The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1876-03-23
pITTsBURG.

PITTSBURG. ....
ir~92c4 @sa# a%al9t- =. -. =.
damned into Fame by Mistake-A safc
Plaos-Ehieves Cannot Break In and
! SCALA Nan who. like 'Kind Words"
Can Never Dde-Aoral Minstrel Shows
An Sor svsst Charity's sake-aorSsous
TNblsanx. f,
nv PITrsBuRo, March 10, 1876. i
EDITOR JouRNA1-1n speaking Of
the Pittsburg Exposition in a letter
sent some weeks since BY the present
| writer, the following sentence occur
red: eve did not join in the first
rush. not being fond Of that sort Of
JAM" and the writer most emphatical-:
y meant "jam," not coveting the
misplaced "fame" that served only to
turn q famous pun into an in-fa-
nous blunder. Possibly you may
fail to appreciate the neceasity or i'm:
portance of the above correction.
Believe however, it is not given mere
ly for the sake Of preserving this
small specimen Of the "lowest order
Of w.t." motives Of a broader basis
prompt the. explanation. Even as
"trifles make up the sum Of life," 50
do small errors make up the sum of
human folly, consequently should new.
or be tolerated, either in printers or
young children.
They bavS an institution here of
kind that is becoming quite univer-
sal in cities. namely, 4 "safe Deposit
Company" It is in q fine though
not extensive building, which one
day We visited. Entering very
Handsomely furnished apartment We
found in attendance several elderly,
!digni6ed gentlemen, who politely did
the honors Of the establishment. We
were surprised at finding the i'm.
mense fre-proof vault built in the
center of the room. By reason Of
being accompanied by a friend we'll
known to the proprietors, we were
permitted to penetrate even into the
innermost recesses of those mysteri-
Gus precincts. The interior, lit by
gas, is divided by walls, honey.comb-
ed with tin boxes Of various sizes,
numbering some thirty.three hundred,
the individual key Of each being ut
terly unlike all the other keys. These
boxes. rented for any given time, are
intended for the storing aud safe.
keeping Of jewelry, silverware, mon.
ey, bonds, or any valuables the los
Of which is not particularly desired,
and is found to be a great conven.
fence for people going from home,
thus leaving their dwellings deserted. |
The passages between and around
those partitions are extremely mar
row. Altogether it is queer, uncan-
ny sort of place, unpleasantly sug-
gestive Of cell or inquisition cham.
Der where one must perforce do PEN
auoe for some henious ofense com.
mitted against con6ding government
or remain sealed up in that living
tomb until some secret, relative to
the welfare Of at least half the habit
able globe, be slowly extracted by
the persuasive force of thumb.screws,
though the mere mention of those
lively little instruments would be
quite sufficient to have caused some
Of our party to instantly reveal any
profound secret happening to be in
their possession, and even enable
them to conjure one up in order to
avoid all misunderstanding and pro-
vide for the general safety. While
traversing the gloomy vault I reflect
ed that even wickedness had its bright
side; for did not thieves. by coveting
the reprehensible habit of breaking in
and stealing andsteadfastly persisting
in the same despite all circumstances
to the contrary, didthey not thus pro-
vide a means by which those nice old
gentlemen could make a comfortable
living without much effort, as beftted
their years? The most venerable of
the trio, it was to be noticed, did not at
any time move more than six inches
from the ponderous door which swung
slowly and solemnly, with peculiar
air Of reserve, upon its massive hing
Is. This guardian Of public proper
ty kept unwearying watch and ward,
like an ancient, well-conducted, drag
on, at the entrance of the cave con-
tanning the boarded treasures. Upon
being informed that this was the
only person to whom was known the
intricacies and complications Of the
cunningly-devised lock, I gazed up:
on his sphinx.like countenance with
curiosity not unmingled with ave.
involuntarily exclaimlng, "Supposing
you should die?' The answer came
prompt and decisive, uttered in a
tone Of calm conviction, "But I do
not mean to die" ."ohr' remarked I,
At once enlightened and relieved; for
whatever unoertetnty there might be
attendant upon ether questions, I felt
this one to be settled beyond a doubt.
There j. probably no city where
the poor are better cared for than in
Pittsburg. In fact it pays to be poor
here, for then oil the necessities of
l;Eo 49, noo,,~o5 ,r:&ho,,& o~- - H.