The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1871-11-21
The Parsee In Chicago.
CHICAGO, October IS

To Horace Greeley.
SAHIB: l think have shown clearly
that to rebuild the mere houses burnt
down in Chicago home industry, by the
aid of the present tariff, would exact
S2l 100000 from the sufferers as o con.
trihution for the blessing o. living in
a country where class legislation is the
order of the day. However, having
built the houses and stores, | will now
GO on with my calculations aud show
what home industry will demand from
the sufferers for the privilege of manu-
featuring articles of use and necessity.
Firstly. we must carpet the 10000
houses that have to be rebuilt 1t is no
use to say that carpets are luxury. A
carpet is elthera nuisance or necessity.
In India we should consiler Brussels
or Administer perfect nuisance in our
houses. The climate only admits of
rich Persian carpets to be used in the
open air, spread under palm trees, and
these are used by travelling rajahs. But
in Chicago carpet is necessity. How
many quarrels are created, how many
otherwise blissful domestic relations are
rudely interrupted by this very house
hold necessity in country blessed with
a climate of snow and sleet2 The wife
looks cross and tells her husband that
she is ashamed to ask respectable peo
pie to the house because the carpets
look shabby. The daughter, particu-
larly the grown one, talks carpet to her
papa; children catch cold and get the
whooping cough. because their nursery
is not carpeted, and the loving mother
looks upon the hard hearted father as a
sort of quasi murderer for not properly
carpcting the house In fact, o! Gree
ley, sahib, in town like Chicago, where
the hymenial bond is as slender as q
thread and as brittle as pane of glass,
carpets become necessity, if only as a
preventative of domestic chickering's
Well, then, to carpet the $4,000 houses,
stores,and offices,it will require S6,0O0,-
900 worth of carpetiDg. You may be
surprised at this amount, yet it is per-
fectly correct and under the mark.
made inquiries of several very promi-
nent merchants what the average of car
peting house is, and it seems the aver.
age Of carpeting new and generally first
and second class houses is $500 apiece,
that some houses in Michigan and Wa
bash avenues, in Chicago, were carpeted
at cost OF $4,000 and $4,000 each
Considering. too, the great hotels aud
boarding houses that will have to be car.
peted the calculation of S6,OO0,O00 is
under the mark Besides this, you viii
be astonished to hear that Chicago SOLD
annually SO, 100000 worth of carpcting
and if sue only retained one third fol
the city use our estimate of 100000
is much below the mark. Well, then
o! Greeley, sahib, / am sorry, l an
grieved, am ashamed to say that youl
peculiar institution of home industry
exacts an average of 60 per cent. on thu
carpeting that have shown is a neces
sity to the health and domestic peace o
the burnt t-out people of Chicago.
To come, therefore, to exact figures
it would seem that were i. not for you
tariff the Chicago people could recarpe
their $4,000 houses for SO, 100000. Bu
home industry demands from them {
toll, tribute, or contribution Of $2,250,
i 900.
! Now, Horace Greeley ,sahib, the worlt
i knows well enough that you hate, de
spise, and lothe stealing and the thieves
who do steal. But may he permitted
to suggest that there is ever degree 0
difference in this crime of stealing. LIE
us say that certain Observation-Disclosures:
the fear of God on one side-steal b,
means of carpet supply 100000 o
| 100000. Justice must condemn them
The only mitigation, not of punishmen
but leniency, they could plead would b.
that they stole from rich men, and wer,
alwaysjght and easy with the poor ant
helpless. But what shall we say to
class who will exact and squeeze iron
an unfortunate burnt out city S2,250,
600, anUswho can only plead in mitiga
ton of such an outrage legal rights
with about as much justice in it as ther
was in German emperor some fOu
hundred years ago rledging all the jew
in his empire to neighboring powe
| for certain amount Of money. d,
you really think, dear sahib, that so free
so off handed people as these Western
people will much longer stand such al
outrage? The glare of the Chicago fire
although happily dead row for mischief
will nevertheless light up the hitherto
dull brains Of the millions. The Argu:
bite them at their tenderest point--theil
pockets-and at the most inconvenien
time, too. Then will they be able tc
see by the Chicago glare how rotten
how oppressive, and how unjust is tha
policy which mercilessly in the time O
the greatest need exacts the full pound
of flesh My statistical account stands
thus:
The peculiar institution Of
home industry eXacts from
Chicago for building mate
rials, S21 100000
For carpets, y 2,25O,0O(
Together, S23,25O,O0(
Yours faithfully,
ADERsEY CtRIosIBHoY,
1