The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1862-01-07
Editorial Ccrrespondtnce.

visits to relations and old friends. ]
found but litlle complaint of hard times
there, and many branches of business
more than usually active at this season of
the year. Philadelphia is probably the
The largest manufacturing city in the
Union and feels the effect of tie COM
mercial crises as severely as any other.
With content and prosperity there, thrift
and satisfaction should be general-as /
believe they are throughout the North,
in business sense The bread riots,
the starving multiiudes, which South
ern holhcads in Imagination saw at the
North, brought into being through the
suppression OF Southern trade, are far
from realities. In Iced the stoppaSe of
foreign importations, and The consequent
retention of coin among us, with large
expectation Of grain TO Europe, las real
Is made the country richer since the re-
bellon began than il has been for a log
time,
Philadelphia has many objects Of
intcrts ST within her limits. Her medical
colleges. her public libraries, her CHART
able institutions, her public edifces, are
are all subjects of interest to the stranger
aud Of pride 10 her citizens. Govern
men, has dealt lawfully with her, giving
her Tic Mint, Home for old Sailors, two
Arsenals, and Navy Yard. She has also
State Blind Asylum and State Peni-
Tertiary. There is also the Old Hall Of
Independence, with lis many relies Of the
men and times of the Revolution Far
AMOUNT Water Works are also well worth
visit, as are the many fine parks scat
tered over the city. Girard College, a
college for tie gratuitous education Of
orphans, is noble charity. The
Academy Of Natural Science is also a
acted institution, possessing Museum
licher in specimens of rare animal and
vegetable fossils,as well as omilhological
specimens, than any similar institution
on this continent
We gained time only 10 visit the Navy
Yard, Mr.. GILLINGnAM, The genllemanly
Clerk of the Yard, giving us the guild
ance OF one Of his assistants The yard
is of The second class, containing only
some ten acres of ground, yet the force
employed is now over 26oo men. Think
what swarming hive of industry the
yard must be, with such population,
exclusive OF officers and marines. But
che work on hand demands them all.
Eight vessels of all sizes were at the
wharves, on all of which work was pro-
crossing One Of the new steam sloops
Of war was Oh the stocks, and though
The keel vas laid only some two months
since, The vessel is nearly completed.
The Brooklyn, carrying "a thirty-two
Founders, was at the wharf, receiving a
thorough renovation. The steam frigate
Hartford. just from China, was on the
sectional dock. The ST. Louis, and
another large warvessel, were nj the wharf,
il process of repairs. The Mania, n
new side-whcel gun boat, of light draft,
FOREVER service, was approaching com
Fiction. BY her side was schooner
fitting for mortar boat. These mortars
IRE about feet long, and aboat as many
wide. the chamber occupying but IS
inches round. The barrel The thickness
ofabout II inches. They weigh over
1900 pounds, and throw Is inch
shell. They ATE put on turntable,
which enables them to be pointed in any
direction. Beneath them the vessel is
Luilt solid TO the keel
A large proportion ofthe work done
in this yard, is that Of making gun car
riages. and we may be able to give our
readers some luea Oh the COST oil war,
10y locking at sl.a cost Of these articles. A
10 inch Dahlgren gun weighs about
10000 pounds, and The carriage abou
10000 pounds. The metal work about
the carriage. which constitutes tho lar
ger part Of the carriage. is Of brass com
position, which costs when finished abou,
40 cents per pound. making the cost oil
the carriage about $4,000. The guu
and carriage together must cost som.
ten or twelve thousand dollars Surely
We nation which goes to war needs
h,purse, or good credit.
But we gave up sightseeing in Phila-
Gelphia quickly, that we might have the
more time 10 enjoy itai Washington. Six
{ hours suffice 10 run the l4O miles be-
tween Philadelphia and Washington,
where We arrived at six o'clock Friday
morning. The railroad is very carefully
guarded niung its whole length through
Moryi,pi and III. c,p,, G,o, or a.