Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1869-11-10
our coRREspoMpENcE.
Our Pittsburgh Letter.

Our Pittsburgh Letter.
The "eold snap"-High prices Of tiv
ing The abundance OF AND the higj
| price ofcout- business General Tn,
prorensent-7he Public Schools o.
PittsbargA-Hoso they are progress
tny--Ihe cO-educotton of sercs, no
a psyth--Is procticd6itty- Fist tt
| Mount Union Cottegc-T The Pres
6yterion General assembly of The
United States. 4a-s ~
PIrRsBuRGH, Pa, Oct %, 1869.
We are now beginning to have fore
taste Of winter. Last night was ne first
severe freeze of the winter, ice al ,earing
this morning nearly half an inch y thick
ness On Thursday last, we had the first
snow Of tho season--iust sufficient to re-
mind us that beautiful autumn with its
''sere and yellow leaf" and its brilliant
sunshine had departed, Winter IL pleas
ant with its frost and snow, and its enjoy
able evenings which are the bright side OF
the picture, but the sufferings of the poor
In the great cities, their scant clothing,
their meagre chances of subsistence, and
their Sickness, suffering and want, is the
dark cloud which oyershadows the beauty
of winters landscape. -
The increasing prices of living in thia,
the great manufacturing city of the Union,
where employment Is plenty for all who
want TO work. but Of such prices as will
scarcely keep soul and body together, is
going to cause great want and suffering
among the laboring classes. Two dollars
day here, is not equal to one and half
per day in other cities, and as the average
price Of labor is the former amount, we
cannot conceive how this class can get
through the winter with even the actual
necessaries oflife. In the first place, com.
mon -four has advanced 10 $500 per bar
rel, meats will average Is cents pound,
milk ~ cents a quart, potatoes 20 cents
per bushel, butter G5 TO 40 cents per
pound, ordinary groceries, on account Of
the high rates of freight between Pitts.
burgh and New York, 30 per cent higher
than in either eastern or western cities.
and lastly rents are % per cent higher
than hast winter. This 81 per diem, es-
pecialy If man has anything Of family,
will only pay Tor his rent and for his food,
and in many instances barely do that.
consequently he has nothing left over for
his clothing his family or for their benefit
in case of sickness. Were provisions and
rents at their proper valuation, two DOH
lars could be made with proper economy
to purchase every necessity and even some
Of the conf, rts of life. ..s
The cause of these high prices may be
traced, fret, to the combination rings.
formed to keep up prices among specula>
lators, secondly, the monopoly of the
Pennsylvania Central Railway, who
charge what they please for freight, and
who not only own Pittsburgh, body and
soul, but have purchased and have con-
troll of nearly every railroad centering Ia
In the city, so that the business communI>
ty have no other way to 10 but to submit
to their extortion. Pittsburgh Is no Place
for people without means, and it Is only
tie skilled laborer In glass and iron that
can command anything Ike decent wages.
The ordinary laborer cannot exist on the
small compensation he receives and pay
the high prices required Tor material to
support his family.
Pittsburgh with its seventy.seven coal
mines, and numerous seams and veins OF
coal which dot every hillside within 20
miles around 1t, Is supposed by nearly ev-
cry person who lives outside Of il to be
the very place for cheap fuel, and that in
this respect II is god send to the poor.
Far, far from it, To-day the prices of
coal have advanced 10 10 cents per bushel,
for which there is no necessity, as it costs
only three cents per bushcl for mining
and loading 1t, besides the royalty. The
freight does not average 3 cents per bush
ell, SO that after paving expenses there is
a profit OF $50 per cent on each bushcl
purchased by consumers. This is owing
to strikes and combinations Over 4,OOO.-
900 bushels are awaiting shipment for
CINCINNATI, where to>day il 10 cheaper
than here at the Pittsburgh mines No
wonder with all thes facts. staring us in
the face that We dread to see the winter
approaching e4 sssf- Hfdt
Business as general thing Is rapidly
improving, and the people seem to be
awakening out of the "trip Van Wrinkle"
lethargy which has 50 characterized them
during the past few years. Pittsburgh of
to-day Is not the Pittsburgh OF ten years
ago. IL Is Improving rapidly In its sur
roundings. Many of the old, dingy bust |
ness houses, which have characterized the
city for half q century, have given place
to blocks Of magnificent proportions.
erected Ia the most elaborate and beauti.
ful styles OF architecture. A new CITY
Hall Is now in process OF construction.
which will cost over 81 600, 900. and when
completed viii vie with any building of
similar size and proportions for city Dur
poses in the Union, in point Of beauty and
grandeur. Folr elegant churches are be-
ing erected which in total cost will exceel:
81 100000, and q magnificent Library
Assoc alton Hall, which VII be used
for lectures, win be finished few weeks
at . cost of over 9 roc, 900. A large mum
Der OF elegant private residences are
being constructed, and signs ofprosperity
are abundant this season.
The public schools Of Pittsburgh. though
far behind those OF other cities "a regards
progress, are beginning TO improve rapid
~, and under their new superintendent