The Portland daily press., 1872-04-02
Our st. Louis Letter.

The Spring Weatber-An Infant Tanmany-A
Severe Winter-4he Missouri Drying Up-The
Postum Policy--Schurz at HoDae-Pills.
ST. LOUIS, March 80
Snow and rain descend upon us daily, while
we wade through seas of slush and mud los
ing our tempers and oyershoes at the same time
A few mornings ago, in one of our principal
streets, huge monni Of mud and offal was dis
covered in the form Of grave, with a tall
head-board, and the street contractors name in
glaring letters on it. After affording lots of
fun, he got wind of it and had it carted away.
We enjoy Democratic city government and
though its peccadilloes are too trifing to mem
ton since the New York expose, still it does
its little best in that line. ss
We have had a fearful winter but our port is
now open to the fleets of the world, provided
they won't draw more than five feet of water,
which is the stage in several places between
here and Cairo If the river continues to fall,
we shall be almost as badly off as we were dur
ing the ice blockade, which lasted weeks and
inflicted incalcuable damage in financial
point of view, besides every possible discomfort
and delay to passengers to and from the
East. But our bridge is coming on slowly and
surely and then good by to the horrors of the
Levee and Wiggin Ferry Co. 1t is still doubt
full whether it will be used for railroad bridge,
for it comes out so in the heart of the city that
it will require vast amount of tunnelling TO
reach suitable place for union depot and
lots OF money in the way of damages, for the
numerous old fogies here think they are confer
ring favor to allow improvements to be made
at any price.
Our leading Republican paper, the Democrat,
was sold at auction last week, the owners only
being allowed to bid. 1t was bought by G. W.
Fishback, for S456, 100. 1t remains the same
politically, but is much enlarged and improved
geographically. Of our two chief papers, the
Democrat is Republican, while the Republican
is Democratic and claims to be the originator of
the passive or Postum Policy" Though
Missouri is the hot-bed of that policy its sup
porters are growing few and beautifully less
since the Republican Convention, a few weeks
ago, where all, disaffected or otherwise, voted
unanimously and enthusiastically for Grant
delegates to the Philadelphia Convention.
Schurz, Brown & Co., are only supported by
one so-called Republican paper in the State,
and that is Schurz's own paper, the Westliche
Post Our Governor, b. Gratz Brown, has been
at one time and another in all parties and voted
for all sorts of measures He is known to be
constant to but two things, office seeking and
speech-making, SO as High Priest of the policy.
he dosn't increase its popularity.
The thirtieth annual commencement of the
st. Louis Medical College took place last week,
and thirty four young saw-bones were launched
ON suffering world. The exercises were very
interesting. r.y-s-er,
THE LEWISTON AND AUBURN RAILROAD
The directors of the proposed Lewiston and
Auburn have had a conference with the
Grand Trunk directors, on the subject of the
lease of the former by the latter. The Grand
Trunk offers to lease the Lewiston road for
ninety nine years paying $500 for the first
year and six per cent ON a sum not exceeding
100000 each year after. The conditions of the
lease are most favorable to lewiston Western
produce is to be landed at Lewiston as cheap as
at Danvlle Junction or Portland. The Grand
Trunk agrees to run its trains from all direc-
tons, Portland, Oxford County, etc., in close
connection with Lewiston. 1t agrees never to
charge more than $1.10 for fare between Lew
iston and Portland-the present fare being
$1.40 All the other conditions are correspond
ingly favorable to the Lewiston and Auburn
people The whole matter is to be brought be-
fore the respective governments of those cities
at an early day.