The New York herald., 1875-10-28

ernor Tilden's State ticket to attest their
support Of his reform measures, who never
theless detest and repudiate the undemo-
cratic one man power welded in this city by
Mr.. John Kelly, and who would sooner see
the State ticket defeated than Mr.. Kelly's
arrogant dictatorship strengthened Ex-Gov-
ernor Seymour must not lend his eloquence
and his great influence to whitewash Tam
many, which nearly destroyed the democratic
party under Tweed and has failed to redeem
its reputation under Kelly. If the weather
favors there will be great meeting tonight,
but it will be tribute to the eminent
speaker and to Governor Tilden, not an in
dorsement of Tammany.
The Fire on the Pacific Coast--Innam-
mable Cities.
An appeal is made to us for aid to our
brethren on the Pacific coast who have suf-
fered a calamity which as yet is without par
allel except in our strange American civiliza-.
ton. The burning of Chicago and Boston
and Portland is followed by the burning of
Virginia City, one of the most prosperous
communities of our Pacific empire. Virginia
City has grown up in a few years, mainly on
account of its proximity to the great silver
mines of Nevada, to be town of unusual
brilliancy, enterprise and prosperity. There
has scarcely been a mail from California
during the last year that has not told us of
the incredible wealth that has been gathered
in the Big Bonanza mines upon which it
stands. The city was built over these mines,
and was really nothing more than a great
workshop for the use of those who lived by
mining development. The destruction Of
the town is only part Of the evil Of the
fire. 1t arrests a great industry 1t puts
sudden stop upon the large and daily in
creasing supply of bullion 1t throws thou
sands of people out of shelter and employ
ment at a time when shelter and employ
ment are peculiarly needful.
In all new settlements there is a tendency
to build with the lightest and most easily
procured materials. No one regards the
structures so erected as other than tempo
rary, but every one puts up such temporary
buildings, SO that we find cities built of wood
and arranged with all the method that can in
sure their destruction sooner or later by
general confagration. Cities like Chicago
and Boston, that had reached the age of per-
manent structures, have narrowly escaped
being blotted out by great fires. Massive
buildings of iron and granite, but rooted
with wood, lined the streets. Warehouses
that to all outward appearance were perfectly
freproof, but which in reality were mere
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shafts, through which the fire from the
lower stories ragged upward with the melt
ing heat of blast furnaces, presented
the imposing appearance to the visitor that
won for these cities their character for wealth
and grandeur. But when the fire fend
came these magnificent buildings were shriv-
elled into nothing by his breath, while many
of the humble brick cottages escaped. yir-
ginia City, New, is the latest example of the
fate of infammable cities. Perched on the
arid eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Noun
tains, near the California State line,
this lately prosperous settlement was the
centre of the mining activity and enter
prise of the State Now, thanks to wooden
houses wooden churches, wooden hotels,
wooden sidewalks, wooden fences and
wooden everything that could be made Of
wood the city is a heap Of ashes. Can we
not learn something, even in this great me-
| tropolis, from the fate of Virginia City? Our
water supply is abundant it is true, and we
possess a most efficient corps Of fremen,
/ trained to battle with the dreaded ele-
ment; but our building system is SO
bad and dangerous as to invite destruc-
ton on the city. There is scarcely a
row of tenement houses in New York that
is not a source of danger. Party walls are
mere thin mockeries Of the name. Flooring
joists are recklessly built into chimney
breasts. Roofs are light and often covered
with an incendiary compound Of pitch and
paper. Wooden fences rendered highly in
fammable by long exposure to the summer
heat extend from house to house and from
end to end of every block, forming the most
perfect conductors of flame in case Of fire.
New York has hitherto escaped by q miracle.
Let us reform our building system and meet
the mercies of God half way by exercising
the intelligence with which He has gifted US.
PEACE OR NAK.-''oo lar as human Judg-
ment can discern, peace is more assured now
than at any time during the twenty years
preceding the reconstruction Of the Empire "
Such was the semi-prophetic observation
made yesterday in the name of William Of
Germany to the German Parliament Such
phrase from an Emperor may Justly lead
people to apprehend the early occurrence Of
war.
THE LEADING MEN on the anti-Tammany
ticket are Hackett and Phelps. About them
strong canvass is made because Of the at
tacks of John Kelly upon our honest Re-
corder and our high-minded District Attor-
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