Wilmington daily commercial., 1875-04-03
FIRST EDITION.
PHILADELPHIA.
OUR SATuR DAY LETTE

Special Correspondence of the Con,nerdiat
PHILADELPHIA, April 2.
A scandal has just attached to our courts
which it will take considerable seven handed
justice" to make respectable people forget. All
observers of what goes on in tho world are famil-
iar with the contempt of deceney to say moth
ing of disregard of average com
mon propriety, shown in the manage
ment of "variety" entertainments. 1t is
not at all necessary that these places should
be visited in order to gain sufficiently clear
idea of their character. Their advertisements
tell the story, not only in words but in offensive
pictures which by some Amazing laxity of NOR
ais in the Department of Police are allowed TO
deii'e this city i'll all direction. Or course
some of these places are better tnan others, but
the best of them are bad and the lowest OF them
are vile beyond description. Finally all attempt
was made by certain gentlemen residing in the
northern part of the city to make an example OF
the business, and by procuring an entering m,
junction to @ see IL rs,aneian something a, could tha
public. This was especially as guard against
the decentralization OF youth. The establishment
on which this righteous attack was made was
" Gilmore's Varieties" situated at lOth y Cal-
lowhill Sts., and the particular point made in the
complaint of citizens was in regard to the ballet
performances encouraged at that place. The
"Parisian Can-Can" It had been asserted by the
manager could be enjoyed in his den as it could
be nowhere outside of the Jdrdin de Mabaite, and
sufficient evidence was given IN the trial to show
that the exhibition appealed to the lowest and
most degrading feelings. Tue descriptions OF
sworn witnesses we're quite unit to print, and 1t
seems incredible that any man could have dared
to give an entertainment which 1t has been de-
cared would have been Missed even in paris iii
this CITY, Well, the end of all is that the mana
ger has been acquitted Despite flood of tes-
timony of the most convincing and unlmpeacha-
Bile kind, model jury found the Can-Can to be
not nuisance-thus giving it, presumably,
fresh license to outrage public sentiment. with
such verdict to support them. the Variety
managers will d ubtless strain every nerve to
invent something "spicier" than has yet been
seen, and the result may be left to Widest con-
lecture. What is the limit of submission to law
in such case as this? Some of the jurymen
in the Gilmore trial were intelligent and reputa-
BILE citizens but others were very Ignorant anu
Indifferent to tho interests involved.@
The great bridge at Paramount approaches
completion, but comparatively few OF the people
who are footing the bill know much about the
progress of the work for which they are paying.
Thus 1t is that get into certain limits, not on.
" of labor but of observation. Many parts oil
the town are as unfamiliar to even the active
man as are London or Berlin. thousands OF
phladelphians never think of going to Fair
mount for years together unless some country
cousin should visit them and carry them off ON a
tour of sightseeing. 1t happens every day that
Phadelphians who ought to be better ln-
formed on local topics gaze on the new
double bridge with undisguised wonder. II il
80 much greater work than any descriptions
have given idea of ; is so thoroughly unlike any
piece of architecture in this vicinity ! and adds
so strikingly to the singular variety OF scenery a
this point on the Schuylkill that the universal
sentiment regarding it is one OF deiight ana as,
touishment The lower deck is now finished
with the exception of laying the permanent car,
rage way which work cannot be done until the
approaches are completed for the upper bridge,
30 as to temporarily close the portion below 10
travel In a short time all passage must be
made.on top, an awkward arrangement as IL VIII
compel teams to go many squares out Oh
their way - but 1t is unavoidable, ana
will last a very little while. up 10 this
time public convenience has been carefully con
sidered. The old wire bridge roadway has been
used without interruption all the time that the
new structure was being erected under and
around it. 1t was a most ingenious and COM
plcatcd piece of work. Finally the last OF the
old - suspension timbers are being knocked
away and parties desiring pieces OF them J., iof
souvenirs had better be quick about lt. Inc
Wire Bridge in its time wa! one OF the giorles OF
the City Philadelphia made many times more
ado over it than she does over this incomparably
greater achievement of the builders arts. Al
present, instead of the modest piers, and the
gracefully swinging wire cables, is seen an
immense array of iron arches, IN
height reaching the elevation of the former
piers, stretching unbrokenly across the river,
and then continuing by series OF mahholn
columns, trusses. and grders for several squares
over land until they reach the intersection oil
35th Il Bridge ST. (now named Spring Garden
St y The work looks more like an aqueducl
than bridge. When finished, by the lst OF
May, the Race and Vine st. cars are to go Mest
on the upper deck and come East on the old lev
| ell While the lower roadway is being laid the
| cars will have to run both ways on the upper
| BRIDGE Il system of "turn outs" having been de
vised for the purpose. l may state here, too
| that the Race and Vine line is about laying
| branch from its main track up 5oth streeo 70 UT
| .'Xoo, returning on Both street. This Will be
| long needed accommodation and will answer
valuable purpose during the Centennial.
| Who are the best eeemosynary agents III YOU
| section? Here the Y Nj. Q. A. carry oil th'
palm in that regard beyond dispute; WheheVe
the Young Christians pass around the hat It II
| done to some purpose,-and they are further
| more continually passing it around on one plei
or another. The grand idea at present witt
them is to get money sufficient Tor TIE erection
Gh.snut shS n'w srests ssanF f. q 'his ''
the faithful young females as well a
| Young men, are mustered into the service of th
. Bazaar of Nations" and the result is likely t.
be very tidy one. No one understands man
| aging this sort of thing better than MIR. Wana
maker, and every known trick of the trade /
called into requisition. The slght-seer gets mt
| the fair for the moderate admission fee fo
fars) of fifty cents but after LIE gets III he find
that all the =" departments have an extra at
| taclcd to them. lie cannot get around tn
show for less than dollar,-this being til
ann. it must be remembered, asked TO
the privilege of coming in to buy things. Will
the object is charitable one it may be quet
toned if there il not considerable unfalrnes
about this. great many people go to tn
't Bazaar as to an exhibition and without an
particular desire to help build the Y. NJ q.
Hall. Such parties pay an unusually large ac
mission fee and the " extras may be termed b
people who do not go to church regularly as e>
periments in the game of gouge. The idea q
the g Bazaar is pretty one and II IL pity u
spoiled by such sharpness. horticultural la
has been fitted up on either side with "coui
terfeit presentments of the houses of var
ous countries. and goods supposed to Y
native to each of the designated local
than the houses are the merchants groupe
therein. who are feminine Y. C.'s, dressed-wit
as near an approach to accuracy as is compat
BILE with American ideas of comeliness-ln th
costumes of the respective countries. There al
plenty of young women who are not happy III
less they are giving their energies to son
: make-believe work like this, who at the san
time would scorn an Independence gained |
standing behind real counter. Still, withor
looking too deeply INTO this, the sight OF thes
+ pcturesquely dressed young persons ID pleasn
. enough and is doubtless the main stay
the :. Bazaar" 1t il "show" In I'll
broadcast sense. Tableau arex given, as well |
recitations, songs in character. &c. On one
| the programmes / notice q tBroadsword Dance
! ! which sounds for all the world like the legend