The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-07-15

Lessons OF Experience Go for Nothing
Unfortunate Chicago Again that proud
city has been visited by calamity similar tc
the terrible catastrophe of three years ago
Az We write Chicago is once more in flames.
The extent of the disaster cannot be estimated
now; for the confagration has not been stayed.
and may yet lay part of the new. as it has
already laid part of the DID, Chicago in ashes.
Even the details that have already reached US.
meagre Is they are. tell a fearful tale-a story
that is doubly terrible because the suffering
and loss Of the great fire of 1871 are still fresh
in the minds OF all People had not yet
ceased talking of that event The calamity
was so unexpected, SO complete and SO har-
rowing in all its aspects that it impressed
itself upon the imagination like some great
battle too sanguinary ever to be forgotten.
But in the meantime new city had risen on
the ruins of the old Though hundreds of
wealthy men had been impoverished, though
thousands of people in comfortable circum-
stances had been utterly ruined. never
were such pluck and energy displayed
All gave to each a helping hand and
the old streets and avenues, again lined with
massive looking structures, are monumental
to that dauntless spirit which cannot be over
como. So quickly and so completely had all
this been accomplished that Chicago was
proud of her confagration and vainglorious
over her calamity. Poor unfortunate, IN
happy city A Nemesis seems always to follow
her to cast her down at the very moment when
the future seems brightest and loveliest It is
a fearful fate-the seeming wrath of the
Furies-but it is fate that Chicago had pre-
pared for herself and that may befall many
other cities besides Chicago.
1t would be vain to attempt to recount the
course Of the flames. Beginning without the
lines of the previous conhagration, but in o
populous part of the city. the fire swept
rapidly in the direction Of the scene of tho
former calamity, and everything fell before
the devouring element Many dwellings were
burned and thousands Of people made home
less. A magnificent church was destroyed,
and its destruction was followed by that of
the Post Office. And the parts of the city but
recently rebuilt seemed as much fuel for the
flames as the parts saved from the previous
fire to be swallowed up in this second Ca
lamity.
All this is proof that we have been building
cities that great conAagrahons may destroy
them. Once before Chicago went through an
even more terrible ordeal Of fire. year Later
Boston experienced like visitation. Later
still block after block in Baltimore was des-
troyed Now it is Chicago second time.
What city will next be swept away by one Of
these terrible conhagrations it is impossible to
predict. That all are equally exposed
4 to danger, especially all the cities
of the West, seems almost certain,
We have built without regard to security from
fire, and q spark may cause a terrible con-
fagration not only in Chicago, in Boston and
in Baltimore, but in every city in the Union.
New York is to-day more at the mercy Of the
winds than stanch ship upon the seas. This
is not the case in Europe. There has not been
great fire in any of the European capitals
within the present century. When the
Pantechnicon in London was burned.
though the heat was intense not
surrounding building was destroyed
! When the miscreants Of the Commune
sought to fire Paris their efforts failed because
the city was free from all the elements of in
fammability. The capitals of the Old World
seem ireproof, and it is only the young cities
of America which crumble to ashes when
spark chances to fall in some unguarded spot.
Our houses are succession of finder boxes,
standing in compact rows and inhammable
from garnet to basement The flames
can leap from roof to roof and
envelop house after house, and there is no
power that can stay them while anything is
left to burn or until the winds change in their
course and sweep the monster back upon its
fiery track. As we remarked before, we build
cities that great confagrations may destroy
them. and it seems impossible that any
calamity can be 80 terrible as to deter US from
counting like calamities in the future.
What are we to think of ourselves as q peo-
pie when we sec that all the lessons of ex-