The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-07-18 00:00:00

AN AMERICAN TOUR.

The following interesting letter hats been published in The

Sir —Being at present engaged in testing the facili-
ties, expenses, and attractions of a new world of in-
terest for tourists who have exhausted Great Britain

and the Continent of Europe, many matters of great
tsocial interest have come under my observation, soms
of which I am tempted to collate into the shipe of a

letter to The Tunes.

In the spirit of reciprocity to American travellers,
who come in ehoals to see the old countries, I felt

deSiro'us—Of introducinq to the United Steles and
Canada a party of English friends, and on the 18th of
April nearly 30 ladies and gentlemen either started
with me or embarked by other lines of ocean steamers
for New York The accident which betel the steamship

-
Ethiopia, by the breaking of the shaft connecting the
engines and propellor, caused a division of my personal
party, 20 being transferred to other steamers, while I
remained to see the residue safely through the diffi-
culty. The advance party, under the escort of a well-
informed American assistant, have kept ahead of my.
self and others, and I am delighted everywhere to hear
of the kindness and warmth of their reception, after
New York, at Philadephia, Baltimore, Washington
(where they were specially introduced to the Presi-
dent), along the Virginia valleys, from Richmond to
Harper's Ferry, the National Bridge, the Shenandoah
Valley, and various other places in Virginia. At
Lexington a perfect ovation was accorded to them
by ex-Governor Letcher, Major C. H. Doff, Colonel
Davison, Captain Anderson, and others, who provided
*carriages for them to see the chief places of the dead
and the living, including the graves of Lee, Stonewall
Jackson, and other notabilities of the war. At the
military institution the cadets came out in full costume,
! and in parade "God save the Queen" was per-
formed; and at supper in the evening royal and loyal
I toasts were given. At But keville a load of flowers was
I presented to the only lady of the party there to receive
I the ovation. At Goschen a special railroad car was
placed at their disposal for a long journey. They
visited the Mammoth Cave at Kentucky, Cincinnati,
St. Louis Chicago, Detroit, and Niagara Falls, where
I last heard of their hearty welcome and enthusiastic
treatment by the public-spirited proprietor of the In-
ternational Hotel, I write this at the Queen's Betel,
Toronto, whence they departed by etc uner on the Lake
Ontaiio for the Thousand Islands and the Rapids of
the St. Lawrence to Montreal. Their route would
then be by Quebec, Portland, through Maine and New
England, calling at Boston and other places. I am fol-
lowing hard after them, but lingering at the chief
I places to collect facts of general as well as of travelling
interest • and to a few of those facts I invite the atten-
Ition
of old Englanders. _ . _

I shall not attempt to invade the province of your
"Own Correspondents" by allusion to politics and
State affairs, but I could not pass through the culti-
vated parts parts of Ohio and Indiana, or Faze on the
grain-covered prairies of Illinois. stretching to the
utmost reach of vision, without expressing admiration
of the scenes and joy in the promise of a rich harvest
and abundance of peaches and other fruits. The
potato crop has an enemy in the shape of a destructive
bug, and in many eases the crop will fail. But
America is not dependent ou potatoes, with her abund-
ance of grain. Indian norrt. and vegetables of varions
kinds. On the whole, the harvest prospects are very
satisfactory.
The climate has been as varied here as in Europe
and the East. During my tour we have had the
thermometer at 90 to 100 at Pitsbarg, Cincinnati, and
St. Louie and at Chicago it was down to 60 on an
average; it was cold at Niagara Falls three days
since, and here the weather and heat very much
resemble the temperature of England in June. TI ere
has been much rain and no great heat, so that travel-
ling is quite enjoyable.
In parts of Pensylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, I saw a
little and heard much of the woman's crusade against
whisky, and I bear testimony the high and de-
voted character of the ladies thus banded against the
young man's worst foe. Tippling in America is ano-
malous, considering the strength of temperance senti-
ment which expels intoxicating drinks from hotel and
family tables. In all of the great hotels where I have
stayed from New York to here I have rarely seen in-
toxicating drinks of any kind on the tables. In the
hottest places—Cincinnati and St. Louis especially—l
saw large glasses of coloured drinks, like brown sherry or
beer; but on inquiring I found they contained cold tea
with ice; and on trial I found this the most slaking of
drinks. With abundance, I iced water and of milk,
iced tea seemed to be the most appreciated drink. Of
the Woman's Crusade it is not expected to be a
permanent or long-continued movement, but it is
powerfully aiding the development of intenalhed
temperance sentiment, and its effect will not be
evanescent. I can scarcely take up a paper which
does not contain some respectful reference to the
temperance subject. The laws are being rigidly en-
forced against their violaters, and no indulgence is
allowed to those who tempt youth to drink or who
open their shops or sell drink during hour of proscrip-
tion. Had not the American people to contend against
the German and Irish elements they would snake short
work with the drink traffic.
This Toronto, with its 60,000 to 70,000 inhabitants,
astonishes me •more than any place which recognises
the authority of Queen Victoria. While I read of
sharp conflicts in the British Parliament on the miser-
able question of an extra half hour for getting drunk
after midnight, I found here, on Saturday evening
last, Irery drink shop closed after seven o'clock, not
to be4eopened until six on Monday morning, and at
the very hour when the dram shoos were shut the
savings-bank opened and the people were crowding in to
pay their deposits. All through the imovince of Ontario
not a drink shop, not a cigar shop, not even an ice-cream
shop, is opened on Sunday. The public thoroughfares
are not half as beclouded with smoke or infested with
little smoking puppies as are the public walks of the
"Mother country." Without a State Church, pla
worship aboundhere in every street, and they are all
thronged with worshippers. 'l'here in scarcely a church
or chapel in which the singing from a neighbouring
house of prayer may not be heard. At eleven am.
and seven p.m. the place seemed to be redolent with
hymns of praise, and better order in the streets I never
witnessed. No wonder that in such a place great
numbers of working men own their habitations. „In
Chicago and St. Louis I received several letters frlllff
wrecked young Englishmen, begging for pecuniary
assistance, but on inquiring into the cases I had too
much reason to fear that intemperance was the cause
of their difficulty, as no honest, sober, and industrious
young man need be in circumstances of want and
distress. I am perfectly delighted with what I have
seen of Toronto, and if Ottawa and Montreal present
as morally and socially fascinating features I may
trouble The Tones with a second letter.
The tour of myself and friends, extendinF to nearly
1,000 miles, from New York and back to New York,
has satisfied me of the practicability and pleasure
which may be derived from such travels in America—
on both sides of the St. Lawrence and the frontier
lakes. The Amerioan railroad companies are following
In the wake of other tourists countries, and from our
own offices in New York and London we can now offer
nearly 1,000 combinations of travelling tickets, cover-
ing the whole land (lakes and inland seas included)
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from Mexico and
Florida to Lake Superior and the more northerly
regions under British rule. The hotel-keepers, too,
begin to realize the fact that it is their interest to en-
courage the visits of Britishers, and the now undivided
people of North and South, the citizens of this vat
Republic, already show symptoms of reciprocity and
good will. We have annexed Canada to the United
States by a chain if more than 100 links of tourist
arrangement and the aspects of this union are pleasing
to all.
Trusting to the uniform liberality of The Times for
the insertion of this letter,—l am, k 2.,
THOMAS COOK.
Queen's Hotel, Toronto, June 16