The morning call., 1891-08-25
PHILADELPHIA,
Notes About the City as Seen
After Five Years. Absence.

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 16.-After an abb
sence of five years, find on my return but
very little improvement in this city, except
in the outlying districts. and this refers
mainly to the erection of attractive and
comfortably constructed dwellings. What
ever improvements that have been effected
in the center Of the city are confined
mostly to Chestnut street.-the Kearny
street of the Quaker city. And there are
| several very imposing and magnificent
buildings on that thoroughfare that stand
as monuments of enterprise.
The new City Hall, at the intersection of
| Broad and Market streets, begun twenty
| years ago, is still unfinished. Like nearly
| all Government or municipal work, it is
| hard to predict when it will be finished
! Most of the work to be done there yet is on
! the tower, which, when finished, will rank
| among the highest in the world.
| In comparison with other cities, particu-
| larly with those in the West, Philadelphia
| is so conservative that it becomes tiresome.
| Away from the great Paramount Park and
| the pleasure resorts that dot the New Jer-
| sey side on the Delaware River, Philadel-
| phians live in q uiet on Sunday that is as
| inviting as cemetery. The high license
| law, enacted about three years since, is so
| strictly enforced that a saloon-keeper can
| not be too careful in the conduct of his es-
| tabShment OF course, on Sunday it Is an
| impnssibility to get a hard drink for the
| inner man, except when one can secure en-
| trance to speak easy" These places are
generally located in private houses. and
| when the proprietor is arrested his bail is
| liable to run from $500 to $1,000. The peo-
| pie arrested in those places find that there
| is a punishment To fit the crime for being
there. This high license law has mac a
! certain few immensely wealthy. Licenses
| can be secured only through the local
| courts, and the questions put to an appli-
cant are so drawn that it takes an elastic
| conscience to answer them satisfactorily to
| the Judges. The City Treasury is enriched
| to an enormous extent by the granting of
| licenses every year. Those who can get
| away on Sundays during the summer sea-
| son go to the resorts in New jersey Allan
| tic City being preferred by thousands.
| There one can slake his thirst to his hearts
| content
With the inaugural of Edwin Stewart as
Mayor, lew months ago, new Phila-
| delphla was promised. Without the aid of
| Select and Common councils, [ fail to see
| what Mayor Stewart, who is classed among
the young and progressive element now
| growing up in the community, can accom-
| plsh. Councils have been unfortunately
| controlled by obstructlonists in the past,
| Politics, and not the public good, have
| shaped most of the actions of the City
| Fathers. What Philadelphia needs most of
| all is rapid transit, and after battling for
q
| decided action in the matter. Last winter
| the Reading Railroad succeeded in getting
! the right to build an elevated road. The
| Pennsylvania Railroad quietly opposed the
| READING in councils, but the people de-
| manded the passage of the bill, and one of
| the last acts Mayor Filter did before retiring
| was to sign it. Soia about eighteen months
| the Reading will have an elevated division
| in operation. But other elevated roads will
be needed, as the Readings branch will but
| partially solve the problem of rapid trausit
| for Philadelphia.
| Should the much-talked-of project to cut
ship canal through New Jersey to the
| ocean come to pass Philadelphia would
| prove dangerous rival to New York for
commercial supremacy. According to the
late census figures Philadelphia leads New
| York by large majority as the manufac-
| turing center OF the republic. There is a
| probability, however, Judging from its rapid
| growth In every way, that Chicago in the
future will give New York more cause for
| uneasneSs than its nearby rival. In my
humble opinion Chicago is the mar vel of the
| nineteenth century.
| The politicians, particularly those of the
| Republican persuasion, are gradually re-
| turning from their pilsrmages To the sea-
side and the mountains. The Repub-
| lican State Convention assemblies at
| Harrisburg on Wednesday to nomi-
| nate candidates for Treasurer aud
| Audltor-General, and from the present
| outlook there will not be much of a struggle
v,
| probably the ShrewdeSt of leaders in either
party, will be there. and the proceedings
VIII be mostly under his guidance The
| sentiment for James &. Blaine's nomin alton
! grows stronger every day. and the mention
| of his name at the Harrisburg Convention
| viii cause cyclone of cheers and applause.
| President Harrson's Administration Will,
| OF course, be lauded by way of resolution
Aside from the fact that Blaine is native
| 0t the Keystone State, theIe seems to be an
| almost universal admiration for his qualities
| as statesman and American.
Governor Pattison. who has been more
| fortunate In his aspirations than any one
| young Democrat in Pennsylvania during the
| past decade, has unquestiOnably the Presi-
| Dental bee in mis- bonnet, although he be-
| trays no signs of the fact. That lie will be
powerful quantity in the next National
| Democratic Convention admits of no denial,
| as his name Is already mentioned in the
| South and West by some of the most astute
manipuators of that party. Although he
| has been twice elected Governor, both times
| through dissatisfaction among the Repubh-
| cans, he would be a badly beaten man in
| this State as Democratic candidate for the
! Presidency. No Democratic candidate for
| this much coveted prize can hope to carry
| pennsylvania on national issues. Pennsyl-
| yanla Is Republican to the backbone.