New-York tribune., 1872-02-12
CHICAGO.
AN EXCEPTIONALLY MORAL. WELLBE-
HAVED CITY.

LATE COhIUhlSV DEMONSlhAiIpN N'''N''D
POLITICS AND TIE MEF INSlDE-IIih rihh
LIMIT-MINIMUM OF DANGER AND MAXIMUM
OF SAFETY-HOUSES FOR TIE POOK-ThE
ARGUMENT STATED.
IPRoM AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT or THE TRlBUNkl
CHICAGO, Jan. 26.-Pcrhaps 1t is not very
gracious say so but 1t Is certainly very tue tna.
there arc 10 liars like newspapers. Presiden
Thicrs told Mr.. Waslburnc that he had never
heard Of Chicago tin he heard il burned up. IL was
Just as well for him and FOR Chicago that he never hu
heard OF it for II he had he would only nave Deo'cu
that there very wicked city upon Tue 'o
of the Garth. Everybody who ever dd near Oh u no
evcs it be the wickcdest city on the face oi tue ear'
considering its opportunities. Now, 20 say that TINS ~
simply grave mistake will probably be held to be only
another newspaper lc told by newspaper man. ether
from the love OF lying for a purpose. NcVcrthc'
less, ! repeat ii is q grave mistake Dosol'ch Il"
long years Of newspaper lying. NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
the popular belief, I assert that Chicago IL All
exceptionally moral wellbehavcd and orderly city, inc
most so OF its size this continent, or any other
continent, vrtuous in public and viruous In private
and where life and property and morals are safer ana
more respected than they anywhere clsc sail not
undertake prove here. though ii Is easily proved
only assert it, resting the assertion on this one iac tat
is and aways has been too busy to be anything else
II and always has been too busy in growing, to have
time to bo wicked has had leisure TO he vicious be-
it has been intent being prosperous Never
given II by its Journals. EXaggeration and sensa-
ton have been the rule and 1t s easy to rake ont OF the
cutters OF any gOOdszcd city nth enough to make
very bad smell. easy enough to so pile it up that there
shall seem to he nothing else. Chicago. according to
these newspapers is always duh unless II
he wicked. II il has no sensation II mas
nothing and the world only hears of il when
IL is in a paroxysm. | do TO say that there
arc not worthy and iudicous men connected with the
Chicago press. but do say that this unfortunate habit
of pOrayng Chicago i'll the local columns OF It's news
papers has given IL reputation which II by no means
deserves They make of occasional atrocity an
occasional disorder or an occasional scandal mere thah
is made elsewhere of the daily recurrence OF such Incl
dents The result is that the world believes that these
things of which they hear so much are thc re hefe anu
not the exception.
HOW A RECENT DISTURBANCE WAS REPRESENTED.
recent event is a case in point You have read OF
the riot Of last week. Two thousand nfuriaed Germans
and rishmen armed with clubs and brickbats, parch-
ing with the banners OF foreign nationaes carrying
exciting and cxasperatng tranparcncies attacked the
Common Council then in session, drove that augustbody
from chamber. sma shed in the windows, broke up the
furniture, and taking the Communists of Paris for their
example, nmidanG legislators, prohibiting legislation,
erected revolution for the time being and usurped the
scat of municipal government. You heard all this,
probably through the dispatches Of the Associated
Press those dispatches coming TO you directly from the
local department OF CITY JOufnal fou
read the details OF this sudden and successful
revolution in the columns of the papers, with the ap
prOpratc stunning headlines and sensation rhetoric
The next day. doubt. you looked for more OF it, ana
expected TO find the announcement of the new CITY
Government the installation of a new Mayor, new
Boards of Aldermen and COuncmen. the establishment
generally of a Communist municipality. Or if, on the
contrary you looked for the establishment of law and
order you expected hear OF the arrest of the revou
tionst and of their leaders being held to answer for
the outrage committed upon the peace ana we!lbeing
society. Perhaps you were surprised that you hcard
neither the the other The revolution dSap
pearcd as suddenly rs it had arisen; the fierce
TeutOn and the frantic Cclt had gone quietly To
bed they not Communists nobody was in jail
the next morning; and night two after the old Com
Council In session in the accustomed place with
molest them or make them AFRAID nevertheless
gone abroad that there had been terrible
and dsgraceful riot in this wicked city, and if the
newspapers believed who were here from the
East with their pockets full OF money for investment
had fed disnay and Chicago to be left to the
dcsOlatiOn she deserved
THE ACTUAL FACTS.
Now what were the facts II il true that there was
torcblght procession: the tOrchlighs beng several,
that is more two; the ransparcncies being
two the foreign flags one, being some sort of non
descrip Prussian affair." and the procession itself of such
formidable dimensions that II got of from the starting
point without the leaders knowing it, and had to he
~
OF force was the Council Chamber. They entered,
doubt tumuuously and not reverently though as the
room will hold than 400 600, it is not very
likely that 1000 went In. They made good deal Of
noise and certainly ought have been ashamed OF them
selves They made. indeed much noise that the COun
Gil adjourned though of the COuncmen remained
in their seats and chatted pleasantly with the terrible
Communists Then somebody made a speech foOlish
the rest of the proceedings then the revolution cul
minated IN two brckbats thrown by some blackguard
no. IL must have been two backguards-Ouside, which
broke two panes Of glass; and then all the folks went
home to bed. And that the end Of It. harmless.
i-cOnducted demonstration Of a few hundred excited
Germans and IrshmeD, who meant only to show that
there many opposed to fre-limt law, mag
nified into formidable rot-a dangerous Communistc
defiance of all law and overthrow OF republican gov
ernment or course II was disgracefu proceeding but
there was nothing formidable dangerous about
1t; and of course it was disOrderly, for il
knocked down policeman, aud made so much
noise that the Councilmen could not hear them
selves talk but Ii was not revolutionary
and was not a riot. Indeed, if the movement
was anything like what the papers made 1t out to be-
what are we to think OF Mayor and Police Commission
ers who all day what to be DONE and yet neg
lected to take the most ordinary precautions against
The simple truth 49, II was nothing more less than
demonstration OF the strong feeling of class not illegal
and hardly improper itself, which turned noisy
and disOrdery one because 1t badly managed, and
which score of policemen could have kept under per-
control had they been the ground they ought
to have been All the Communism there was in it could
be put In q keg of lager beer and all the breach
there OF the public peace and the majesty Of the law
was healed for the resetting of two broken win
dOw-panes at 81 90 each.
CHARACT ERIsIIcs OF LOCAL POLITICS.
OF local politics have little to say except this II one
may credit the statements OF the politicians about each
other those who the h0nestet OF men last year are
rogues this and ought to DO in the Penitentary and
next year will be honest again, deserving OF the
highest consideration and warmest esteem OF their