Fremont weekly freeman. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1850-1853, 1852-01-03
Our New York Correspondence.
New YoRK, Dec. "a, 1851.

Hlds 4hc SEeHb ieatorc Oh tuat uayJ hereI IS
the bestowal of Christmas Gifts Already
the windows of the jewslry aud fancy stores
are ablaze with glittering trinkets suitable for
soUenirs and cages of love. The confsction
cries and cakeries are decked fer the sacrifice
the booksellers have marshalled whole reei,
| ments Of fdamascened ANIMALS on their counters
and shelves; the plate-glass lady traps in
Broadway, are baited with profusion Of rich
aud radiant fnbrics; toydom has opened its
batteries OF temptation upon boydom; the
! theatres are ready with their "uarivalled at
fractions" the country is coming to town, and
the town is going to the country in a word,
| everybody IS getting ready for The good time
| coming. But must turn to inventions, dis
coveri-S, and resolutions.
observe, by articles in various newspapers,
| that some good people are becoming alarmed
at the prospect Of the speedy consumption of
al the wood in the werld! What" say these
honest fellows, shall we then do for fuel, and
| and building niatcrials?''
must confess that when Eirst saw an ar
ticle on this subject, in one of our city papers,
was greatly startled, and agreed with the
writer that, unless Providence opered up
some way Of escape. the time would come
when the inhabitants of the earth would be, 10
say the least, sorely perpIexed to End materi-
ais out Of which to bail houses, construct ships
and make furniture, fences, and all other things
now male, either wholly, or in part, of wood" 4"
After a thorough investigation of the subject,
however, all my fears vanished; and am now
prepared to snap my fingers at wood, and
wooden-headed people, gho are foolish enough
| to put their trust in anything that grows in
the forest
| Wooden ware, wooden utensils, wooden
houses. wooden fences and wooden ships are
ali hunbugs. They will soon go out of use.
| Iron is the thing. This age will be hereafter
known as the Iron Age. Everything viii be
made of iron, in few years more. We have
in New York plenty of iron houses, about which
there is not speCk of wood and in magni6-
cent bay may be seen iron vessels of various
dimensions. One great drawback hitherto,
to the Introduction of iron manufacturers, has
arisen from the fact that only cast iron articles
have been made; and they are expensive,
clumsy, and liable to break. 1t is only since
! the discovery that wrought-iron fabrics can
be more readily worked, more highly orna-
mented, more elegantly designed, furnished
at one-half the expense, and warrented to en-
dure five times the violence of cast-iron that
this branch Of manufactures has assumed
position and dignity commensurate with its
importance. To the genius of Mr.. John B.
Wickersham, of this city, is the world indebt-
ed for this great discoyery;-a discovery
which, in my opinion,.will yet place the name
of Wickersham along side of those of Franklin,
Watt, Arkwright, Daguerre, Steers, Morse,
and of the other illustrious men whose genius
and practical skill have contributed SO much
to the, worlds advancement
Wrought iron can now be woven into any
desirable shape, and adapted to an infinite va
riety of purposes. Window guards and gra-
tinss for steamships, stores, dwellings, and all
manner OF public and private buildings; iron
bedstcads, wire railing, for enclosing public
and private grounds, cemeteries, DC: farm
fence, al 81, a rod; and, in short, almost every
thing .hat is necessary in building and furn-
ishing house, or in fencing or stocking
farm with implements, is now made Of this
enduring material. These wrought iron fab
RIGS combine fiShtness, cheAPness, and ele-
gance, with the utmost strength and durabil
ity; and, think, they muet eventually super
cede all others. Their cheapuess aud dura-
billy are strong points in their favor. For ex-
ample: A farmer, in Illinois, having five hun
dred acres of prarie land to enclose, can send
to New York and have this imperishable
wrought-ron fence delivered on the premises,
for much less sum than it would cost him,
labor included, FOR rails to fence an equal
amount of land And he could enclose a
hundred acres with the iron fence, while he
could be putting rail fence round two
acre lot
Another point of the utmost importance, is
the safety of this kind of manufactures wher-
ever human life may be placed in Jeopardy.
For instance: Had the staircase and bannis-
ters of the schoolhouse in Greenwich Avenue,
been made of wrought iron, fifty families
would not have been plunged in unutterable
woe, BY the death of their beloved children.
That hcartrendiHg catastrophe has aroused
the public mind to the Importance OF the sub
jest; and school committees and private citi
Eens are now hocking to Mr. Wickersham to
obtain his services in securing the safety of hu-
man life, by the general introduction of
wrought iron stairs, balconies, verapdahs, &c.
How much iron there is in the bowels of
the earth, | know not; but, | am inclined to
the opinion that there is enough to furnish
material for all the houses, ships, furniture,
and fence that will ever be required on this
globe, and yet leave large surplus for expor-
tation to less favored planets.
The last French Revolution is not much Of
card here, as showmen say. 1t don't
draw. 1t don't stir up the people or excite
enthusiasm, or induce despair. or raise mp
'muss' of any kind. The Bultie brings all the
particulars; but nobody appears to care any
thing about them. The Newsboys are down
on Louis Napoleon, because their extras don't
SELL They say, he is not the man that Kos
suth is; for paper containing one of the lat
ter's speeches, sells by hundreds; while full
account of the formers revolution don't make
difference of dime. Wait say the news
boys, Till KUssuth gets back among 'em, over
there; and then won't there be high times?
Won't he stir up the despots? Won't we
have news, then, that will make the 'extras'
sell? You may bet your life we oWP The
news boys are right. Kossuth is the man to