Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1885-07-16
Our Chicago Letter.
From Our Own Correspondent.

The Chicago running races, which for
the past two weeks have been held al
Washington park, ended on Saturday.
The daily attendance averaged about
10000, and prominent horsemen from
all over the United States were present.
The best mile was made in one minute
and forty-one seconds. The hurdle
races were watched with considerable
interest; in the last named race horse
named after Chicago's acting mayor,
Carter Harrison. got tired jumping and
ran off the course. much to the amuse-
ment of those present. The horse diff
fered materially from Carter Harrison,
for Carter is a slayer and the horse was
not.
The revolving exposure of The Pail
Mall Gazette. London, Eng, Of the
traffic for immoral purposes in young
gills in that city, is furnishing news for
our city daily press. TheTribune. which
is at no time very choice about its mat
ter and loves scandal above anything
else, takes up whole pages in the repro
duction of The Gazette articles. That
the publication of detailed and lengthy
articles in the American press on Eu-
ropean crime, will elevate the morals
of the citizens of this republic, is doubt
full. The object of The Gazette and
Tribune is to raise and sell newspapers
by publishing obscene matter. We are
glad to notice that the press generally
objects and criticises such methods of
gaining a circulation and notoriety.
Quite sensation was created one dav
last week by Mrs. Thomas Smith, of
the South side, who is the wife of a
prominent architect. She dragged her
self TO the door of their residence, bound
hand and foot. and succeeded in at
tracing the attention of passing milk
wagon. When released, she said she
had been knocked down, tied with ropes
and gagged by two men. who secured
admission to the house under the pre-
text that they were PLANNERS and sent
to fix the water supply. After robbng
her of 81, $50 they attempted to set the
house on fire but did not succeed. 1t
was known that she had that amount of
money on her person and the story was
believed. 1t turns out however, through
her own subsequent confession, that she
tied herself and made the story of the
robbery from 'whole CLOTH" and that
she had done SO to conceal the loss of
the $1,000, which she had loaned to a
sporting man, and he had put the mon
ey up on the wrong horse at the races.
The Mexican editors and Mexican
band have been making visit to this
city, the former doubtless for the pur-
pose of taking little summer vacation
at the expense of their Northern breth-
rem, for they were daily taken to places
of interest and nightly banqueted by the
similar liberal treatment elsewhere.
The latter (band) evidently for the pur-
pose of replenishine their depleted ex-
chequer, for they played all winter in
New Orleans simply for their board and
Ito help the cause along" 1t was very
evident that they were playing ut the
Exposition simply "to introduce them
selves" and gain reputation, and that
they are now following UP well laid
scheme. Your correspondent remem-
bers well one day early in May of hear
ing pistol shot at the Magazine street
entrance to the Exposition ground, and
turning around saw an irate father of a
young girl, who had placed too much
confidence in young member of the
Mexican band, empty five chambers of
his revolver into the greaser The men,
bers of the Mexican band are great
''mashersn and ~ out of 100 of the
band married white girls In New Or
leans during six months stay. Many of
the girls could not pronounce their hus-
bands name, and the Mexicans, not
being able to talk English, did not know
the name of his wife.
The New York Legislature has passed
an act prohibiting the erection in the city
of New York of buildings over 80 feet
high. Not so in Illinois: you can build
a building 1000 feet high, if you so de-
sire; 10. ii and even II storied build
ings are becoming quite common in this
city. Not long since the Grand Pacific
hotel was considered large building,
but now since the erection of the high
office buildings surrounding the New
Board of Trade close by, it looks quite
squatty and small. In numbering the
offices on each floor in many of the new
buildings the same plan has been
adopted as used by some cities in num-
boring streets. The first floor begins
Room l, 2, 3, 4, etc.; then the second
floor begins 200, 20i, etc. If the room
is No. $40 you know at once you are to
be let out on the 9th floor.
CHICAGO, July IA, 1885.