The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1868-01-09
OUR CHICAGO LETTER.
CHICAGO, Jan. 9th, 1868.

EDS TRIBUNE -
Ii there is any one thing over which
one might be pardoned for being in a
state OF chronic surprise, it is the peril
nacity with which the press and public OF
Chicago constantly stick to and bolster
up some reform or other. and but little
good they seem to get out of 1t. When
every thing else fills them, they attack
the Chicago River aud try reforming it,
Il hopeless task for, except when sealed
over by the ice, in the face of all enlcav
ors it still exhalcs Its
Luxurious oaors, full of life
As glauces from neighbor's wife.
Still it is good thing to fall back upon.
But newer and ireSher subjects have for Il
While, been plenty and the river ) claims
have been neglected We had one pig
struggle, to effect the reformation # FIX
press companies abuses, but that has
been failure. I'hc Merchant Union
rather went back on u We took u
shy at the Young Men's Chri-tian Union
bat they shifted their sponsibilitieS, and
with a reinforcement Of u;ne tons of tracts
sent them from london presented too
formidable a front to be mcdded with
any farther For some time we have
been keeping up a running fight with the
trustees of the Illinois Insane Asylum,
showing by excellent cvil;.;c a4at pru,,
tai abuse O. ;.ywer, cruelty and fraud
were practised there, but thus far the
thing does not seem to have been iniprov
ed by it. Then We had some idea of re
forming the Board of Trustees Of the
State Agricultural College SO that it
shouldn't be comp ,scd wholly of preach
ers, but as they fell back on /; lot of texts
about sowing the good seed. putting
their hands to the plow and looking not
back, y "laborcrs in the harvest, etc,
we switched off that intention. The
members of our Board of Education tried
to reform each oth2r and failed. tried it
on the teacher and met with but IndIffer-
ent success. The Common Council hu
mors Aid. Comiskey in an cndeaver to re-
form the Police department., but has
thus far effected nothing fact IS that
they have rather slim foundations to
stand upol. iior their work. The ghost III
the County Jail drew public attention to a
strong trade In spirits rot-gut' not ethe-
rial) down there, and that has been mea-
surably reformed. Hatfield tried reform
ing the stage, or, rather, aboishlng 1t, but
'tndine' came out too strong and gave
him back set-paople seem to admire
the ViennoiSe ballet more than they do
NJ. Hatfield Rev. NJ Hibbard tried to
reform Mi. Hatfield. and his confferes of
the Ministerial Union bnt up to date has
been blocked in his little game by their
policy of mastery inactivity" Last but
not least in the list Of reforms the Com
mon Covncil are endeavoring to reform
the time honored custom and legal privil-
ege OF the mayor to appoint certain city
officers. They have 4 ring of their
own aud they are determined that a va
cancy in the Board of Public Works, oc-
casioned by the resignation of Commits
si,ner Gindcll, shall be filled with one of
ihei- own member Alderman McRoy or
shall not be filled at ALL SO there is a
dead lock between them and the mayor.
Among the reports of business which
the New Year has elicited | notice that
one great musical establishment in this
city has sold over Sl5o000 worth of four
different instruments for which they are
sole agents in the northwest, the Steck &
Vose pianos, Mason & Hamlin Cabinet
Organs and Taylor & Farley Harmonic
Meiodeons, and this is but one depart
ment. and not the most important either,
of their immense trade Prominent on
their list stands the name of the ''Nose'
piano, which is well deserving of at least
brief mention as the piano which above
all others combines the claims to popu-
lar favor of excellence, durability and
cheapness Many people imagine that
because thing is cheap it cannot be
good. Let them see and hear the Vose
pianos and they will be disabased of such
an idea. There are three separate and
distinct styles of these instruments made,
in sixteen different varieties. ranging In
price from $40 to $500, offering greater
range for the choice of customers than
those of any other make. The first class
of the Nose instruments are the largest
pianos made and possess immense power
together with remarkably fine singing
tome Both the first and second have the
improved French action and top lever
hampers and the third or cheapest elias.
have the French action and English dam
pers All have buckSkin instead of fell
capping and are remarkably durable
! preserving for many years their fine tone
/ facility of action and power. The firm
to which | alluded was that of Messrs
Root & Cady, No 81 Washington street
| Judge A. w. Arlington, one OF th'
oldest and best of the Chicago bar, wa
buried on New Years day. Those VIII.
have until very lately been his compan
! ions and associates for years, the mem