The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1871-10-10
rr,o Calamity in Chicago.

The CITY of Chicago has been ',s'.'" $780,, -,
a.. a;rn.f calamity from fire that mas CIV,
,c,,,Irn any community IN INC n.dc
s.atos Men of wealth have p''" r.
moor. and poor men have oeu' w Entities
sb.l,cr for themselves an" th'i.
am, these are numbered ny '"' '"o ..
S,,., scene of dcsolation aho "'o' "",u
s,,oh c,usc. has never before pceh oeae'u
on this continent. 80
The details of our news coiu'uhs may ~
condensed into few sentences oi dife lln-
port.
vbcre ,sas fire on Saturday night which
was larger than any seen In the city beiole'
but 4, swept away only six blocks, IN
ouarter Of the city occupied for the most
part by tenement houses and manuiac'o-
ries. While these ashes were Sill snoui-
dering another fire broke out, and IN an
other part of the city. This was at O'Clock
Sunday night. AT O'Clock this morning
il was still raging. IL has burned the very
heart out Of Il great city. The post-olncc'
the Board of Trade building, all the banks,
the teley aph offices, the bridges across the
river. the express offices, hundreds OF
business houses and thousands OF DWELL
fnps are in ashes. The water works and
gas works are gone. Sad havoc has bten
made with the shipping in the harDor.
More than q hundred thousand persons
have been turned homeless into the streets.
No one knows how many lives have been
sacrificed, and the telegrapher says, Win
startling susccstiycness, that "the people
fear 10 think" but the streets are hlied
with those looking for the lost.
Chicago has been coniessedly the COM
mercial metropolis. Of the North"c't.
Twenty. five distinct lines of railroad ccnlfe
there, and one hundred and fifty trains Of
cars arrive and depart daily. 1t is the
largest interior grain market in the world !;
the largest lumber market, and beef and
pork packing market in the United states,
and As a beef cattle market is second only
to New York. The population OF the city
was In 1870 1888, whereas in 1851 II was
only 4,l7O. Although Il young city, II
has been considered elegant and SUBJ
stantial. Contrary TO the general opinion
abroad, the business portion OF the
city Is mostly built of brick, but large
Number of the reccntly.erected blocks
were Of kind Of stone called Athens
marble. The courthouse, which was bu!lt
Of stone brought from Lockport, n. Y,
and the Chamber OF Commerce, built OF
Athens marble at cost Of about S4oO, GOO,
were among the buildings destroyed by the
tire. 1t seems also to have devastated 1T
least portion of Wabash avenue, one OF
the finest streets in the United States
lined with palatill mlnsionS, and improved
aud adorned without regard to expense.
Such an event aS this naturally recalls the
CONGREGATIONS row passed into history and
suggests many comparisons. Not to go back
10 ancient history, the great fires OF London
are first recalled. That city has been sew
eral times devastated by the fumes. This
Wa tie case i'll sos, 1917, and 1856, but the
ino.t memorable conf 'graton commenced
on September =, 1866, and continued four
uaysand nights. Beginning III Pudding lane,
Monument yard, ana ending in lie cor.
ner. Glltsrur street, it reduced to ashesiuiIy
iiyc-sixths Of the houses within Tie walls.
1920 dwclling.holi>cs, ninety "'.nr.h;; :, ;.
.--h many n,Ih. h,,,i.l'""' Ht'l 'i' wy
was rebuilt In four years.
The big fire in New York, which elderly
people talked about yesterday, occurred
on the 18th Of December. 1887. Il destroy
I'd G4S houses in the business part of thu
city, and the total loss was estimated at
100000. Few insurance companies sur
vlycd the disaster.
Portland, Me-, suffered greatly by fire II
few years ago, and the sympaticS Of the
whole country were excited In her bchalf,
but the los, was but u tritio compared with
that at Chicago for the total valuation Of
real estate in Portland in 1860 was only
So ga 900, whereas the loss at Chicago
already Is estimated at over fifty millions.
The fire at the evacuation OF Richmond
was terrible one to Il city Of sc, 900 in
habitants, but the number of houses burned
Was only abou, $50, and the Value of the
property destroyed hardly exceeded eleven
millions.
But the greatest tire of modern times oc-
CURED last year at Constantinople, though
we heard li!tlc Of il, either at the time OF its
occurrence or since. BY this tremendous
contiagraton, according to the best Access
s'hle authority, 10000 houses were burned.
The number OF lives lost was 1900, and the
property destroyed Was assessed after the
hre at Sl0O,0oo,o 600. Truly, Of all the ele-
ments, tire Is most TO be feared by man.
This unexampled misfortune of the peo.
Pie OF Chicago excites the deepest symra-
thy OF the people OF Richmond. The bull
let'n boards OF the daily papers yesterday
were thronsed with crowds who read with
pam the tale Of ruin and woe they told.
The counteuances Of all showed how deeply
they deplored the event. Perhaps there
was keener sense of the calamity in this
city than elsewhere, because our citizens
knew 80 well the dread consequences OF
such visitation. No community, there
tore, more thoroughly appreciates tho
Affections of the suffering people of Chi
cago, and none more sincerely sympathize.
with them In their great woe.
Such an enterprising people, however
will soon rise up from their PROSTATE con
dltion, and Chicago will yet again shin,
out III her pristine glory as Queen of the
Lakes. That she may soon thus be resur
rected from her ruins Is the heartfelt wish
of our people.