Wilmington daily commercial., 1875-07-10
FIRST EDITION.
PHILADELPHIA.
our sATu uRDAY LErrkR.


TOR KEkLEY FHAuDf A CASE IN POINT
DEATH OF col. Tnos. II. FLoRENcE-A PoIITIc-
| IAN OF THE OLD toHooI.--A TERRIBLE WIFE MUIR
DER-JEaLousy AND REMoRsE-oouNoIL Vi. THE
| WATER coMMIssfoN-THE CHfrDRENs FREE Ex-
| oURsIoNs &c. &c.
| Specim Correspondence Of TIC Commercial.
| PHILADELPHIA, July 10.
Nothing has been said lately of the Pennsyl
vapia Railways abattoir project and it may be
fondly supposed that the same has abandoned.
No ono who knows much about "Pennsylyania"
| persistence, however, would be quick TO adopt
that view. In point of fact the work of
| constructing the mammoth slaughter house
| is steadily progressing and it will be in
| full odor in good season for the Centennial.
| lsntreaty, argument, Indignation, all arc as
nothing against the power, little short of abso-
| luto, which this company has in Philadelphia,
| and nothing will abate the inevitable nuisance
| but the epidemic it is likely to cause.- The peo-
pie of West Philadelphia arc highly indignant at
| present over small fat boiling concern 39th
| street near Haverford. Ii will have to vacate
under tho pressure being brought against it, but
besides beng milo further from the thickly
| built portion of the city than the Scnuylkill
front It is an insignificant affair compared with
the projected pest house of the Railway Compa-
| ny.
| The Fourth" is 30 old talo that shall not
| attempt to reanimate its dead glorics. 1t is
i choubh w tnhu IL pHshtu III CDulploLbDbbh
any celebration of the day this city has known.
| The capacity of the Park was never so
| thoroughly tested. The moving portion of the
town was 30 far attracted there, that the streets
| were unusually quiet for the day. The Park
authorities estimate that 75 600 persons entered
| the gates on foot. The returns of the street
| railways are accurate and show the immense
! number of 10000 persons to have been
ried by them to Fairmount Park, and parts ad
jacent, on Monday. These figures, added, make
255 000, and if We count in the mutitudes reach
| ing the ground in vehicles, by boats up the river
| by steam cars and by country roads in directions
opposite to the city it will not be.unreasonable to
claim that at least 800 600 persons visited the
| Park and the Centennial grounds during the day
and evening. The entire population of such
cities as Boston or Baltimore in the Park and
yet 1T did not seem crowded, except about Ma
chinery Hall wheu tho concerts were given. or
| at the exhibition of fireworks. This pleasure
ground is as enormous as it il beautiful. 1t is
justly our pride and boast-the finest breathing
| space belonging to any city in the world.
Is g Motor Keeley q second Watts, is he q
misinformed person, or is he fraudI That in
the three-sided question which now exercises q
number of people. Most of us plant him upon
the second clause of the query. 81 Nothing can
come of nothing said one of old, and no one
has yet deprovod the saying. Mr.. Iseeey's
tumbler of water which shall drive a steamship
to Europe and bring it back and be tho same
tumbler of water still, is suc.i marvellous thing
for us to swallow that tho wonders of the
Yet We know what the age has done, too and
chat makes us pause before making a
complete denial. What can be more
wonderful than the application of electricity?
II Mr.. Keeley should do all lie claims lie can he
could not beat the telegraph. Tho time while
it has made us sceptical has also made us len.
lent we run tho risk of being thought foolishly
credulous through the increasing range of pos
sbties which modern achievements have
opened up to MS.
A local story may have some point in this re-
lation. The introduction of illuminating gas in
Philadelphia was vehemently opposed when the
idea first started. The notion was ridicnled
a great deal moro strongly than MIR. Keeley'a
project is now, and fierce personal interest en-
tered into the discussion. The pesky
thing was to explode and blow up the streets
and houses wherever 'laid on" Committees
were appointed to work up public sentiment
against the innovation. My informant IN the
matter was one of the parties, and among the
citizens he called on was tho well-known Dr.
Burd, whose residence at the S w. corner of
Ninth and Chestnut Streets was one of our
former landmarks. All tho known arguments
were advanced to tho old Doctor, who was be-
sought to give his influence against the danger
ous experiment of gas. lighting. The Doctor
listened patiently, without saying a word.
When tho ernest committeeman had ceased,
DIR. Burd said, .'Noung man, do you see the
projecting endh of those pipes ON tho ceiling
and walls of this room = The young
man said lie saw thom. Well" said the
Doctor, 'if you were to go through this house
You would see such pro oections Ill every room
IN IT, They are the ends of gas pipes. When
was in Paris last year and saw the effect of
tho new light, | knew tho world must very
speedily adopt the plan. My first work upon
coming home to have pipos laid through
my house, 70 that could have gas as soon as
Philadelphia had concluded to manufacture it.
| suppose the business between us is about
settled I" Well, it was rather quencher, and
YOU may well believe that young man never
forgot the incident. The total of such recoec-
| tions is in Mr.. Keeleys favor, even though
what he claims surpasses belief. You remeln-
Der what Josh Billings says of the caterpillar
-"I know he can't bite,-but he might take n
| notion to-"
The death of Col. Thos. b. Florence was a
sharp reminder both of the flight of time and OF
recent changes in the conduct of our public
men. Florence had fallen latterly out of notice.
| but his death revived something of the feeling
of twenty years ago. He was thoroughly devo-
| ted to his consttuents-no Phlladepha repre-
sentative more so-and he was honest to the
core. No man among us was once more popular
or better known. His open, handsome face,
| and sturdy figure were familiar to all Phiadel-
phans, and equally familiar was the
knowledge that ,'the Widows Friend was
as ready to attend to the claims of the
| poorest man in his district as to the richest.
| The Sobriguet quoted was indeed applied to
Florence through his efforts for the poor of this
section 1t was through him mainly that the
| Navy Yard was made the means OF providing
work for thousands of people, and OF attracting
| to tho southern part of the city class oil INDUS
| trious mechanics. Mr.. Florence not man
1 of culture but he had fine natural gfts. He had
| u full command of language, both i'll speaking
| and writing; he was ready debater,an lively
political editor. Strange TO think that man who
| not a great While ago played go prominent part
| in cur local affairs should have scarcely name
| to those just pressing to the front
| A shocking wife murder has excited our peo"
pie since last wrote. man named William
Brown assaulted his wife, who bad left HIM be-
cause of cruel treatment, and killed her almost
instantly by stabbing her in the neck. These
people had been married less than two years
| the woman was scarcely moro than girl and
| yery pretty Married but twenty mouths and
murdered by her husband and the deed ready
| for committal long before even this brief space
| had passed. The. murder was committed last
/ SATURDAY. but Brown succeeded in eiudlug GUS
| tody Until All early hour this morning, when
following the impulse often noticed in such
cases. after well escaping pursuit. he ventured
| back to tho uelghborhoou of his crime, and was
taken by officers shrewdly there posted. He has
confessed, alleging jealousy as the cause, and
| eyincng the btterest remorse. All i'll all more
painful history is rarely met.
| The water question has been complicated by
recent actions of Councils. The new Board of
Engineers is supposed to have the whole subject
under consideration, yet Councils break in upon
the nlan and mako contracts for building