Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-11-26


dent advocate of adjusting national disputes by
arbitration, Sir John Bowring was man Of the
widest sympathies and of value to all mankind,
and his death, though IT comes at the advanced
age of so, will be generally lamented.
COIN Homo To-day.
My business on the jury's done-the quibblin all is
through
I've watched the lawyers, right and left, and give
l stuck So long unto my chair, thought would
grow in;
And if l do not know myself, they'll get me there
But now the courts adjourned for good, and have
Pm loose, at last last, and thank the Lord Pm gon'
home to-day.
I've somehow felt uneasy, ike, since first day
It is an awkward game to play the gentleman 10
town:
And this 'ere Sunday suit of mine, on Sunday
But when wear the stufra week,!it somehow gals
and frets
Id rather wear my hOmespun rig of peppor-salt
Pn have it on in half iiif, when get home to-day
1 have no doubt my wife looked out, as well as any
one
As wei as any woman could-to see that things
was done:
For though Melinda, when Pm there, won't set her
foot ut doors,
She's very careful, when I'm gone, to tend to al
But nothing prospers half SO well when go off to
stay,
And viii put things into shape when get home
to-day.
The mornin' that l come away we had little bout;
| coolly took my hat and left before the show was
out.
For what said was naught whereat she ought to
take offence;
And she was always quick at words, and ready to
commence.
But then she's first one to give up when she has
had her say;
And she will meet me with kiss when go home
to-day.
My little boy-Pn give 'sm leave to match him if
they can
It's fun to see him strut about and try to be man
The gamest cheeriest little chap you'd ever want to
seei
And then they laugh because think the child re-
sembes me.
The little rogue! he goes for me like robbers for
their prey;
He'll turn my pockets inside out, when get home
to-day.
My little girl can't contrye how 1t should hap
That God should pick that sweet bouquet, and fling
it down to us
My wife She says that hausome face will some day
And then laugh because she thinks the child re-
sembes her.
She'll meet me halfway down the hill and kiss me,
And light my heart up with her smiles, when go
home to-day!
If there's heaven upon this earth, fellow knows
it when
He's been away from home week, and then gets
If there's heaven above this earth, there often III
Some homesiat fellow meets his folks, and hugs EN-
But let my creed be right or wrong, or be it as it
may,
My heaven is just ahead of me-Pm going home to-
day! w. M CARLETON.
An Opinion from Chicago.
The Boston Advertiser prints the following
letter from the mayor of Chicago, in response to
an inquiry from Boston:
MAYORS OFFICE, Chicago, Nov. 20, 1872.
Dear Sir. | have your favor of the 18Th INST,
| asking several questions touching matters grow
in9 out of the Chicago fire, which shall en-
| deayOr to answer Seridtim.
you wish to have my judgment upon the
proposition to authorize the city of Boston to
make loans Of municipal credit TO parties whose
buildings were destroyed by fire, under the light
| OF the experience of this city"
do not feel at liberty to express an opinion
| as to what the city OF Boston should do in the
| premises, but 1 have no hesitation in saying
that sh Juld deem it unwiSe tor the city OF Chi
| cago to loan its credit for the purpose stated.
| The city could not afford TO make gift of Its
credit to those who lost buildings by fire, for
| that would be equivalent to coniScatng large
| portion Of the property of those not burned out
| for the benefit of tnOse that were. Nor would it
| be proper for the municipal government to mort
gage the property OF the citizens Tor the enrich
| ment of real estate owners whose structures
were destroyed or damaged by fire. In large
| majority of cases the beneiciarles would be
| persons possessing vastly more means than
| those whose property was encountered for their
| pecuniary gain. And then why should such
| municipal relief be restricted TO the owners of
| buildings and not also extended to the tenants
| u-bp Ctorlrs pf goods 1pstrOVplp Tho
| latter may have lost more than the former, and
are certainly less able to bear it, for the latter
| have still their ground together with large in
| Surance) unharmed by fire; and the ground of
| city Is known to be worth as much as the
| buildings thereon and all their contents Then
| again an exceedingly difficult question would
| arise as to the appointment of the bonds TO be
| loaned. The proportion of insurance to loss
| would have to be taken into account to
| ascertain the amount of aid each person
should receive. 1t might be found that the insur-
| anCe covered so great portion OF the actual
| loss in large majority Of cases that assistance
| was really not needed. Real estate in the BJs-
ION "burnt district is so exceedingly valuable
| that mortgage Of one quarter, one-third, or
| one-half its worth will furnish abundant means
| for covering it with excellent structures, and
| capitalists in all the moneyed centres would
| gladly make loans to the owners on such SUI
| perb security, at the lowest market rates for
money The Chicago fire of thirteen months
ago swept over SIX hundred acres OF the business
| parts Of the city and one thousand eight hun
| dred acres of the residence portions inclddiug
the spaces occupied by streets and alleys. You
| have witnessed what year has done towards
restoring the edifces then destroyed. More
than half of that SIX hundred acres is now Gov
| cred by massive and beautiful business blocks,
many of them covering an area OF an acre each.
| Every dollar of the money required TO rear the
| thousand new blocks you saw was prOcdred by
| individual effort. Not penny OF municipal or
state aid was given. The aggregate insurance
realized was probably aOt twenty-five per centum
of the value of the buildings destroyed, and does
not represent fifteen per centum Of the cost of
the new structure, which are much finer than
those burned down. The remainder of the
money was procured in part from the sale of
other real estate, in pant from the sale of stocks
and bonds, and moneyed capital, uncOnsumed
by the fire, and IN large part from mortgages,
loans upon the lots and buildings erected there
on. And as to the 10000 dwellings already
erected IN the burnt district, they, too, have been
constructed by the credit and efforts OF the sepa.
| rate owners.
Our municipal government would be in a
ptIable phghtifit were buried under mortgage
represented by the tens Of millions of bonds 1t
would have required to rebuild the burnt dis.
| tricT." But thanks to the restrictions and pro.
| hibitiOns of our wise and excellent new consti-
| tuition, we were saved from the temptation to
| which your city government seems exposed.
| after our fire; and many persons denounced our
state constitution for iorbddlng the issue of re-
| lief bonds to the losers by the fire. But
better opinion now prevails; and it is generally
perceived that we have escaped a calamity TO
our city hardly less in magnitude than the fire
ITSELF MOnstrous abuses, iavortSms and cor
ruptons would have grown out Of such loan of
credit. Some men would have secured more than
their proportion of bonds and others less. The
security furnished by many would have proved
deficient in amount and bad at law. Endless
litigation would have grown out of these tran
sactions; and the general tax payer would, in
the erd have suffered immense loss. City
bonds issued in such proluslOn could not have
been sold on as good terms as private parties
can obtain money on the basis of their own real
estate. The whole thing would have been
bunder and source of regret for generation
to come. | shall not stop here to consider the
communist aspects and consequences of such
precedent, and where il might lead to in des-
troving the rights of private property.
You ask Tor my views 'as to the benefits de
rived from the remission Of duties on materials
for rebuilding, where there is large destruc-
ton by fire, as at Portland Chicago, or Bos
ton" So far as this city is concerned, we have
derived but little benefit therelrOm. Lumber