874, Page 11

HOW CHICAGO GROWS.

Im a letter to the 'Boston Pilot,' a correspondent ilius points to the -enormous and rapid growth of Catholic population and institutions :—: — It may Interest many jf your readers to how the city of Chicago is getting along through the hard ticies, and particularly hoy the Catholic Church is progressing in wha* was formerly known "as tlie? " Garden of the West," but ia now caM.-il the Plioenix City, a name ■which it fairly deserves, for it has prow lly men from the usiies of the great fire, which, less than threo yfi:irsi a-to, destroyed nearly its whole •extent, and is rebuilt in a style more beautiful and magnificent than before. Indeed, the rapid and complcto re-building of the city is a matter of wonderment not only to strangers, but even to Chicagonns, wlio are easily astonished ; and it can safely be asserted that we have now, in many respecto, the finest city in the world. Though the city is only forty years old, it now numbers over four hundred thousand inhabitants, about one-third of whom arc Catholic 3. There are twenty-six Catholic churches, including several G-evman, two Bohemian, -one French, and one Polish. The Jesuit church is the largest in ilie -city, and contains the finest organ west of Boston, which was built in Montreal, at a cost of 25,000 dols. Near the church is the Jestct College of St. Ignatius, which, though only four years old, is in & flourishing condition, and has a large number of students. The Young Men's Catholic Library Association, which is one of our most prominent institutions, has a fine library, and numbers among its members many of our most influential citizens. Their extensive library, which was entirely consumed in the great fire, is being rapidly restored. We have also nnmeious Temperance, Benevolent, and other societies, which I may desciibe in a future letter. The Right Rev. Bishop Foley has done good work since he camo to the •diocese, and is beloved and respected by all classes of the community. The present condition of business in Chicago is terribly dull, and everything is at a standstill. There will certainly be a great amount of suffering among the poor next winter, for many have not yet recovered from the effects of the panic of hist fall, and there i« so little "work this summer that they will bo unable to lay in their wiuter sapplies of fuel and provisions. People who are making a living in the -east at this time had better not come west, especially with a view of -settling in the large cities, which are already overstocked with unskilled laborers, mechanics, and retail dealers.

If our Irish people would only settle on the fine farming lands of tlie west, to the cultivation of which they are so well adapted, they would soon become independent limdowmrs, instead of dragging out a precarious existence in the cities, and bringing up their children surrounded by everything which tends to degrade the body and destroy the soul.