Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1891-12-04
BOSTON LETTER.
Queer Orthography--The Slums
of Boston.
A New Electrical Locomotive
Big Receipts. etc.

The signs displayed by our foreign
population are quite study and not
few of them unique specimens of or
biography. When Dago sets up bust.
ness he generally contents himself with
placards of his own execution, and it is
frequently difficult work to interpret
them into the kings English. On Har-
rison avenue noticed Il sign recently
which read "l'resh baket peenuts," d"
while few doors beyond was one
which informed the passer-by that
Fresh Wharllles" were made inside
and "Orders Promptly Attended," An
enterprising Washington street cutler
for some time had an elaborate sign in
bis show window informing people that
razors were "hOnt,' scissors "shar-
pent" and all kinds of cutlery "grount'
and "reparct." And this right here
in the streets of modern Athens
We are just now experiencing peri
odlc spaSm of virtue, and the slums of
Boston are likely to get an ovcrhauling
by the police depal tment. This city is
a wicked place, no doubt, but fortu-
nately ii cannot boast of many slums;
in fact, ! do not believe there is another
city in the world so free from them. no
matter what its population. Outside Of
one or two dance hal $ on North street,
there are very few places which can he
classed rs slumS and they might easily
be annihilated in single night if the
police department had any serious
thoughts of enforcing the law against
such dens of iniquity.
The tenement house system is also
coming in for share of at cntiOn, and
! Do ton at present is entertaining Lady
Balgarine, n maiden English woman
who has interested herself in work in
the slums in Chicago. indianapolis, St.
Louis, New York and Philadelphia.
This is her second tour of the poor quar-
ter in Boston. When asked what her
impressions of Boston's sums were,
Miss Balgarinc told II reporter, with a
charming English accent, that "thcre
was nowhere ANYTHING 10 lie seen so
wretched and SO low n in the East End
lodging houses in London. Here the
occupants didn't appear to have that
utterly hopeless look so often seen in
London. think there is Il great OPP
portunity to erect buildings for tenc-
mcnts on the Peabody plan. think The
prices for lodging in your lodging
houses are fearfullv dear, and in marked
contrast TO some that ! have seen to-
night are Mrs. I.incon's tencments,
which She has built and rents
at the most reasonable figure.
In London Of late there has been agreat
pulling down of many Of our wrctchcd
teuements. Why, here" she said, "you
have to pay % cents for the merest sort
of cupboard, while in London, now, one
can get clean, respectable bed in one
of the new lodging houses for II cents,
and many beds are let for cents. 1 he
people have seen tonight seem to have
been, for the most part, of rcspecta'
BILE character. There seems to be n
strange lack of provision for womcn's
lodgings One place we visited, a cell
lar. was filthy beyond description. II
smellcd and looked like Ng ware
house. The lodging houses for men,
though dear. are fairly well ventilated,
and the character of the inmates is good
as compared with many have seen in
London and many cities in the United
States
That electrical science is soon to solve
the problem of passenger and freight
transportation was demonstrated at
Lynn on Saturday last, when trial
was made by m electric freight loco.
motive built by the Thomson Houston
Company for the Within Machine
Company of Whtinsvillc, Mass, and
destined TO transport freight ears from
the Providence e Worcester Railroad to
their works, u distance of about two
miles. The company laid track several
years ago, and have heretofore operat
ed it with horses.
The machine is the first one built in
this country for this purpose.
1t is nearly square, and all
its machinery is below the
platform and between the axles, Of
which it has but two. Its total weight
is 43, 900 pounds, and it is rated at 100
horse power. 1t was expected to make
speed of five miles per hour, with a
load of from 200 to 800 tons; but at
the trial on Saturday the locomotive de-
yelopcd four times rs much power a;
the original d,slgn contemplated. II
was proposed TO build machine that
would draw two ordinary freight cars,
but the little giant drew nine such cars,
weighing close t. 200 tons, with ease,
: on curve and up II ; per cent grade.
The power for its operation Mt Whitins.
vile is to be furnished by large gener.
ator, and conveyed the length of the
route by trolley wire, like that used
for the ordinary elcctrics. The advant.
age expected in the use of electricity for
power is in an immense saving of fuel.
With the ordinary steam locomotive il
is considered good result if 25 pounds
of coal per hour furnishes a single
horse power. With electricity as applied
by the Thomson Houston motors, three
pounds of coal per horsepower per
hour is considered sufficient. A saving
of seven eights Of the coal bill is n long
step IN advance in the economy of trans.
poitaton.
The .'Old Homestead" which has
closed twelve weeks run here at the
Boston Theatre, has not only delighted
Hubtes, but has proved n decided iinan'
cial success, rs the following receipts
will testify: For the season the amount
PLAYED to was $l45, ,994.75, while the
largest week netted $18,4G7. The
{ largest house was played to on Labor
day evening, when the box office
showed receipts TO the amount of $26lG