Wilmington daily commercial., 1872-08-10
PHILADELPHIA.
OUR sATURD LETTER,


PnLADEIrIrA, August .,
Special Correspondence If he Commercials;
Yet another illustration of the manner in which
our Taxpayers are imposed upon is given in the
late exposition Of the workings of the Water
Department of the city. The Register, or Chief,
OF this department ls required by law to deposit
the receipts of his Office with the city Treasurer
at stated short intervals. Instead OF doing his
plain duty, however, Mr.. q. II. Keyser, the pres
ent Register, has been in the habit for a long
time past of depoHiting these funds, amounting
in the aggregate to very considerable sum, in
city bank, where they have been used in the
regular, and irregular, business of the concern,
in shaving paper, and in making money gener.
ally. OF course there is Ring in the matter
which share the protits, just as in the Marcor-
ferkes case, the only difference being that it
was corporation that managed the money in
one instance and private banking firm in the
other.
We are indebted to the vigilance of the Clti-
zens' Reform Association Tor the exposure of
this rascality. There has been pretence of in
vestigatiOn in Councils, but it was farce from
the beginning to end, Councils finally adjourn
ing for the summer without receiving any report
from the committee to which the matter was
entrusted. The Reform Association shows
clearly how ' the old thing worked az the slang
phrase goes, but it is powerlass to correct the
abuse except in the indirect way OF arousing the
public indignation, 30 that better Councilmen
and city officials may be placed in power The
associations report gives a history of the man
her in which the Register abused his office and
of the shameful attempt to whitewash the affair
in Councils. There has been considerable pop
uar feeling expressed at the unbluAhing char
aeter of this peryerson of public funds to private
use, but how long it may last, or what it will in
the end amount to, il another matter. Judging
from experience 1t might be safe to say that the
people will forget all about ii before the next
irregularty occurs.
The Post Office controversy il finally closed.
The commission has accepted the bid of the
University of Pennsylvania and the new Post
Otitce will stand either upon the corner or at a
short distance from the corner of Ninth and
Chestnut streets. To secure the Chestnut st.
front 1t was necessary to purchase nine other
properties, three OF them belonging to tho Uni
yersity and the remainder to private parties
The lot as purchased by the government extands
up Chestnut street to the Market House. dis
tance of nearly III feet and along Ninth two.
thirds OF the distance to Market street, a length
OF over 375 feet "A truly ample and magnificent
property, superior probably to any occupied by
Post O1hce buildings in the United States. To
make the acquisition complete, small house
and lot near the University grounds has also
been bought, which will give the Post Office
back entrance, through small street there
adjacent, to Ninth street, an arrangemt mt that
VIII be great advantage i'll the shipment of mails,
Tho choice of thls site il, all things consider
ed, the best that could have been made. H.
gives general satisfaction the only persons not
liking 1t being few interested individuals in
the neghbulhoud Of Fifth and Chestnut. The
rivalry, at the last settled down between the
Ninth and Fifth street sites, and it is said the
obstinacy of one of the property holders at 9th
street, who was standing out for higher price,
WAS the cause Of the commission selecting tho
University Lot This may be fairly doubted
ha atta. oil hat
Library has lost good chance of dispozing of
its property, but on the other hand the Univer-
sity is old and honored institution and re-
quires money for the tine improvements it is
making west of the Schuylhill. AIS well that
ends we'll"
wonder, by the way, what kind of IDEAS most
of your readers have of West Philadelphia
Probably they are very vague indeed, Doubt
less for the most part when your citizens come to
the city they follow the beaten track the regions
Of stores and down town resorts, bnt | suppose
not one person in ifty,or in huHdred and fifty
ever crosses the Schuylkill Not that it is at all
strange. You have nothing to take you there
and you don't go. There are Thousand of our
own people who never CO. and there are-I was
going to say hundreds of thousands, but certain
ly many thousauds-who have a very limited
notion of what the district is really like. You
must know that it is city complete in itself, and
as large as all East Philadelphia was thirty or
forty years ago. Within the last five years. es-
pecally, it's growth has been remarkable. This
has been caused by several reasons, the princi-
pal one Icing that building ~ other directions
had been so extensive that people had uncon-
sconable disauCesto travelto reach their homes
if they desired to live in new and quiet neigh
borhoods. That was the leading motive that
led to the Western emigration. The first comers
had the good sense to build back from the street,
aud to allow ample side yards, and the fashion
so set has been largely followed, so that the bet
ter neighbOrhoods present an appearance as un-
like the closely built-up old city as possible.
This season the improvements are on more
| extensive scale than ever before. Chestnut
street has been built up all the way to the ltall-
way depot at 42d street, and it is reported that
| the company will shortly take its terminus fur
| ther out. When it was built, only few years
/ ago it was in the open country, but it is nov
surrounded on every side. The last row OF
houses reaching fOrty-tirst street, on Chestnut
| is just going under cover. They are being
/ built hy Mr. Weghtman of the firm oi
| Powers ~ Weightman, gentleman who has
other Investments III West Philadelphia. On
/ the same street further down, at Thirty-nintl
| street, Mr. MoOThead of the firm of jay Cooke
| Il Co. has just completed a splendid mansion
perhaps the finest in the village as it is still
the pleasant fashion to denuminate this large
little town. On Ihirty-nluth street between
| Chestnut and the Darby Road a number of ele
giant properties are going up or have just beer
| hnished. The same may be said of the parable
| streets of that quarter, particularly of Forty
first street Ill the neighborhood of Walnut wher
NUMBER OF Deaulllul grey Stohe NllltS dIo nov
IN process of erection.
Completion of mammoth cuvert just beyont
the Chestnut street depot, has given an impetu
| to these improvements. A considerable strean
formerly ran through deep hollow at tina
place and put an elfectual bar upon building
operations. The water has now been confined il
a sewer the largest ever constructed i'll Philade
phia and the valley s being filled up to a leve
with the top of the culvert. 1t was tremen
dously difficult and expensive work. but the ris
in value of real estate in the vicinity will ia
exceed the outlay. The course of the sewer
I3rd street, and Tor squares beautiful residences
| each with it's garden and grounds are going II
on this novel superstructure. Some Of the eros
streets such as Spruce and Pine, did not wait fC
9 the filling up pruCess but boldly struck out fror
Y beyond the raviue, waiting for connection
+ be finally accorded them. Lastyear the travellt
& out Pine street came at 42nd street to a tremel
[ dous gully, filled up in picturesque confusl0
with growing forest trees aud enormous rock
and looking far ahead saw the highway sti
stretching ont into the country asst nothing Ina
happened to mar its continuity. Now the come
ton has been made in many places, and Deiol
| long all Yestige of the woods and the ravlne WI
be gone. The woods were formerly owned |
Thomas Alibone the unfortunate executive
the old Bank of Pennsylvania, and they still 6
by his name. On Baltimore Avenue and hin
sessing Avenue, streets South of Pine, very fiji
improvements are also to be noted, and Il
opening of the new Sonth street Bridge may
expected to give yet another Impulse to Il
u enterprise of this section.
$ l am entirely convinced that gave you Il