, 1881-08-28
IS CHICAGO A SWAMP ?
Il Now OrIcnns View of Tt-ChicaGo
Dirt aud What VIII She DO with Itf
New Ortsans Times Iug. y.


She is Chic,:-o and 1t Is dirt.
Chicago is positively the dirtiest city cxtant in
any civilized or Christian country. \ clean
level lies behind her, without rise, to the foot
of tue Rocky Mountains. 4 broud, clean inland
seA lies in front OF her, Or her people would
have died with pcstilcncc ten times over She
the OLD days. ans her frightened citizens fled by
thousands to Milwaukee and the towns down
plucc and getting lake water to drink it might
be made healthy If not clean But the ehor-
nous deatt-rate Of tho lust half -year-doubic
! to treble that Of New Orlcans-is causlng doubt
There is u cll-built and comparatively clean
centre in Chicago but the city sweeps or, gu all
sides but the front. to n swamp. They call it a
prAirie thore- In Louisiana they call it swamp.
The outskirts OF tho city are built up with
shanties. squattcd ir this swamp, or stuck
Coming iii on neaSly Ill the railroads, notably
the Michigan Southern ur the Northwestern. tho
traveller passes through miles OF these shanties;
cs1a1c in Ireland, where naked babies and pigs
tumble proMiscuously. Chicaso'5 face is FAR
"foul In many scaly fold" She is the draggle-
tail OF cities.
The centre nucleus and the parts where tho
rich dwell arc severed There are foul, Shiny
bitches for tho draining; Of the rest. The sewer
age is emptied into the river. The ri yer has no
current 1t is staEnnnt ditch. 1t is not 4
foul way through tho city into two: branches.
which arc very small bitches indeed. These
11lCnG9 arc INC open man SEHtFS Oi tue
smelling city. Into them are dumped tho horrid
abominAtions Of several hundred thousand peo-
pie.
when the wind was favorable, ten miles, it IS
said They were simply sewers, and nothing
else. Schooners, ptupel1ers. canalboats. all the
craft or the harbor. luy Iubber-like in this foul
hcll-broth. and the busy tugs, durttng back md
forth through the slab abo1niuadous, stirred up
uuspeakuble sts:nchcs for the noses Of mankind
And here comes in our question, which is tho
question Of dirty sister ct the loud-s scented
ditchcs It was sought to help the city TO little
h Of dscent S IT. ntr ~ turning the soealcd t
was its head! It WIS IL daring Undertaking,
but the Chicngoesc are daring people. So
Chicago with tho Illinois Itivcr}, and thought
the. Chicago bitches would empty into that,
since they wouldn't empty into the lake:
Some Of the hOrrfd stuff did drain off in tho
canal. and occasionally some clean lake water
would run into tho main river for short dis
tancc, but tho proportion Of tho sewage drun-
and the city is scarce the better: Meanwhile the
towns along the canal and tho Illinois River urc
having their air and svatcr polluted by tho ter
rifle dejecttons Of Chicago
Joliet is u pretty little town Of several thou
sand people just out from Chicago on the canal,
{h9 @ es Of aa The oSeSi to
They are kicking up Il big row about these for
eign and unaccustomed stenches. Tho Chica-
They arc so swathed In these odors,-born and
brought up in them, they have SO long breath
Cd ate drank. and slept i'll them, that it is, they
think. ntfectadon and silly fastidiousness for
the Jolletians or any other people to admire
them less than 1.-THE airs Of 4A:nby the Blcst-'
SO stands the war ut present. Joliet VOWS it
won't be the uutrappcd siuk-hole Of Chicago.
Chicago, in her large und generous fashion, IN
SistS on sharing her dirt with all Northwestern
Illinois, Is she not drinking with relish, as it
nolts out 10 the crib in high water and is re-
turned, somewhat diluted Of course, through
the Watcr-pipcs, this Objectionable sewage? II
4 man in Chicago rather likes it, reminding
him as it does Of his citizenship iii the great
man anywhere smell it and find it delicious?
II, however, tho vision 1T great city
6mothered in its own dirt awAkcs our pity aud
starts reflections on the why tho things we call
cities are built, let US not waste too much of it
on Chicago. She is abundantly able to take carc
OF herself: She will find out Il way to lift her
draggle- tail out of the sewers. and, though she
bc bloWSy slattcrn. will, Mt least, not stencil
death one entire sovereign State Of this great
and glorious Union.
New Orleans. though cleaner than Chicago.
and. like Il hiEh-bred lady, rather dainty about
her person. aud given to scents OF the delicate
sort-the 0rnnEc-b blossom. tho sweet olive, tha
rose, and such hke.-can i'll afford to glorfy her
self. She too has a fair outside over dust bins
aud sink holes. And she has not Chicago's ex-
cusc- There is no ditch, but inile-wide, rush
Ing river Ut her door to carry all her drippings
to the sea. and polEute no neighbours promises
she vii! begin her cleaning house next winter,
and no odor more offensive thnn tho magnolia
and tue jasmine will In the near future assail
the nostrils of he. children.
The writer of the above evidently came into
Chicago over the Chicago & Alton Railroad
after heavy rain, along the line of which he
was greeted with ilasty view of the outly-
ing shanties, lumber-piles, coal and stone
yards, planning mills. elevators, .pork-pack-