Daily national Democrat., 1860-04-18
Build Firmly.

Bntid FIRMLY
Tie catastrophe which happened, yester-
day mnrniug. in this city, and which is re
corded il another column. suggests few OIL
strvations which We have long felt called
upon to make. The walls Of many Of the
houses ia Mnrysyille. as well ns in san Fran
cisco and sacramento. are far too carrlessll
built. They are built upon the olicy %
letting out to the lowest bidder, without SUI
hrirut guards against the low est bidders neg
lectng the essential points Of strength "nd
sli,ty. for the purpose Of making the most o
his contract The result TO- that, quite FIRE
qu,ntlv. houses. large md small, 60 up Whiel
are Ii hlc 10 come down at any moment. Th'
wall. are thin. the materials poor, aud the
workmi in-hip hurried, Some If them arr
store houses. soiue are shops. pnd s"me are
residences, dc, DC Human life is daily AID
hourly endangered 10y such = ructurrs. and
the ouder i, that such ch:astrophes as thai
ofycstsr,ny are not more frequent all over tie
state. AID yet. they nre frequent enough
We hear at not very long intervals apart. al
men. women aud children beiug crushed to
death. ly the falling uf buildings occupied a,
lodgings or ns store houses. Many times tn,
occupants of such places escape toy mere
chance. and IN a manner upon which they
could uUt i,ave calculated. In running oven
The hies ot California papers. ~ the las,
Year. numerous INSTANCES OF tue failing o
funding, with attendant destruction of hl,
and property, my be counted
Ii lie time lhlt this carele.sness were stop
| ped. 1t is criminal. 1t is trihing viii
human life in sneh II manner rs to call for til,
interpretation OF the law itself to prevent ii
and ulen who build houses which they know
nus' some day fall and probably kill an in
aciinlte number OF human beings, ough
either to lie hung Or incarcer.ted for life il
the penitcnlinry.
This carcrssntss is not confined to Caliior
MIA either 1t is wide spread aud the de
piorablc catastrophe of The Pemherton Mill
where hundreds of lives were sAcrinced. an,
gloom and desoluiion spread over hundred.
ul huply homes ia the land, has had it
counterpart in thousands of instances. 1t
would seem in fact that not only architect,
aud builders, but every denomination q
men who have to be trusted toy their fellow
men. are conspiring against the lives of man
kind. 1t would esVn seem that civilization
is becoming curse to the earth If YOU
build house you do not know when it will
crumhle upon your head and smash you
into " jrly, with yodr life nnd children aud
your household gods around you. Especially.
you do not know when it will happen in -
country like this. where occasional earth
! Quukes uphtave the surface and put to the
test the stoutest structures. If you desire to
soHce yourself with generous wines and
good living, You have no guarantee that you
are not drinking dycoctions of arsenic and
tnIWcco. or some other life-drsiroyiug stuff.
or swallowing poisonous ingredients, in th,
white aud snowy.looking loaf upon your ta-
hle or planting the seeds Of death in youl
of modern times for initiating the milk aud
honey with which The land of can ,nn flow ed
and the various uXures and substantial
of the occasional or the daily board
Even the medicine which you take to restore
,on to he"ih, may he II spi riots compound
ma an adultelated drug which either falls
short of the purpose for which it is given, ol
hasiens the period Of your dissolution Veri
Iy, an imaginative man, in these moder
lays. without good balance Of firmness
might almost he afraid to eat, drink. sleep
walk ahout OF turn around. lest lie shoulC
lose his Ii And, if the neglect and CON
tempt of life. 80 continually displayed ly
those who minister 10 ihe wants and neces,i.
lies Of civilized society. continue mucl,
longer, the time will soon come when the
philosopher will pronounce emphatIcall
"ith the poet in favor of the old barbaiic
iimes
"when wild in woods the noble savage ran"