Wilmington daily commercial. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1866-1877, 1874-09-05
FIRST EDITION.
philadelphia.
OUR sATuR DAY LETTER


PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 4.
The beginning of the school year was an event
OF the week. The effect of this re-opening is
always very decided in city life. II is an event
which concerns almost every household. The
streets at once grow liveler, trade at once gets
better, upon the opening of the schools. The
season adds Immediately to the resident popula-
lation, inasmuch as large number of persons,
parents very often as well as children, remain out
of town until the beginning of the school ses-
sion. 1t was the general remark on Tuesday -
''how bright the streets are to-day p and this
brightness seemed to react upon business of all
sorts,
The childrens free excursion scheme inspr ed
some OF our benevolent citizens with the idea of
providing similar relaxation for old people,
who might be too poor to pay the expenses of
such holiday or too infirm to enter upon it
without companionship and assistance. The
excursion was given to-day, and all things con-
sdered was fairly successful. There are difficult
ties in such project which are not encountered
in the care OF chlGren's excursions. The little
ones accept charity without scruple, while it is
difficult very often to obtain of adults the CO.
operation desired. Again, children only ask the
opportunity to carry such holiday through with
will. There is nothing like drag Or dullness
with them and 30 that the managers take care
that the youngsters shall not run dangerous
risks in their hunt for fun, the machine runs it.
self. Such an excursion as that of to-day, how
ever, il it does not impose 80 much responsible
ty as children's party, requires kind of stim-
ulus even more difficult to administer. 1t was
feared the affair would prove rather tame and
uninteresting, and so it did. The mistake WAS
made Of deferring it to 30 late a day in the sea-
son. The weather being not very favorable the
attendance WAS not as large as was anticipated.
Many of the old folks declared, however, that
they greatly enjoyed the excursion, and there is
no question but that the generous citizens who
furnished the funds did all in their power to
make rather difficult affair pass off pleasantly.
The childrens excursions closed for the
season this week, the last of the series
being given on Monday. Ton, in all, were given.
The enterprise was not as successful as in form
or years. The weather not being as hot as in
other seasons, the need was not felt to be 30
pressing The number of subscribers was more
limited, and few wealthy people virtually bore
the whole expense. But while the number of
excursonlsts was smaller than heretofore, the
summer was 30 exceptionally pleasant that it is
probable the enterprise covered really as much
ground as at other times $4,000 children were
provided for, as against 2l,OOO last year, and
81, 900 in 1872
The Philadelphia Crickoters have returned
from Halifax, having carried off all the leading
honors of the international tournament. The
Englishmen admitted that the Philadelphians
beat them at their own game. Our boys won
every game they played, and in no instance went
in for their second innings. The result is Sc
res of victories without parallel in cricket rec
ords in the United States The game with the
English Eleven was especially noteworthy.
The players on the British side were mostly mil
itary men, stationed with their regiments in
Canada, and who have breathed cricket at school
and college as they did their Latin and
Mathematics. The Philadelphans have not
given tithe Of the time to the game which
their opponents have devoted to it. Yet for
some reason the result is as / have stated. The
championship prize WAS secured by the Eleven,
and members Of it carried off in addition prizes
for the best bowling, the best general play, the
highest score &c. Altogether Germantown is
hugely elated, for Germantown as suppose you
know, is the favored home of the game.
Base ball news is not 80 pleasant The Eng
lsh excureionisis will reach home only to learn
of grave charges affecting professional players,
which cannot fail to affect the integrity of the
sport. The Philadelphia club is on trial for the
swindling conduct Of several members Of its
nine, and particularly of Radcliffe, the catcher,
in 'selling OUT game with the Chicago club.
The man who umpired the game testihes that he
was approached by Radcliffe in the matter, and
offered a sum of money to give decisions OF q
character favorable to the conspirators. The
umpire declined the offer but says the Philadel-
phians purposely lost the game, Notwithstanding,
by dropping balls and playing "loose" generally.
Observant people have long seen what profess
sional play was coming to and are not surprised
at these revelations. The rascals have nearly
succeeded in running thoroughly noble sport,
but perhaps they are now at the end of their
tether, and the game may be relegated to the
sp here to which it belongs and from which il
never should have been taken.
The Centennial season is upon us. Prepara-
tory to the celebration of the Independence OF
the United States it is proposed to commemor-
ate tomorrow, the Tooth anniversary of the first
meeting of the Continental Congress. This
body met IN the hall Of the ''ancient and honor
able Carpenters Company" in this city son 1.-THE
9th of September 1774. The Congress con
tinued to meet at that place for some time, but
finally removed to the State House building.
| Carpenters Hall, as most readers doubtless
know, il situated at the end of by-way run
| ming south from Chestnut street, below Fourth
| 1t is handsome old building and has beer
| kept in good condition by the Carpenters
| Company which has been in continuous possess
| sion since the revolutionary times. The prem
| ises although substantial are very contracted,
| and the contrast between them and the present
| ordly quarters of the American Congress il
great indeed. The old hall has been variously
| occupied since it's legislative career closed al
| one time by the Philadelphia Library, at Others
| by the Custom House and the United States
| Bank. 1t has also been used for various bust
ness purposes, and for a number of years wal
occupied for an auction wareroom. The feature
| of to-morrow's celebration will be an Grafton b,
that somewhat pampered young Demosthenes
| Mr.. Henry Armitt Brown The old hall Will b.
| illuminated in the evening and opened to tn
pu bic.
The death has been reported of DIR. j. Hamilton
| Slack, person who held a most peculiar posi-
| tion in Philadelphia society. DIR. Slack was
| kind of Admirable Clichton. Most men of taste
| have one or at most few "hobbies" but the sub
| ject of this notice had hobbies innumerahle
| And he not only took interest in various agreea
BILE pursuits but he found time to practice then
all. He was an ardent naturalist, painter,
sculptor, musician, end musical composer,
printer, writer, a translator into and from for
| eign languages. These are few of tn
lines in which have heard DIR. Stacks
friends say he was proficient. He was man o
wealth and labored in all these ways only for hi
amusement. He had a printing office in hi
house, and when he had written poem woul'
put it in type himself. His studio was also ther
and his music room. He was well known at a
the clubs aud libraries and was a constan
frequenter of the Academy of Natural Sciences
II would not be at all fair to call him a mer
smatterer or course he could not be thoroug
in all he undertook, but he had a very decide
grasp of all. In Natural History he was perhap
|, strongest. His latest work WAS an effort for th
| artificial propagation of trout, in which he seem
to have met with considerable success.
Do YOU know that we have good sized tow
confined within the walls of single building il
Philadelphia? Such community, such whee
within wheel, is our Alms-house, BY the sta
tistics of 1878, just completed in book shape
+ the average population of the house for til
year is seen to have been about $500 person'
Towns of that population have daily paper
, and Opera Houses. 1t is tremendou
institution, sure enough, and it will give an
sensitive individual the horrors to walk throug
. it. $40 people died there during the year ii
that one house "a larger number l have n
doubt than died in Wilmington during the sam