The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1875-03-23
From the Centennial City,
PHILADELPHIA. March 13, 1885.


Editor Of the Registsr.
The geographical position OF this city
is such that Vermonters have but limited
business or social relations with its insti.
tutions, or its people. As a consequence
they are not nearly as posted in regard TO
its early statues. its growth, present SIZE
or its resources, as they are with New
York, which in a sense they are in almost
daily contact, or rather in communication
with. 1t is'well known that New York
is the leading commercial and monetary
city in tho United States, and has the
largest population Of any; but it is
not probably as generally, nor as well
known, that Philadelphia is nearly if not
one fourth the largest in area, and is com.
pacty built. Whether or not this postu-
late of mine be readily conceded, the
question properly aud legitimately arises,
why the disparity in population or why
the larger town, should have the lesser
number Of inhabitants. 1t requires but
little arithmetical calculation, or fgur.
ing to solve the problem. This city had
at the taking Of the last national census
in 1870, something over sixty thousand
more dwelling houses than New York, and
more in number than that city Brooklyn
and Jersey City combined. This may ap.
pear improbable to many, but such are
the figures and statistics at Washington.
An explanation is easily made the last
census report informs us, that in New
\ ork the average is about three families
to each dwelling, while the city founded
by Penn has an average less than one
and half families tor each house. Such
an institution as tenement houses is com.
paratiyely unknown here, while in Gotham
it is estimated that five hundred thou
sand or probably nearly one-half its pop.
ulation live or stay in tenement houses I;
aud that tens Of thousands Of them are
necessarily hcrded together, nearly as
promisciously as are the animals in the
cattle pens OF "Abelne. What school
Of vice What commentary Oh the
prospective character OF thousands taat
are yet in pratting Infancy; aud of how
many in after life may it not he rn-';
ucu.iy saiu, IL wcrc better they had new
or been born.
Sixty years ago this was tho leading
commercial city, but by confguration
Of nature, New Amsterdam that, was now
has the leading position in that respect in
the new world but as Judge Kelley late.
ly said, and history confirms it, that fu-
ture commercial prosperity or supremacy,
is not as safely assured as is the prosper
i:y Of that Of great manufacturing ba.
sis" The former may be directed to
other points or partially SO, while it is
difficult to shake the foundation or top.
pie the superstruction Of the latter. Phil
adelphia already leads all and every town
or city 10 the country, in the important
matter Of manufacturing not only so,but
she is steadily, yes, rapidly again becom-
ing great importing and commercial
point. In addition to. her lines of steamers
in successful operation to Liverpool and
Antwerp, current report has it that the
managers of the American line are al
ready negotiating the purchase in Liver.
pool of four additional steamships to add
to their line: which is the only one in
this country thai now flies the American
ensign from its peak. The LEDGER" says,
and it is Sir Oracle" here in matters Of
correctness, that Second Street is built up
eleven miles in length it stretches itself
along the Delewa7o river front, and is
the longest built up street in town. and
is nearly as straight as ray Of light.
when not :cfracted. Girard Avenue is an
uptown cross street, and | think the long
est one of its class is fully five miles in
length, starting at point near the
Delaware. and threading its way west
across the city until at length it crosses
the Schuylkil over the new iron bridge,
that spans that beautiful river. This
bridge is one Of the most magnificent
structures OF the kind this country can
boast o.! being 1000 feet in length, and
100 feet in width, and cost the round sum
of seventeen hundred thousand dollars.
The avenue continues on, skirting tho
northern border OF West Philadelphia
passing within short distance of the
centennial grounds, and few squares
farther on. will here remark that the
centennial buildings that arc now going
up are situated in West Fairmount park
on large plat Of ground Of fifty acres
nearly level called Landsdown Plateau"
between 42d Street and Belmont Avenue,
near the northern edge Of West Philadel-
phia, and nearly a mile west OF the
Schuylkil. Tho narrowest poiut in the
city is considerably over two miles in
width, so it will readily be observed IS
John Chinaman would say, that it il
'muchee" of place in area or size. Dur.
ing the last decade previous to 1870, the
increase in population in New York wa:
fourteen per cert, while during the same
period Of time. the ratio increase Of in thi.
city was nineteen per cent.
MIR. W. Hcpworth Dixon. the distiu.
guished author Of "Greater Britain" ha!
written letter from Philadelphia to tht
Liverpool Mercury, from which l extract
tho following: THE growth of Philsdel
phia is in truth amazing. Men are now
living in Walnut street, who recall day
when she was not as large as Croydon
She is now larger than Berlin. In 1856
she was about the size of Edinburgh. l.
1860 she was ahead of Liverpool. A
the present time Philadelphia is NOR,
than equal to Manchester, Liverpool ant
Sheffield combined, Ii size is but anothe
name for power, the city Of brotherly low
is metropolitan, Leaving out of accoun
the more than doubtful figures as to th'
Chinese cities Philadelphia claims to b
the fourth city in .hc world, and is large
to-day than Moscow and st Petersburgb
the two capitals Of Russia-put to
gcther and larger than the four combiu
ed capitals of United Italy, Rome, Flor
cnce, Naples and Turin" He farthe
adds, "lier growth is not abnormal, bu
natural A railroad bridge secured pros
J perity TO Omaha: line of docks mad