Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1876-01-14

" biOll anu 'Oro iaNAHHf INV ~ |
ire, factory, and church bell swung reck-
essly. 1t was impossible to distinguish |
the air was full of a loud hum
ming, in which broken notes Of bells, fog
horns, screams, and reports of rockets,
were mixed like mad,-for the coming-in
Of the hundreth year. The morning was
SO lovely it was a mockcry to call it a win
ter's day-for it smiled clear and soft as
April.
CALLS AND CALLERS.
Calls were made and received in 4 more
economical way than for years past. The
attention of gentleman was largely paid to
reducing their carriage expenses, and most
took the short cut to d6ing this by going on
foot Men who spent twenty five dollars
for carriage hire last New Year, gleetully
told how they brought it down to eight
dollars for this. The pleasant mildness Of
the day gave us the funny spectacle OF su-
periine callers going their rounds in fuli-
dress suits. AS if lady should parade
Broadway in a trained dress, with a lace
cap on her bosom.
THE HBLPLESS POOR.
Vigorous efforts are made by the BeEe-
violent Societies to provide for the helpless
poor, before the cold, which we are taught
will strengthen as days begin to lengthen.
Soup-houses are set up in different parts of
the city, where hot, nourshing meal is
given for about six cents and several de-
cent free lodging houses afford shelter for
the homeless, deserving poor: leaving the
station houses TO keep the professional
tramps ard beggers. Two things are
wanting TO make the life of the poor in
New York and elsewhere anything but in
tolerable wretchedness. The first is decent
lodgings, and provisions at low rate. 1t
is true that rents and expenses in general
are three times as high here as they are
IN London: fact which weighs heavily
on the rich, and is all but extinction to the
poor. uishrents force the price Of every
thing up to correspond, in order to pay
them. Nor need any of your readers think
this IS matter which does not concern
them for the tendency Of prices, of work
and produce, in other towns, tends to that
Of the great centres. Servants measure
their wages, and merchants their gains, by
the prices in New York, Their isn't Il
village where this is read, that people do
not charge as near the regular rates Of the
cities, as they dare. There is not town
in the States, that is not interested, for its
own sake, in the condition of things here
because it must feel their influence sooner
or later The only comfort of hard times,
is, that they must bring living down for
rich and poor. The eXtortiOn of rents
charged in tenement houses is frighttul.
1t is fact that the swarming, squalid ten
ements on filthy streets bring in more rent
than uptown dwellings. Not an attic
closet, with half the glass out of the panes
grimy and decayed, but brings its four dol
! lars a month to the owner. And their vii
/ be forty rooms in building, tire decentes
ones calling for ten dollars a mouth this
| in the poorest class of teuements.
Mr.. BOWEN.
The fact that it has been made to appear
that Mr. Bowen's paper, The Independent,
was used, to some eXtcut, to further th'
Pacific railroad scheme, is animadverteI
upon severely. 1t is astonishing how wis,
people are, after the fact. At the time
The Independent was urging the building o
the road, that paper, like every other on
in the United States, believed not only il
Jay Cooke, but in the road. jag Cook
was supposed 10 be strong enough to carr,
the enterprise TO a successful end, anC
The Independent is no more to be blamet
for assisting him, than are the dcpostOr
who had their money in his bank for lOsin
it. | should like to 90 through the safe
of some of the papers that are abusing Mr.
Bowen, and see if | couldn't find some q
those terrible bonds therein. The most G
them had some of that pork, and believ
they all came honestly by it. The fact
Mr.. Bowen did what every uewspape
man did, he worked for what he beleve
to be = ood thing, and was paid for
only what he should have been. 1t
queer if Statesman, like dozen l cOul
mention, should have his expenses paid 70
advocating Il scheme, and a newspapc
. IL Tho fact ,hnt ~ failaH mo L..
no difference. l have known quite mum
Der Of very excellent schemes that hav
failed. Jav Cooke has gone, but the roa
will yet be built, and Mr.. Bowen will liv
to read his articles in its advocacy, wit
much satisfaction and right. Here let m
say that those who are abusing Mr.. Cook
are not doing the incest thing in nature
When he was prosperous, and carrying o
great enterprises, he was the most popula
man in America. 1t is only since he sue
cumbed to circumstances that would hav
crushed anyone, that he is counted differ
emily How many men would have don
better than he did ?
THE CARNIVAL OF CRIME.
Is crime, Ike cholera, epedemic ? !
would seem So One murder breeds anoth
er. The pistol, knife and bludgeon hav,
been very busy from the day before NeN
Years Till now, and the police reports shoN
no abatement even yet. One fIenzied ma
shoots his wife, cut the throats of his fou
children, and then kills himself, whc
last murder was the only one that tn
world need BE- thankful for. The numbe
of grog-shOp homicides New Years ev
and the night following was trightfu
And what is singular, it keeps up steadily
But the most
TERRIBLE MURDER
on record vas that at the Westministe
Hotel, Saturday night. Romaine Dillon
a wealthy and lirst-family bachelor of fift
shot gentleman named Dilleber in til
corridor of the hotel, after a moments a