The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1878-08-24

depot Of exchange for The grain aud stock Of the
western prairies. Wei may Chicago be jealous Of
her trade and envy her, her position. Like the
threads Of a SPIDERS web. the many main Railroads
reaching out, east and west, north and south, seem
to concentrate st this point aud the day cannot
be far distant when ST. Louis, must stand pre-
emiuen,ly " The Queen Of the West"
After a substantial breakfast at the depot, we
made cur way up TO Fourth street, and after at
tending to some business matters s,rolled TO the
famous ST. Louis Mutual Life Insurance Building.
All who have been interested in Life Insurance
will remember the terrible failure and disaster this
company has brought upon the business, and how
thousands Of innocent licy-holders, and their
dependent families have been made TO suffer,
through the rascaliiy Of q set Of men whose sole
ambition was to rule for their own sggrandiZenent,
or ruin and blast the hopes Of thousands Of strug-
Cling men anxious to leave q support for those who
claimed their protection. This building il conceded
to be one Of the finest in all the western country,
and all those who were interested in its erection
well know it will stand Is q monument TO the
extravaganza aud ambition Of one man. Terrible
indeed must be this mans doom as the wall Of the
widow and the orphan, shall fall upon his ears.
and their cry Of agony shall pierce his soul. The
company is now in the hands Of receivers the
receiver Of the " Columbis Life being in possess
ion, while the receivers CT the old corporation are
Striving 10 have the courts decide TO return the
assets to them, and nullify the transfer and assign
ment. We met one of these honored appointees,
valnly striving to steer a straight course in the
street, but utterly unable TO do so. Yes, here was
one Of the would-be trustees Of this great and
sacred trust, ere the sun had reached his zenith,
staggering and stumbling along the streets Of
St. Louis. We assembled the steps and entered the
building and soon obtained an introduction TO
receiver Alexander and his assistant Mr.. Morrison,
Of whom we received every courtesy possible ; and
pazze6 over the buIl6i1O from ppliar IN 0arrpf ITn-
der the building the entire basement is occupied
by the wine vaults and bottling works of Conrad
s. Co.-the most extensive vaults of the kind in all
the west. Here are stored the products Of the
vine and the wine-press, from all parts of the globe.
and one can obtain any known brand from a single
bottle to a hundred cases. We passed from this
TO the side bottling works, where men were busy
bottling ales and beer. The work is done with a
rapidity that is marvellous, and the final process
before packing is to gradually subject each bottle
with its contents, to O temperature Of steam equal
to the warmest ATTITUDES, the liquor is likely to be
shipped to. The process causes a loss of about
three per cent, but all that stand the test can
afterwards be shipped to any point, unaffected by
the temperature. We passed up to the small room
occupied by the receiver and his corp OF clerks,
examined the small vault from which the Peck
feated in the election. The door of the
safe yet still plainly shows the marks
of the matches near the lock register,
speaking OF the trickery and rognery to get possess
ION OF the company. we entered the large room
and found it to be elegantly fitted up, the PANEL
ing and fresco work, on the ceiling being the finest
we ever saw IN o business office anywhere and the
furniture throughout in entire keeping. This room
is now occupied by the American Central Insur-
ance Co." 1t was in a side-room, partitioned of
to the right, as one enters, that the Lomax and Britton
faction secretly re-wrote the books of the Company.
Their tool and dupe, Arthur Noyes, having recently
committed suicide, many of the facts Of this scanda-
lous transaction have doubtless departed with him.
We entered the LARGE yault where the archives 0f
the company are slowed, and were astonished at
its immensely and the bulk of its contents. AS
far as the policies and applications are concern
ed, all seems to be in perfect order, but the books
are scattered about in the direst confusion and
much labor will yet be required before order can
be produced. Passing up through the various
business Offices by means of the elevator, we landed
in the observatory, and here one gets the most ex-
tensive view that can be had Of the city and the
surrounding country. and as it was a clear day we
were fully repaid by going to the observatory. The
U. S.. Signal Service headquarters are here.
st Louis has many fine buildings. but her streets
are narrow and neither as Clearly or as fine as
the streets of Cleveland and some OF our eastern
cities. The new post office and customs building,
occupying an entire block between 9th and 9TH
streets. has reached the cornice OF the 3rd story.
and will. when completed, be worthy of the out
lay and expenditure. 1t is built of Connecticut
granite. in the Tuscan style. with a massive peril
CO on each of the four sides. and already presents
a very imposing appearance. All mails will be
delivered and received by railroad through the
tunnel and a special switch and section is to be
constructed for that purpose. The walls OF the
Southern Hotel, are still standing naked and bare.
but 1t Is now decided to rebuild it. Your readers
will doubtless remember the terrible tragedy
enacted here. How the shivering, writhing forms
of many of the guests hung at the widows in full
sight of the helpless crowd, aud how one by one
they fell back into the devouring element, TO be
seen no more. Is it not time that the government
had something to say regarding the construction
of such buildiugs?
Our next visit was to the Mercantile Library,
where art and literature combine to reach the
esthetic taste of the visitor, or Members. AS we en-
tered we were at once struck with the stiffness and
quiet that reigned everywhere. The library now
contains over $4,000 volumes, while on the tables
and desks of the reading room are found papers of
all languages, and all the leading and readable
periodicals of the age. Everything is admirably
kept and the strictest order prevails. Among the
articles of art must be mentioned Miss Hosmer's
a. Beatrice Cenci." This is q sculpture from the
purest white marble, representing the subject sleep
ing on her pillow, on a stone block, on the eve of
her execution. Her head is resting on the right
arm thrown across the pillow, while the left arm lies
languidly, fallen on the stone block, and the rosary
lies between her fingers. The hair is loose and
flowing over the shoulders. but confined about. the
head by a neat kerchief. The right foot is drawn up
under the drapery, while the left is extended, en-
cased in a delicate slipper. The artist has evidently
followed her own inclination in regard to dress and
draping, and it is perhaps the only thing in the
whole that is subject to an adverse criticism. Those
who have read the history of the Italian Republics,
know full well the cad fate of this most beautiful
of women. This was a present to the Association by
an unknown friend, and the generous donor has
not yet been discovered. The Emancipation"
piece, by the same sculptor, is touching indeed. The
good and the brave Lincoln stands with scroll in
right hand. resting against a pedestal, while the left
hand and arm are extended over the kneeling form
of a negro, with upturned face, and shackles and
manscles broken. The picture is far from a true
representation of the typical negro, at this stage and
time; the features being too fine and delicate; the
foot too chaste and followed; and the whole figure too
efeminate and light; yet it appeals to every true
lover of humanity, and in its silence conveys vol
umes to the beholder. l would tell you more of these
rooms and their contents, and may do so when 1
return. but I must pass on, and bidding adieu to st.
Louis for a while. pass on still West.
Having rechecked my baggage and taken supper,
l wandered through the streets, and at 9 P. NJ. found
my way to the Union Depot, and taking the train on
the St. L., K. C. s. N. Railroad, in u few minutes
found myself Fastening on to Kansas City. On. on