The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-09-03
sTA0NdTIOr IN PATERSON.
A CITY TINT wa. Born OF the Bruin Of the
first Sec rotary OF the Treasury.

nd alao tn make a tour of observation around
a great manufacturing town, which knew mad
been suffering for three years from the effects
Of the mic OF 1873, and-the depression In man
interests. as we'll a. all other Kinds
of business ever since. / took one OF the dozen
or NOR. hacks which were waiting for ptSsen-
gers at the Paterson depot, who did not ar
rive by the train with me, aud told the coach
man to drive to the Falls by route that would |
take me through the manufacturing quar-
ter Of the city. Let no one who has
not visited Paterson within the last twelve
months dream that he can Imagine how that
town looks to a stranger and a late tourist In |
Western New York passing through the pros
porous semi-agricutural, sent manufacturing |
towns Of that part Of the btate. How |
that ride through paralyzed Paterson affected |
me may be test understood by a CONVEX alton |
which took place between q PatersoOiin and |
mvaelf at the foot OF the ruined staircase which |
used to run up to the top Of tall tower, now |
also In ruins, that stands near the point Of Oar
rett Mountains, preci ptous hill above and be- |
yund the Falls, which commands fine birds
eye view Of the whole city.
"what Ia the matter with your townf In
quired ut looks like Southern town the
year after Lees surrender"
Hardly 50 bad as that"
"Y,s, Just as bad, with a difference; but
really the difference is not In your favor-in APP
pearance, al any rate, Whatever II may be In
reality"
please explain. ! know that between six
and seven thousand men, mostly mechanics,
who were thrown out of employment by the
cessation or rather dimnution Of the demand
for locomotives. have moved away from Pater-
son within the last three years. but our silk mills
and other manufactures have been on the In
crease. Just at present the river ia very low,
lower. IN fact, than It has ever been before-so
the oldest habitsuts say-but surely Paterson
don't look ike a CONQUERED town, does itf''
"shsl 1 tell you precisely how It looks
TO mef'
Yes.
| "well, II 10 the deadest-l looking town In oil
Yankeedom. As rode through those narrow
streets running between tall brick ia tories.
heard only few strokes ofthe hammers, afaint
buzz Of spiudies. l saw through the broken
panes and falling shutters Of the Windows
| only a few men at work within those
great buildings. Those few had the resigned, de-
jected air and manner that the CharlestOniaDs
| wore tho year after the war. They looked as "
they were Ia no hurry to get through their tasks.
| The canals are protected by iron rsilings that
| look old and rusty, and so constructed M to
| give but little security for any reckless Young
| sters that might be romping along beside them.
| However. saw no children. There Us no fresh
paint ON anything. The streets are upswept un-
sprinkled. Through the great gazing doors OF
the locomotive factories saw piles Of rusty
tools, that looked 10 " no workmans hands had
| touched ZEN for months, and piles of old iron
| and rust and old cindeTs-not fresh ones both
In and around the buildings. In some places
tho " crn- out, loose-hanging machinery bands
wer e tapesired with cotwebs. Only here and
there / saw locomotive on the frames under
| going repair. Tue superintendent OF one snop
told me that they turned out ABOUT Two To-
| como ives a mouth now, willie formerly they
liz hands formerly they mad 100 One laI re
silk manufacturer said thar he had not more
than half nis usu.i numper OF hanos AZ work,
bul saiu that SIS for want Of water. lie SPOKE
| despondently Of the low price OF silks, OF tue
depression III manu- 'ctures II over the world,
and VITA a dreamy. wisttul gaze asked me whN
We newspaper people old not hnd cut the cause
of the sroubl- and suggest some remedy. lie
lonk ed So much IKE a ooutherner al 4 could
scarcely realize was not down IN Dixie. The
confident, sell reliant air Of thelN Yankee waf
not there. A. | came on up the nil to the Fans,
hnf @,-asJdta pfp' yno wers evidently WORK n
mooullv on vacancy. few we're walking LEILA
ureiy down the nili, with their TN pals In mi,
hHiids. no coachnan told me that those n d
nali "orA; the others hau none. | saw a fe W
c'iidreu, mostly Girls, aud few young women,
solhs toward the factories. nv coacunan VINO
seemed To- be weii-informed man for MS occu.
