Wilmington daily commercial., 1873-09-20
FIRST EDITION.;
PHILADELPHIA.
our sATuRD LETTER.


Special Co respondence OF ne Commercial.
PHILADELPHIA, Sept 10th.
People who have lately complained of the dull
ness OF things have at last had an event, and
such one as they do not care to have soon re-
peated, even for the sake Of the excitement. The
feeling of Thursday, after it was announced that
Messrs Jay Cooke d Co. had suspended pay
ment, reached In single instant the tumultuous
condition which precedes every money panic, and
the greatest sensation will be content to
have one such experience in q lifetime. There
is something awfully real in the frights which
seizss the people at such a time. No one knows
what to expect; it is like ighting in the dark.
Every man thinks. however, OF his own invest
ments, large or small, and trembles for their
safety. All feel that the fall of great house
like Jay Cooke Il Co. must affect the whole
money System, and drag other firms down with
it to destruction. This would be the very
least part of the trouble II the failures could
then stop but unfortunately, commercial and
manufacturing interests, being 30 closely allied
to the money market, feel every one of its shift
ing conditions. Tumult on Third street means
disaster on Market and Front streets, and
through them we reach the mills and the hum
BILE working people who might be supposed far
enough removed from the Money Princes, but
who in the grand climacteric are found to have
much the same interests An underlined fear of
some such great calamity as this seized people
on Thursday Men meeting each other would
say " Can there be panici" and the answer
would, Don't know better look out" AMI
that look out" had in it the seeds OF all trou-
Bile. for it meant the getting rid of property or
securities on which there might be loss and
timid holders all throwing their aecurities at
once upon the market would by that act cause
panic. That in fact is the danger in Philadel-
phia at this hour.
The suddennessof the initial blow-the Cooke
faure-was appalling. At ten o'clock the street
was placid and matters were running in the or
dinary dog-trOt fashion thirty minutes later
the wh0le of the lower part of the town was in
fever, and the word was being sent all over the
world that the man who had raised the money to
fight the war of the Rebellion had suspended
payment. What that announcement meant, peo-
Pile at once understood, - that IL was not
simply the misfortunes of single rich firm or
even of their companions in business, but in-
volved a general monetary convulsion The
first lought was demand, to know the cause,
and tho answer came promptly as the question,
Northern Pacific Railroad All see now what
very few were given to sec 30 short time ago
as yesterday morning. In nutshell thus 1t ID
A single banking firm attempted to carry the
weight of transatlantic Railway. which with
all its enormous land-grants still required $780,
900 900. to build, to say nothing of its equip
ment. Jay Cooke II Co. were the agents for,
and the main hackers Of this tremendous
scheme. Had they succeeded they would bave
been made "rich beyond the dreams OF avarice."
But it was too heavy burden bonds did not
sell and money to meet expenses did not come
in; inordinate advances were made by the
agents to the sighting OF their legitimate bust
ness, and the result was crash. That was
yesterday, which with all the fever aud worry
that has ntervened seems to have been a week
ago To-day matters are scarcely better. No
one knows where any one stands, and rumors OF
fasl ais IN Rfn l.ARA hau
been a wsll-defned run on the Fidelity Trust
o., and stocks are in q perfect whirl. The old
house OF l.. W. Clark II Co., HAS temporarily
succumbed, al has the younger but very popu-
lar house of defIaven d Bro. No alarm is felt
by the friends OF these parties, and they doubt
less, will resume in very short time. But
would that right were come and all were we'll "
The peculiar character of the award OF the
contract for tho masonry ard gradition of the
new Fairmount Bridge has attracted much at
tention. The matter involves the whole philo-
sophy of bidding" for contracts. and il OF par
ticular interest to builders. The theory has gem
orally held that concern inviting sealed pro-
posals were bound to award the contract to the
parties making the lowest bid providing OF
course that such parties were capable of per-
forming the work they engaged to do, But in
the Falrmount Bridge case preci5 sly opposite
course has, been taken the lowest bidder has
been ignored and the job has been given to an
other contractor whose bid was nearly 5000 600
higher than the lowest one This naturally
causes breeze. To add to the p erpexity felt
by the public no particular objections was urged
in councils against Mr. VIM. Runk it ,rhe lowest
bidder. The peculiar fitness of Mr. w. M. Wy
lie the successful applicant was urged, but that
had fairly nothing to do with the matter, as
Mr. Runk was allowed to be a competent person.
MIR. Rnnk's bid was S369,7O0 and Mr. Wylie's
$685. 775-yet Wylie was accepted. Further
more other low bids were passed to accommo-
date Mr. Wylie, including one of the prominent
firm Of Seliere, Uostigan IL Co. Yet with all the
suspicions that must attach to such q scheme it
passed Councils striumphantlyand has been signed
by the Mayor. People are taken 30 aback by
the boldness Of the thing that they do not know
whether it is piece of theiving to divide 5000 900
among members of Councils or not. II it is not,
thieving Councilmen have given no reasons to
the public to convince it of the contrary. The
Municipal Reform Association has the matter in
hand and it is to be hoped may be able to do
something, but nobody expects it to.
Ihe Horticultural Exhibition opened on Mon
day evening and will close tonight. 1t il one of
the finest, OF this finest OF all, shows ever given
by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. A
clever advantage was taken OF the occasion to
inaugurate the "Centennsl Horticultural SOce.
ty," composed of members from all paTts of the
country. Delegates met at the Continental Ho-
tel on Monday evening. An organization was
affected, and a Constitution and Bylaws adopt
ed. A great deal of interest was manifested in
the proceedings. The object Of the Society is
the furtheranoe of the horticultural portion OF
Centennial display, which is expected to be one
of the most attractive features of the Exposition
and to take charge Of the landscape gardening
the arrangement of lawns, flowers, summer
houses &c. &c -of the great Fair. Asy one can
see that there is abundance OF work here of a
most artistic kind. Those who remember the
Horticultural display at the Sanitary Falr-and
who does not will expect correspondingly
great things OF this Centennial Exhibition,
A singular fdub pas of the police was made
this week You are familiar with the disclosure
made in New York relative to the abuses of
Italian children by the Padrones, or masters to
whom the children are profsssedly apprenticed,
aud who live in idleness OH the m oney re ceived
as street musicians by these poor little wander
| ers Great outrages are undoubtedly perpetrated
| in New York and some tligbty phi lanthropists
conceived the idea that the same pr actices we're
| INDUCED in here. Warrants were obtained aud
| on Monday evening the police made descent
upon the quarters known to be occupied by
these people in Carpenter Street and adjacent
neighborhoods Over $50 persons were arrested
| the greater number being children. At Head
| quarters it was app aren't, however, that great
| mistake had been made. The children were
well dressed and in good health and spirits They
had no complaints to make. but on the contrary
| said the Padrones were good to them Their
/ lodgiag houses were found to be fairly clean,
aud comfortable, and in short there was no
ground for complaint whatever, and all the par
| ties were discharged. The N. Y. Herald has
| notwithstanding, fearfullY wrought account
| of the matter, which to us who know reflects
/ di.credt only upon the Phlanthropists who
were anxious to ablte a nuisance which did no