Council Bluffs bugle. [volume] (Council Bluffs, Iowa) 1860-1868, 1868-12-03
CHICAGO, Nov. ., 1863.

pess-A Shooting A.6ruy, de-, dc.
CHICAGO, Nov. ., 1868.
Without reference TO Che loss Of
time entaiIed, IL IL within bounds to
say that the observance OF Thanks
giving day cost the people Of Chica-
rom one-half to three-fourtIis OF q
million dollars, and 1t is equally safe
10 say the value Of the money was
g4of returned TO them. OF the old
New England Thanksgiving day,
where the wanderers over the whole
country are brought together at the
family hearth-stone, and where 1t is
a day of reunion and simple honet
enjoyment, too much cannot be said
in praise, aside from the religious
view Of the subject, which different
persons view from their different
stand points. But the Western
Thanksgiving, or at least the CHI
eago Thanksgiving, is a different in
stitution. There are few family re-
unions here the religious observ-
ance amounts to lIttle-there being
fewer people at the churches than on
any pleasant Sunday, and one-haif of
them acting as If their thoughts
were upon their turkeys rather than
their sermons while to a great ma
jority 1t is day Of gormandizing
and dissipation. To have a good din
ner and good time'' is their only
object, as each Thanksgiving day ar.
riyes. The good dinner Is all right
and the ''good time" too, If it is IN.
nocent and proper but there comes
the rub. Thanksgiving day is to
every sink of iniquity a day of In
creased profits to every Church
day Of diminished attendance. The
two thousand whisky shops of Chi
clgo sold fifty thousand dollars
worth OF liquors on Thursday
the gambling hells took half as much
more from their victims the low
concert rooms and dance houses
were crowded brothels flourished |
as they Will not flourish again until
Christmas time; and throughout
the city the kaeDar af every vile |
and disreputable place put on I
smiling face, for to him or her it was
a day of Thanksgiving. 1t would be !
hard to estimate the amount of /
money thus squandered, tho crime |
committed but any one familiar |
with the city will tell you that more
was spent for dissipation than tur-
keys, &C., and that the extra crime
was not balanced by the additional
god accomplished by the obsery-
Rnce of the day. 1t was a holiday,
not hoiyday, and holiday with
AS Is day OF license and dissipation.
As such il WAS Il success, but il WIS
no more Ike the day we celebrate
in the Eastern, and particularly the
New England States, than q black |
bird is like white one.
The rapid completion of the Pa |
citic Railroad, which now conveys /
passengers to 40 miies from Chi.
cago, and advertises to take them to
California in ten days, hasawakened
our merchants to the Importance OF
sssrrrfxsfSts rTIe rrade 10 be developed
thereby, and n1reTTrg WIS ffefu I
this week M tftsCu=s -t&svs r.sat5jvsss--7~A, \
once remarked, to you, in speaking
of Chicago merchants, that they re
garded every place this side ofChina
Tea - aFs.8s st-ty 10 Fffta
1t new appears that they look upon
these countries as dependencies CT
the Garden City. At the meeting
referred to, it was shown that Il per-
son could leave Liverpool or Ions
don, come to Chicago, and from
hereof course everything begins or
ends here-take the Pacific Railroad,
and reach China or japan in fifteen
days less time than by the European
route now taken from those cities. -
II was also shown that our mer-
chants could save sixty days time
by ceiving their teas, silks, shawls
and other Eastern goods by this
route, to say nothing of the profits
of the Eastern Exporters, and New
York importers,
To say il to do, with Chicago men
aud 1t need not astoni5h you, there
fore, TO learn that already three or
four of our leading houses have made /
arrangements to send persons to |
China and Japan, there TO make |
permanent arrangements for the /
shipment of EurOpeaH goods to Chi |
cago. 1t is safe to say the first train |
over the completed pBeitie Railroad |
will bring a large stock of goods for |
Chicago merchants, imported direct
from those countries. It viii be the
beginning Of 4 trade which will rap
idly grow ard increase until ID shall ]
assume immense dimensions, The
whole West must rejoice at this en-.
ferprise on the part OF our merchants
for it will greatly cheaper the price
of articles which, though once re-
garded ~ Iuxuries. have now be-
come classified among the neceszsl-
rieS of life.
! While on this subject, let me say
that paper published IN St. Louis
the most presuanptuosis though not
must important Of ghieagoss rivals
gives the returns for October 1T oil
the manufacturers and Wholesale
dealers in that city from 5000 TO
81 N, O00-the very highest figure.
The total number of houses selling
SIa0, t0O and over b nineteen, and
their aggregate sales amount 10
about O.. l00 ,l)Oa- little maTs than
the amount reported by two OF eur
firms alone, The total amount sold
~ assrs Tsysse ftnkgsgs fssSsxw ffA1