, 1874-07-20
CHICAGO, MONDAY, JULY 20, 1874.


fires. thoy cannot spEoad 80 rapidly among those
Of brick and atone, nor do they taxa fro 10 eaaily
from tho same cauaen. Nov In the timo to heed
The goripturnl admonition in tho litoral IL we'll
atuhblo, ;" but on ck-foundstion, Of suoh ma
torial rs shall bout ouduro whom tho ire sllhll
try ovoEy mans work Of what sort 1t III. Jesus
wrought TIL he "as thirty ycars OF ngo 1t tho
earpontor's trade, and, among, tho many houscn
nay DO some Of thcm standing to this day, as
they weto al1 built OF stone. a kind Of froestono
It is said, to the duration OF which time sots no
doanite limit, jesus, who grow up In this nob1c
to 1t. and then always 10 tle wny Of metaphor;
but thon oyory altuBton he doeH mnko implies
stone as the material for house building. Tha
poor Of ths people, in his day. liyod In
stone houses. and oven now tho poorer class in
that tho material ia rather loosely put together
aud without the uso OF cement. Firos, then,
must bo rAror with thom than With tho moro
scientific people Of tho ocodent, under which
Europe, md tho pooplo Of tho Now West, Amor
lea. Certainly nobody sots fire to bis own or to
hiB landlords property for tho purpose OF maxi
ing 1noney by collecting tho insurance he may
hold in hia own nn,ne, for this i1npious uord,
but in lieu Of such human safeguard, thoy,
with emphasis Assert, "1od Ia Godt' and III
terforenco Ii non-admissiblo.
I am not suro that all our institutions arc. as
yet wholly adaptod to tho present statua Of
llnman nature. The community Of city arc
never safo 30 long as men may insure property
In such way na to acquire tho motive Of nd
vancing their individual interest by destroying
1t. The relation Of tho individual to society Is
recognized In its aacrodnoBB only by certain
part Of tho SOCIAL aggregate; in u abundance
interest in all in alI and only tho hazard Of COZ
cealing tho crime could prevent thom from
sacrlfiolng the largest amount Of property be-
longing to othors to eoouro petty advantages to
who rojoice in great fires. who scem fnteriorly
to have affinity With condagrationB; who sccnt
thom from afar, and haston to tho aceno to
minglo III tho crowd1 and plumber where thoy
can. Out Of this claaH tho myatery Which often
hangs ovor tho origin OF 1iros might flud its
solution II truth could be known. As an Ameri-
can AIN not sorly to know that our institutions
have not reared 80 very many OF ttiB class.
The very groat majority Of them came to rs
from tho old World, and wero educated undor
though many may have heard the ohantings Of
mass mono Of thom evor studied or pondercd
for an honr IN early life over the glorious 8er-
mon on tho Mount
I see that one Of tho ablo papers
Of this city, in speaking Of tlie Or
yesterday morning theBo words: "D1on
wero selected now for what? Not for their
manhood, intelligence, and cnpabiltty. but tot
their ignorance, stupidity, and their political aud
lad lad proper aud efficient men IN the Fire and
Police Department, do You suppose that::the fro,
which originated III fow shantioB would have
swept oyor from sixty to seventy acres, and de-
nttoyed 1000 or s5,oooooo worth Of prop
under the name Of tho Peoples Rnlo, tho basor
elements from the great mass tako tho highcas
functions, which arc those OF government: and
Voc 10 tho community whose best capacity aud
character arc clipsod by domagogucB and place
capacity. in tho most responsibc stations, ara
over at tho morcy OF tho shifting sands Of me-
tropolitan politics.! A stable basis must be
sought and found for thcse, and re}o oice that
all the facts aud dangers Of the situation .are
boing understood III duo time. Who would burn
world to saTo or to destroy party?
Bolf-ntorost has sharper vision and quick
or noryo for tho protection Of property than may
DO oxpcctcd from philanthropy orpubIlo feeling,
So lot eyory man provide hiH own buildings with
tho means Of rapidly mo1stoning thoir roofs and
sides that tho origins Of fire may bo annihilatou
before thoy become Irresistible,
No State have ever Beon Ia so vol leyeled
and located for sYBtom OF railroads AZ Illinois,
60. But iA not the dangcr somewhat heighton~
cd, III case Of nres, by tho unbroken sweep Of
the winds over such vast tracts Of even Burface
The forco Of winda very much modified and
broken by hills, mountain-ranges. aud by thick
forests Of large trees, receive no modifying re-
Bistance horo except by such structures as mau
has raised. And do not yast plains abaorb tue
moisture Of showers and deWa moro rapidly than
do tho regions Of alternate hill and vale? In
the absence Of ruin, fow days Of heat makes
tue woodwork 10 dry that 1t ia tnter to tho
touch Of hro. Tho ascending fogs aud graceful
rivers that belong to valleys aro moro perma-
nently moistening. The gsont desort OF Sahara
5000 miles long, and from 500 to roo milos wide,
nor All even ard plain Of amazing heat, could soon
be restored to fertility, if tlroo mountain ridges
wore thrown up at equal distaucoB, and extended
along its whole length, with the tranvcsso spurs
that commonly attend mountain ranges; ror tho
showers which do not neglect the desert, would
soon form springs. tho springs rillB aud brooks.
most literal manner the. words Of tho prophet,
p" Tho deHert shall rejoice and blossom ~ tho
rose."
= But thoro mist be settles Of tho PIain," now
az Of old. Berlin, Prusaia's Capital town of
which Chicago has ofton reminded me, lies on
aRndy plain. as love) as TINT On which our own
dwellings stand, and VIC do not hear Of great
6reH in Berlin. Wo must multiply cautiop. and
deono to bo the City of Magnificent Ruins. Wo
will covot other attractions.
But tho relation which these outward fires
bear to certain inward Aros In the form Of in
temperance is altogether too much overlooked,
though it il concotou that mon who drink chain
lightning arc poor custodinnn Of their own and
Of others safety. 1iorein. in tAo whisky fouu-
tain. lies the enemy to bo watohed, dreaded, aud
auoduod. Under lntoxication whoro is caution7
Gone. VIII they whom habitH Ut inobrloty i'm
poyoriah provide and uao tho means OF sef-pro-
faction jnat alluded to !? 1t cannot DO oxpacted.
II 1871, the story travelled to Now York that
the great Chicago fire ibegan in tho aoryco OF
Dacchus; that to get milk whorowlth to mako
milk-punoh \ party already elatod wont into tho
barn and mi1ked COW, tho light that aided them
meanwhile settins tiro to the building. never