Wilmington daily commercial., 1873-10-11
FIRST EDITION.
PHILADELPHIA.
OUR sATURD LETTER.

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Special Correspondence Of R,e Commercial.
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. TO-
The important question of what material tn
superstructure of the new Public.Buildings sha
consist, has been settled, and the contract 70
the same wafded. Messrs. Struthers & Sons
are the successful bidders in the sum OF S5 800,
900, for which they are to enter security OF hal
a million. to erect the City ball Of white marbl
from the famous Lee quarry in Massachusetts
There is general satisfaction felt that this ent
has been reached. We now know what to ex
pect, and the Public buildings seem mythical nc
longer There was really very little opposltior
to marble as material. There was 'granitt
party" but it carried no weight. The pile Of
granite presented by the Masonic, Temple in th'
| adjoining block, would have disposed of tina
| question even il it had not been shown tina
marble was more durable and every way better
suited to the end in view. And if there we're nc
Temple. and IL the two kinds of stone were Of
equal value as building material, a pile of the
extent of the City Hall, built of granite could
not fail to be gloomy and oppressive In such
/ a mass we need relief and the cleaning marble
is exactly the thing, and the only thing
| Messrs. Struthers d Sons are indsputably the
| 6rst marble workers of Philadelphia. nor have
| they any superiors elsewhere, and the contract
i for this great work could nos be put ia more Ca
pable hands. Even the Bulletin, which has
fought the intersection scheme with conscien-
tious vgor from the very start is constrained to
admit that no mistake has been made at this
point. The contractors agree to have one wing
| OF the building completed. IL required, by the
/ opening of the Centennial but no one is bold
| enough to say when the entire structure will be
| finished, or how much money it will cost.
The National Amateur Regatta, for which such
| extensive preparations were made for months,
was, owing to the bad weather on the fret day
| of the races, only partial SUCCESS. The course
was from Rockland landing on the Schuylkil to
the Falls Bridge. The number Of Philadelphia
entries was naturally the largest but there was
| fair representation of rowing talent from 9TH
Pittsburg, Jersey City and RsTgen Point, N. Y.
in especial, rendered good accounts of them
selves. The Regatta opened on Tuesday but
the day was 30 rainy that nearly all the races
announced we're postponed until the day follow
ing. This crowded things too much and al
though Wednesday was favorable there was
more hurry and confusion than was desirable.
There was no help however, and outdoor sports
always have to stand such chances. They might
be measuably abated by calling the clubs togeth-
er earlier in the season September is generally
fair and the weather of that month il well adap-
ted to rowing. Associated with the Regatta was
the convention OF Rowing clubs which was held
on Tuesday morning. Twenty-four associations
from various sections we're represented. The
proceedings were largely devoted to a consider.
alton Of what is included IN the term Amateur"
These rowing gentlemen are evidently inclined
to be exclusive, as one clause OF their definition
of the word is that mo person who labors upon
the water" shall be termed an Amateur. mo-
ton was made to strike that disqualification
from the rules, but it did not prevail.
The excitement over the great religious con-
ference, now being held In New York, is to be
transferred here. Some of the most distinguish
ed foreign delegates to the conference will be
received on Monday evening by our leading
church people, and there is great interest mani
tested in the meeting, The reception will be
given at Horticultural Hall-the Academy being
engaged by the Kellogg Opera Troupe-and but
a small portion of the people who desire to at
tend can be accommodated. There will probably
be other meetings, however. The star Of the
troupe is the converted Hindoo Brahmin, Rev.
Mr. Sheshadri. whom our young women Of church
prOclivities are going little short of wild over
II is 80 romantic, you knowl Nevertheless. and
despite the danger he is in of being spoiled by
the fiatteTy he is receiving, Mr.. Sheshadri is un
doubtedly man of great talents and appears to
be doing good work. The whole of thus move
ment is ou high and noble plan. The title OF
it is, think. the only mistake. "Evangelical'
has harsh sound for liberal people. II it were
termed "Christian Union" it would come nearer
the hearts OF the people it is especially aimed to
reach. The spirit of 1t must be admitted by any
unpreiudiced person to be pure and good. An
earnest effort is made by the Alliance to sweep
away the trammes Of sectarianism, which keep
many christians far apart as II they were pro-
fessors of diverse faiths instead Of being joined
in the same essential worship. This is work
worthy of the best minds and the most deter
mined effort. And how strangely things came
about This very project of Christian Union
tho including of all believers in the fold OF one
broad church-has before now engaged the
hearts of leading men who have, however fonnd
1t impossible to make any way against denomin-
ational bonds. The late Rev. Thos. Fl. Stockton
.srtEll ha NIanNad hxT Nauk
gifted and eloquent man who gave his whole
life to this subject but without seeming result.
The time WAS not ready for him, but it is impos
ible to say whether the seed that he, and other
such workers, planted may not have had a large
share in the harvest For here are the leading
preachers and theologians Of the world applaud
ed to the skies for affirming truths for which,
not great while since, DIR. Stockton and his
friends were virtually tahooed by the church
The world moves, but the resistless law 10 some
times cruel in its effects.
As allied to this eutject may be noticed the
annual meeting of the Philadelphia Baptist AS
sociatioD which met in the First church. West
Philadelphia, on Monday and has been in ses-
sion until to-day. This was the 169lh annual con-
ference OF the Baptists of this vicinity, who are
| now getting to be quite venerable DO iy The
conference despite Its name, takes o considera-
| BILE section Of surrounding territory, including
Wilmington and other points in Delaware, as
we'll as a good portion Of our own State. The
Methodsts have found il necessary to divide their
/ conference once having Philadelp phia for GEN.
tire, but the Baptist organization remains as or
| iginsly formed, although it is admitted that the
| conference has grown cumbersome OF late years.
/ It is q conservative body however, and dislikes
/ change. The reports of the condition of the
various churches were very full and satisfacto-
ry.
i All communitiesthat have suffered from the
Il street musician puisance will be glad to learn
Il that Philadelphia has found q way out OF the
| trouble. We have an act passed in 1885 relative
/ to yagrants and professional beggars which the
city solicitor decides may be fairly construed to
include in its striotives the organ grinders, nd.
/ dlers, and harpers who are such WEAKNESS to
/ the spirit. With this authority the Mayor may
direct his blne-cOated satellites to arrest these
nerve-irritants, these human mosquitoes. on
sight il desirable, or keep them moving on" II
| people who want quiet so desire. This Is Boon
with the biggest B in the alphabet. The same
road is open to you all ! II you have no such
| ordinance pass one without delay and be at last
happy These musicians" are only beggars.
AS the Solicitor says (naively to my mind,
though he may have intended only to state the
fact) "they do not render any services which are
requested and for which compensation may be
DUE" Requested should think not and yet
it is claimed by seme that these aggravatlng
creatures furnish the only music enjoyed by the
very poor and should not be interfered with
Unhappily they do not serenade the people. living
in the alleys-for sufficient reason. They as
pire to attending upon people Of quality-on
those who can afford to pay to be rid Of them
In brief, il any social nuisance calls fol suppress
sion il is precisely this one.
Miss Nelson has reappeared at the "Walnut
|