St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-09-13

travellers who have visited the city of
Bankok have been amazed at the gor-
geous surroundings and useless eXpend-
iture which characteriZes the keeping
of the huge animals. Stables of onyx
and ivory, retinues of gaily dressed
servants and keepers, decorations of
gold and precious stones, and the finest
kind of animal food are maintained for
the lazy animals, who simply eat their
heads off, and, perhaps, laugh at the
stupidity of the people who spend so
much money for a useless purpose.
In the same manner in which Siam
possesses white elephants, the city of
st. Paul also has specimen in its
midst. A huge fellow who is perfectly
useless and who has cost the municipal
ity vast sum of money without one
single cents worth of benefit being Sc
cured in return.
The white elephant of the city of st.
Paul is none other than the market
house, which stands OH the corner of
Wabash and Seventh streets.
Why this useless building should be
still maintained at the city's expense is
a pertinent question which may be
asked at the present time when the
popular demand is for retrenchment
and reform. Is it not possible to
utilize the building in such manner as
will not only make it a source of rev.
enue to the city, but also supply long
felt wants for the people. One of the
primary elements for the successful de-
velopment of the
Rising Generation
Is a strict attention to the laws of phys
Ical culture and Mythology. The splen-
did appearance recently made by the
members of the various Turner societies
in st. Paul must have impressed every
person favorably. The citizens of this
country of German parentage have car
ried out the laws of physical culture
which receive so much attention in the
Fatherland, and the result is that, as a
race, they are more healthy and able
to cope with the ills which beset man
kind.
The GLOBE has recently called atten-
ton to the urgent and absolute neceS-
Bity of providing for the thousands Of
Its young people swimming baths and
schools for the teaching Of physical
culture. During the recent hot weather
many valuable lives have been sacri-
feed because the city does not possess
D swimming bath, and persons have
been obliged to venture into the treach-
the thousands who spend the larger
portion of the day in warehouse. store
or office to find the means and place to
renew the wasted tissues by an hour
spent occasionally in properly
equipped gymnasium? The answer is
that there is no such place In the city,
and the result is that young men and
women are drifting into the prime of
life with health and body impaired for
want of proper physical exercise and
recreation.
1t is possible, however, to remedy not
only these dangerous defects, but also
to get rid of our white elephant" at a
very small expense comparatively.
Why not turn the present useless
market house into a series of elegant
swimming baths and PymnaStic schools?
The market house was built in 1879 at
ali expense of $50, ZOO, and from that
time to the present it has never yielded
any revenue to the city. 1t costs thou
sands of dollars to keep it up, and is at
the present time but caricature as a
market for the sale of produce. The
building is $50 feet long by 50 feet wide
on the basement floor, which is used
for stores for
Butchers and GrOcers.
The entire length of the building con-
tains number of cellars used as ice
rooms and store houses, which are di-
Vided by brick walls. These cellars are
IL feet deep, while the first floor is 151a
feet high. The upper floor, which has
been used for meetings and as theater,
is "a feet high and has a length of 2SC
feet in all. A magnificent opportunity
presents Itself 10 turn this building into
one of the finest swimming and gym
nastic schools in the world.
The plan would be to take out the
flooring Oh the first floor and tear down
the small walls in the cellars which di
vide the store rooms. This would give
space $50 feet long so vida n"d OIL