, 1872-10-09

33TsZ3Esti i9zsz!: =sz;;. 4E
ratio Of increase which elsewhere would lie con-
1 sidered marvellous.
But the aight Tas coming when no man WIS to
slccp.
CAUSES OF THE FIRE.
But with all tLeee superb buildings, these
! masses Of brick and stone md iron which coy
cred so much Of the northern portion Of the
Sorth Division, the pride Of our citizons and
tho admiration Of strangers, with an apparently
| efficient Fire Department ard 2 supply Of water
| which was looked upon rs cspious and certain,
the construction Of the city was in neny re-
spects fatally defectiye, the Fire Department
weakened bJ internal dissensions md discord,
and the water supply dependant upon the mereet
| accident The t1bt difficulty was almost iaeyi-
table. It can only be fully Appreciated after
| such fire as We have had. Even utter that, e1-
can be but eighty alerlated- The other
troubles should not hare existed, but they came
about SO naturally that no one can
reasonably blame himself for not harins
from Chicago the cost Of transportation By rail
greatly enhanced the cost OF lumber, while the
ground beneath their feet often furnished aa
abundant supply Of material for tho naaqfae-
Der market Of the world. Tie pineres Of tho
Northwest vera tributary to heI, and she took
for her own use tlthes Of their produce. Lum-
Der wss cheaper tEan brick and was moro easIy
procured and moro rspidly handled. In q city
where time was everything, and durability was
not a matter much considered, street after street
Tas lined With wooden buildings, not with oaken
bezms and hoorings, but an aggregation Of
AL things Wero tried frat in wood
It wns = city OF experiments, where
the first essays we're made in tho cheapest mate
rial. As the sculptor moulds and reInou1ds his
-. - "a s.xkm -
re worked in wood, until Buccess seemed Ger
tsin, and then it IVES perpetuatea in stone In
the course OF time, the experience OF this and
other cities hnd driven the civic authorities to
f-e began On the South Side at the foot Of
TWenty-seeond street and ran to state, on State
to Twelfth, thence to Clark, thence to Ven
Buren, thence to IaSa1le, thence to Adams, and
themes to the South Branch On the West Side
east ct Ha1sted to Madison, and east Of Clinton
betEeen Madison aad Van Bu1en. On the North
Hide they covered all south OF Illinois strcat
and one hundred fest on each side OF
Wells and the streets east Of it, nearly or quito
up to Chicago avenue. Small IN a1tent as this
territory was, it had been secured With difficulty,
and against the opposition Of those who thought
moro Of immediate profits than Of future seed
rity. 0ne-han a the buildings within this are.
were Of wood. As Lazarus sat at the gate Of
Dives, 60 decaying wooden ehanhes aud tene-
Iuanta, filed with tho mnst degraded and reckless
members Of the community, stood Immediately
on ana EeTs o. Toea
or lrtked in their rear. Coal and lumber yards
lined both banks Of The river, and frames,
either in patches or dotted aruund like
sentioe1s, and always preserving
means Of communicating fire from
one side to another Of tho FIRE limits cbounded.
The lax Uas constantly violated, wooden buildings
we're improved contrary to LAW, and the cupidity
OF Individuals put at dafance tho officers OF the
9.n Af,nSx %rf fAnv
popularity which strict enforcement Of civic
regulations might have brought upon them. A
MN who received q large rent for { frame build
ing Eas unable to seq why he ehonld 1eplaco it
retaining the old oae he renaeed the property
and even the Life of others Generous to excess
in giving, the citizens OF Chicago often fought
too hard againEt even saluta1y measures, when
they apparently 1ssscaed their receipts.
chief tho7oughlaces wore, in many instances, o
delusion and Enate. Wooden roofs, OF roofs
covered with compositions, OF which tar WIS .
component part, stood ready to burst into
Ga:nes with The first f5e-brand that fell apo9
them 1mmanso wooden cornices protected
from their fronts. Iron shutters rarely guard
ed upper windows, and vlen they did, they were
apt to *be fitted into wooden window frames.
o d
Ing The beams were fitted into holes cut in
tho party-Talls, and "a they burned through and
fell, they dragged the walls down with them,
aad the flames spread into tho adjoining build
iugs. There were ordinances, but they We1e
not observed. There WAS much grace sad !
beauty, but little soGdity.
Any city built Like Chicago must, IN time, have
its great conaa9raGon- Constant vigilance Ii
man watches The peeulier, googra:1hlcal posi-
tioa Of Chicago intensified the dangers growing
oct OF its defective construction: 1t lay upon
the fat prairie, open. to the winds from What