, 1890-04-02

burg. The Scandinavian jewellers in it
would form a community larger than the
population OF any Norwegian city, except,
perhaps, Chli>tiania. 1t is the centre OF
movements and the abode of societies alien
to the ordinary current of American life.
Less than most cities does it illustrate the
power Of American institutions to fnSe
diverse materials into a social and political
unit. And yet IN tue restless energy and
public spirit Of its inhabitants it is The
most distinctly American of cities. Diff.
cultieS of detail will be encountered, no
doubt, in giving effect to the decision just"
arrived at. The New Yotkers could not
have readily found for the Fair a site at
once large enough and conveniently near;
aud they were not All prepared to sacrifice
Central Park for that purpose. The peo-
pie 0f Chicago have Lincoln Park; and
they may be compelled to look elsewhere if
they are TO f1nd u site worthy of the ocea.
sion. But their energy is sure to find o
solution They are The last people likely
to throw away the victory which they have
thus won. Only one hing is assured
their achievements will sur pass all expect
atoms, and Already we hear that they are
hard at work jnStlfying the choice, They
talk now of utilizing and enlarging Lake
Front park, facing Lake Michigan.
That the decision of the House of Repre-.
sentativeS, even if supported by the Senate.
will be everywhere quietly accepted we
hardly anticipate. The Judgment of Paris
was not to be compared in point of delicacy
to the task of Congress. The only constant
element in American lite is the jealousy Of
the great cities. There is no true capital,
and no city Of acknowledged superiority.
phila1olnl,in mill 1900 fho mast .NON,V1ovo
of the Union, has not yet resigned its
claims to social supremacy. 1t still clings
to the belief that III everything but size
and wealth it is at the top. 1t remembers
that it was chosen as the scene of the Gen.
tenary Exhibition in 1876, and it points
with Just pride % the result of the ceIebra.
ton, Of which General Walker, ~ we'll
Xxi economist, has lately said, " AS a
mere matter of money it has repaid it's
cost a hundredfold within the brief term of
thirteen years" Boston, though II second
rate industrial city, regards itself, and
still not without reason, ais the intellectual
centre of the American continent. New
York is proud of its wealth and of the three
millions of people crowded in and around
Manhattan Island. Washington has it's
own Importance, and to a stranger it's so.
ciety has many special charms. St. Louis
has not resigned itself to the loss of the
immense prospects which once seemed
open to her citizens. Each of the cities
passed over will still believe, notwithstand.
ing the decision of Congress, that q mis-.
take las been made; and we may, perhaps,
hear for a time vague threats of refusing
support to the Worlds Fair if held any
where except in some favoured spot.
People on this side Of the Atlantic will not
much mind whether the choice be New
York or Chicago. The question of hotel
accommodation chiefly interests them, and
primo Jdcie the largest city is the best.
Chicago can DO, st Of some Of the fiest
hotels in the world. Its people arr enter.
prize itself; and between this and 1892
they can do much to prepare for the influx
Of strangers. The really worthy thought
at the bottom of the whole project is the
desire not to have one more pedlars' fair,
bigger than Ony known before, but to make
the world eye witnesses, so far as it is pos
6ible, OF what has been done since ~ciyiliza-
ton first laid hold with strong hands of
the untouched resources of the new Oonti.
nent. Immense are the proportions of tho
edihce reared in what was but a little
time ago waste and wilderness, and rapid
has been its erection. We will miss little.
it will appear as stately, and the wonder
OF its rise be much the same, whether we
view t from New York or Chicago.