The New York herald., 1874-07-16
CHICk G O..
A Calm Review of the Second
Confagration
Wonderful Escape Of the Chief
Business Blocks.
ORIGIN OF THE FIRE.
Why the Flames Obtained
the Mastery.
Sixty Acres Of Property
Sacrificed.
LOSSES AND INSURANCE.
The Marble Palaces on Wabash
Avenue Attacked.
Additional Fires Reported Last
Evening.
LOSSES AND INSURANCE
The Marble Palaces on Wabash
Avenue Attacked.
Additional Fires Reported Last
Evening.

CHICAGO, July 16, 1874
About Two O'Clock on Wednesday morning, just
after tho closing Of my yesterdays despatch, the
nremen commenced to get such control OF the
danes to give assurance OF their victory. 1t Is
not easy to md language to convey the intense
anxiety which mad strung the heart OF the people
OF this city during the evening. As indicated
in my first special the probabilities were
strongly in favor Of q caraclysm Of destruction
similar to the former one. All the surroundings
and circumstances were favorable-a strong SOUTH
west wind, continued drought Of month ana
an inefficient Fire Department, with general
official incompetency among the chiefs OF depart
ments-Dut the Almighty chose to be merci1u,
ana 1t seems as much the work Of Providence as OF
human agency that the most beautiful and
important section OF the city is not
again In ashes or course 1t Is easy
to indulge In wholesale denunciattons at such q
time as this, but the facts seem to bear out what
have said. 1t is comparatively easy to bear onicia
corruption and mismanagement when there is no
startling emergency; but there como times when
people have to pay for the luxury Of giving over
their government into the hands Of incapables
such as disgrace this city and the voters that
placed them in ONCE.
THE WORST SUFFERERS
The suffering caused by the expulsion from house
and home Is very great, though most OF 1t tails
the dangerous classes. The number will not fail
far short of 5000, as the region devastated.
particularly In the earlier part Of the con-
nagration. was densely populated, answering
to the swarming beehives In some parts
Of East New York. While many of these
unfortunates are worthy and respectable
people, perhaps the large portion OF them
are Cyprans. Bohemians Poles, negroes and the
ofO iria frou uvho
are drawn recruits for the ranks of thieves and
burglars. Tho region where the nre started,
between Twelfth ana Taylor streets, is Q local.
ity similar to what the Five Points were
In former days. 1t was curious to notice the per-
feet indifference OF most OF these people; though
they lost their ''itte ali, +" they seemed to have
kind OF dev-may care satisfaction In the thought
that the city would take care Of them, after some
fashion. no matter how things went. The memory
OF old relief days. when organized attempts pub
lie robbery on the part OF supphants for AID
often successful. in spite Of every precau-
ton, acted as an emollient to all their troubles
On the other hand the more respectable spectators
and sufferers by the unclaimed element, seemed to
be terribly impressed by the gravity Of the stua-
ton, as they could give an intelligent outlook
at threatened results, which would even break
down the elasticity OF Chicagoan think OBJ
served general expression OF woe and despond.
ency the intelligent faces, even surprising
the demonstrations OF feeling in 1871. Then people
we're stunned and could not appreciate the disaster
at the outset; now experience has taught them its
stern lesson, and they could measure the present
by the past, with q fatal and omnous accuracy.
MORE ATTEMPTS AT RELIEF.
Steps have already been taken by the Relief and
Aid Society to relieve the wants OF the unfor.
tunates who were dispossessed. or the old fire
fund there is now on hand about $40O, 900. Many
attempts have been made on the part OF Official
rogues to get this sum out OF the hands OF
the society, and all sorts Of ingenious and pausi-
BILE schemes devised to hoodwink the managing
committee OF the society. Some OF the swinding
plots emanated, am ashamed to say, from the
Common Council. The possession of such re-
spectacle sum OF ready money will enable an i'm
mediate provision to be made for the sufferers by
the nre who are not able to take care
OF themselves. the amount I have spoken
OF was pronered to Boston after her
great 1re, but IL was refused. Private charity is
no less active than the recognized agencies OF
beneacence. The guests OF she different hotels,
even while the fire was raging, sent large quant-
ties OF cooked provisions to the needy swarms OF
half naked and hungry people that choked
the sidewalks. There Is no probability OF
there being any material suffering, as the
warm weather Ia at hand, and there are
ample means at hand to provide for the wants OF
the people. The necessities which compelled such
fearful privation as o consequence Of the other
connagration are all absent, and thus one Of the
saddest OF all the associations OF such misfortune
Is absent The churches. station houses and other
large public buildings are being very generally
utilized to give shelter though the extreme beauty
and serenity OF the weather renders even this
hardly necessary.
WAS TIE FIRE PROPERLY FoUGHTt
Had the Ore been stopped after 1t destroyed the
locality where 1t began 1t would have been mat
ter OF public congratulation. The section Is
known to the police as Cheyenne" with minor
titles, such as "Hackle." "Burniana," "Fiddlers
Greenn and "Hell's Half Acre." As stated In the
despatch Of yesterday, the commencement Of the
nre was In the rag shop OF Polish Hebrew pedler,
and oy many supposed to be the work OF an
ncendiary. The fact OF the commencement hav-
ing occurred in such place sufficiently accounts
for everything, without any recourse to malign
hypothesis. or the management OF the Fire De-
partment there seems to be but one opinion among
sensible men, that IL was utterly inefficient. There
was much weakness and bad judgment In the
delay that ensued before any large number OF
engines were on the ground. The fire had been in
progress nearly an hour and shown itself en-
tirey beyond the control Of the nremen. three
quarters Of an acre being mass OF seething ruins
before the general alarm was turned in, which
summoned all the engines Of the city to
the spot When the full complement OF
engines proved insufficient there was nothing
done to obtain help from neighboring cities,
and 1t was not till offers Of assistance came from
Racine Milwaukee and Joliet that anything was
done to secure foreign assistance. When the ad.
ditional engines and hose arrived they proved to
DC of Indispensable valuo- az the nre had