The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1869-07-07

ENEReYl TIE location, it is true,
has had fnuchs to do IN determin-
ing a great cityt but even this might
fail of the result that has been secur-
ed, for it is notorious that localities |
of the greatest natural advantages are /
as a general thing last to reach true /
state Of cultivation. The men who |
do business here have never permit |
ted trade to seek them. They hunt
it up. Their advertisements are to
be found in all the newspapers within
a radius of a thousand miles. The
whole country is flooded with their
drummers," and every pound of
freight over which they have any con
tnOl, whether or not it be in their
line Of business, is turned Chicago
ward. We suggest that Evansville
take lesson from this.
The present population of Chicago
is very near 100000, a gain of nearly
| 100000 in ten years. This is certain
ly wonderful per cent. of increase,
and one we'll calculated to inspire
fervid and absorbing municipalism.
If the Chicagoan has contempt for
! rival cities, can we wonder at 1t? 1t
is undoubtedly genuine feeling, andG
he has more JUST cause for 1t than
many will admit.
That your readers may form Sigh
idea of what is being done here every
year, have collected the following
information from statistics published
some two months since, for 1868:
Buildings to the number of S,2O5,
with an aggregate value of $25, 600, 600,
| were erected. OF this number, thirty
fvesare church ediices, costing ST.
200, 600; twenty are school houses, for
which the city expended $500 600;
one thousand are business houses, with
a valuation of $4,000, 900; aud six
thousand five hundred are residences,
the latter of the very best class. This
fact | make especial mention of be-
cause until within a few years the
city was singularly deficient in this
: class of buildings. There were
of course fine residences here.
: Those, for instance, on Mich
: igan Avenue we're really pala-
tial; but there were proportion
! latey fewer of them than in other
cities of the same size. This, how
D ever, has been so completely RENE
died that Chicago is now far in the
) lead of rival cities IN this respect
Here, as In other new places, the
: French roof surmounts all the pre-
i, tentious buildings. both residences
: and business houses.
= Speaking of public improvements,
e it may be well for US to mention here
+ that forty miles Of water-pipe have
}. been put down. making a total of 20E
a miles In the city, through which the
+ pure water Of the lake passes. Thirty
y two miles of Nicolson pavement have
e been laid, and other improvements
s have kept pace.
g Chicago has, of course, had The
X usual loss in the way Of fires, &c, the
# amount for the year being $3086. 436
a covered by an insurance Of s., 520 384
We have been somewhat irregular
ia the manner we have arranged tn,
u foregoing, but our limited space nee
W essarily made us condense as much al
possible.
This afternoon we took a stroll
down to the latest work that ha
? brought the city into notice abroad
l. the Washington Street Tunnel. 1t il
J an excavated passage beneath tn,
II Chicago River, an extension of Wash
= ington Street, and connects the Soutl
- and West Divisions of the city by
u solid and permanent roadway. Tire
D, archways divide and extend through
q the entire length Of the tunnel; on
= is for pedestrians and two for team
Z and horses. The main one i
,; 932 feet in length. Thee con
y tract price was. 1928, 800, and tn,
3 passage way was opened to the publi
= early in the present year. We ar
= not certain that it was not New Yea
81 Day. This, with the famous LAX,
Tunnel, are works that cannot b
70 viewed every day, except indeed il
d Chicago; and when we see them, W,
10 symp1thize with the Chicagoan In hi
d pride CT city and wealth. He bu
re asserts the laws of human nature, an,
=, we would all doubtless be glad t
l. have sufficient cause for an eq4a
D amount of pride. CLAUDE.