| patton, told me that III y were SILK workers lie
sAld that few years ago toe lildren ~ the
mechanics VINO tad worked IN the loc,nntivs
factories aided a tie to the family stores ~
working m toe SILK mills but now the main s,,.,
p"rS oi Ihe iar'hles came from the cnildren's
Yes, tnet Is fact" said the Paterson man.
hen arrived at what the ooaehman to,d
me Wns ths thil-, was aghast. recognized the
eatufes 81 the sc nerf around Passalc Fans, Tor
! hAd seen number Of photoQrapus on ths
tIatei but where was tue wateT2
. wen, y u SEE. shd the cOachman, in an.
s"er 10 my qnestion, tine water h ~ took fhe
Ave months. VI 'o'
| d sba
which the water Of tne P.ss.io rushes bef'',s
II lis over the eli A. into the narrow rock vnrss
| below, wnen The riv,r IL al the usual noi,,nt i
suppose bnt al tue water saw wa littla r,li
| on tue DINER side ~ the scorched, rocky favine
, ning WIN "a muslcal tinkle over the preri'
| pee, aiu almost dissolved lntO spraV before IL
| reached the bottom. | came on thrn,lgb tns
| PARK wiz us almost unryalied natural aJyan-
| tase- as etsdre ground, ana founu Il wear.
M the same air ~ GiapIdation nat ever ,thing
| else does tha' nave seen. even to tnis nnlf
| ruined tower, with Its tumble down stairwnv"
| Inc Pdler smiled sad 9nlle and a ia
NV picture was overdrawn, but acknoslejesd
| tlal things might look so to one VINO mai i,isIy
VISITED Eiihlra and bnghHmtOn. and VINO ha A.
moreover uIlVen through the most un .ttrnrtivr
o, mT pa, na'snaou patts ~ Paterson. lie poin,ed
OUT tie rare beauties Of the lan,-cAr, arounc
! when we stood and the extent Of the town a,
our ieel, the water works ry witch 1t /, sun
plru WIN water for manufacturing or ot,'ar
| purposes, even IN such a season oi unpteredent-
| 90 ryu9ht 40 tue inrent, aud ADVISED ne Ia
all meai 10 ses Mt William NuIsnn ~, me- n,., wy
| Ran of terson and Pdssaic countv md tna
HSN-ih INV W HhNhI nitkitl DetuIe | lat
son, ana assured me that there was To-, t,',,rh
.apltil a'd energy, United win genuine Yankee
tuTll ~ faiSIN.n To- ieL the Oldest mannfac ',I-
'"s Own iIl Anerita ~ uuwn.
lhr"uRn Tue new part Of the town drove
some oi the residence are alinoSl pilatlal nir
lculiriN that 81 Mrs Phip Rantriv Along
tlat oouleVird most ot tue houses are act Il OK
from HE sidewalk and are surrounded Min nus
grounds. There IL evidently an abundance Of
cdlltdl 10 iHieison. The improvements. thouyh
are not IN eoud taste. Perhaps manu- acturing
does not increase the aesthetic ualuro II ths |
'ul'clur"ri at any rae II has not develoned
nu'n ia thht direction among the Pat,fsonltun
he aust nnd neat ull over the clty were lntoI.
cradle mere Ire no street water cart I'm pntnr-
son. stopped u Mr. Nelson's door and IDlinn !
MIS- Nelson % home, Her husband WIS out
put ne would c'li on me In the evrutng al tie |
hntel H. came, and brought Mrs Nelson win |
uihl' ana from Two intelligent, sens ihle ersons
readers Of IHE sun. 'N'''' ''o
, MT Neison wll not admit that Paterson is a |
q hu hahkto town. 1t may be a little par |
Dyed but the sIirlt Of Its foundeIs has |
been too thoroughly infused Into he |
population ami Transmitted TO the Dr.s- |
en- generation Tor the town to REMAIN |
IN us present condition. IL has had depressiul,s
pel"te' and every time IL has recovered and be-
come more ur lsperOus than before. "Wuhout
gong ~ tho early history OF this place -" sail
Mr. Nelson, will run rapidly over ia history
IS a manufacturing town, and Won will agree
WI u mo mat II viii probably npvrt erfI,aty