The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1880-10-18

WOfktnktnen OIL america 6Hbuiu Aeaa
And Remember-Freer Trade Distress oi
The Most Appalling Description. which
Was only AiIeyiaied by Orders From
Proiectionist America.
From the London Daily News for September Is, 1879
pEsriruTIoS IN MIDDLEBogoudH.
10 The Edi!0r Qft.e Daily Ne3s:
sIR:-The poverty of Middlesbrough In
general aud the dire distress existing
among large number Of the working
class must be my excuse for troubling
you. For several years this town has
been going to the bad. The substitution
OF steel rails for iron has completely
rained the iron rail trade, which was one
OF the chief industries here, aud to this
must be added an almost unparalleled de.
preston in the whole OF the iron trade. Firm
after firm has failed, until there are COM
paratively few left. OF the l65 blast fur;
naces, the largest and the most extensively
built in the world, Sc OF them are dead
and cold; while the rolling mills aud pud.
ding furnaces are, for the most part, idle.
The rail mills can never be started again
till supplied with new machinery. Awalk
| to Grove Hill and Linthorp- suburbs
where the wealth OF the iron trade shotup
handsome villa residences-and one sees
houses once occupied by men no longer al.
fluent. One mansion standing in its OWL
grounds, with b lodge at the entrance gate,
was built for man in the iron trade. The
place still wears an air of newness, but 1t
Is some time since he for whom 1t was
erected was hurled TO low place In the
social scale. Fate has dealthardly will, him,
and last year he partook OF his Christmas
dinner at the table OF friend in humble
circumstances. A few miles beyond
Grove Hill, at the village OF Marion,
are the princely residences built attbe be.
hest OF the founders OF marlborough,
the late MIR. Bolckow and the late MIR. j..
Vaughan. Marion Hall, in It's park, on one
side the road, is occupied by MIR. Bolckow's
nephew; and Gunnergate Hall, close BY,
on the other side the road, is empty dis.
mantled. Mr.. T. Vaughan, who inherited
bis fathers wealth, became bankrupt, the
sumptuous furniture has been sold, in.
Guiding that OF the famous billiard.room-
room which cost $4,000 TO fit up, the
very walls being decorated by q X. A.
inree OF louT Hllee iuithui aiuhS
the road and there is Nun.
thorpe, where two Of the heads Of
another large iron:making firm, Messrs
Hopkins, Gilkcs & Co., chose to reside
In Grey Towers, stately gothic home
came into existence. But 1t also Is unoc-
cupied; the furniture, horses and carriages
have been sold, and the mansion itself
has been offered for sale. Mr.. Isaac
Wilson, the borough member, with the
other partner, still lives at Nunthorpe,
| in the same unpretending editice he has
occupied for many years. This week one
Of the extensive works in WHICH these
were the leading spirits has been put up
ior sale at public auction, but not sold,
the highest bid being $4,000, while the
reserve stipulated by the vendors was
100000.
Nearly all the leading men in this town
are poor. How can they be otherwise
Tie iron trade, in which they are all en-
gagged, has been more fruitful In lossea
than gains during the last two years. Now
the price OF pig iron allows oil, NO margl n
| in favor OF the maker, and few weeks
ago il was sold at an absolute loss. Blast
furnaces are such huge concerns that It y
better for a firm to make at loss oil shil'
ling or twoa ten and hope Tor an i'm
provement than close their works, which
would mean RUM and finished iron ma
kers are equally unfortunate. Ina town
the sole existence OF which depends on
iron II can be easily understood that
every one Is disastrously affected by the
present state OF things. Rents have de-
preciated fully fifty per cent, and 1.-THE most
properties will not realize the mortgages
on them. Hundreds Of the small houses
are empty, and many oil those that are oc'
cupied arc tenan,ed by persons who can
pay no rent; but the owner prefers his
house being occupied on ouch terns to IT.
being pulled 10 pieces by lads and other:
wanting firewood. Dozens OF shops are
closed and the shopkeepers remaining find
| It extremely difficult to meet their pay
men,s. The other day heard oil one who
was not taking sufficient money to pay MI
gas bill, and Il 10 not uncommon to lind
nothing having been received over the
counter up to noon. But do not ask as.
sistance for the ironmakers and merchants
nor for shopkeepers. They can get breac
and cheese for themselves and families
but there are about two thousand poor lei
lows who cannot, They are ironworkers
puddlers, blast ilrnape men, bricklayers
etc. For months they have been oHt 9
work, some Of them Tor one or Two years
They have tramped about the country u
search OF work-not TO find 1t, but some
times TO get locked up by policeman u
want OF d job for begging. One day TIL
week | heard man, broken In spirit ant
given up to despair because he Gan get n
work. say that ct Gainsborough he va
sentenced to ten days for asking for dro
OF water, He WAS only In the town day
hut The policeman swore he had seen hin
pass his door every day for q lori
night; and Of Horneastle no was sen
to prison for fourteen days,
policeman having arrested him y
lieu OF a man who had begged at o woman
house, and OF whom the woman INFORMED
Several open.air meetings OF the unen
pIoyed have been held, and both the LOCI
guardians and the local government boar
a have been appealed 10, but as yet nothin
Q has been done. The guardians will NJ
y give any OF the men or their families on
TelieI, but offer the workhouse, which wi
not hold quarter OF them. The board ,
IA guardians Is not the most humane Of pul
. liz bodies. II treats all single men I
' tramps. Regularly men aud youths WI
!, have lived In the town during the who
j or the best part Of their existence are pu
Y into the tramp ward, given sig ounces
!. bread and a pint Of "skillY" at night, Of
! similar meal Of seven in Il
: morn. They pull rope to pieces uni
eleven, and then are turned into Il
: street, Beyond these two meals they
moi receive morsel Of anything to eat
me workhopse. Those in the tram, wa
who have shirts never get them ,wAshe
and at an unemployed workmen's me-
:, ing to-day there were loud complain
y about the absence Of soap. lido not TIL