The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-11-11
UNDERGROUND CHICAGO.
Paots Concerning the Subterranean
Works of the Worlds Fair City.
Destruction of the Pavements by the Gas
Companies and Italians Surprising
Beauty of the Worlds Fair
Buildings.
special Chicago Correspondence

There is a good deal of agitation
going on continually in the city of
Chicago rega -ding the condition of orr
streets Hardly has a street been
paved when a gas or telephone COM
pauy tears up the pavement and leaves
it in execrable condition after it gets
through. Citizens are crying out
against the abuse and the authorities
seem 70 be Powerless 10 stop the
nuisance.
Very few, however. are aware of the
fact that private citizens often create
as much havoc with the pavements as
do the corporations. The fsvorite
Pavement in this city is cedar blocks
Now the poor people have a way Of
getting their moneys worth out of the
CITY government They evidently be-
lieve in paternalism and think the
community owes them a living. II
they ret hard up for kindling
wood in some parts OF the
city they 90 out into the street, dig mp
the pavement and carry of n few
blocks Of cedar to be split up for kin
ding. There Is a place have in mind
on the West side not far from the river
where almost an entire block has been
stripped of its pavement in this man
ner They went up close TO the size
walk and stopped only when they
reached the last blocks of wood that
were wedged in SD tight that they
could not be removed without lifting
M the sidewalk.
It j. some what primitive method Of
securing kindling wood and one which
the ,.itv authorities do not approve Of.
but then they are primitive people that
practice il. The neighbOrhood ! was
speaking Of is largely populated by
poor class Of Italians. who at present
own the earth for the reason mat II
was a countryman OF theirs who dis
covered this part of it. and there has
been such an amount Of Columbus
worship of late that some of the glory
is appropriated by his numerous COM
patriots in this city. They seem to
think the country Is theirs by right Of
/ discovery.
They are queer people. those living
in the neiChborhood l speak Of. There
Is a drug store at the corner 81 the
block whose pavement was used up
for kIndling The other evening the
/ druggist was called mp by one Of the
enlightened citizens of the neighbor-
hood about midnight and was asked to
telephone for 4 sick-nurSe who lived
next door. 1t was explained that time
would be saved by going TO her resi-
deAce. but the man insisted on having
the message sent 10y telephone.
! If one could look beneath the sur
I face Of the city the system of under
ground conduits Of all kinds would be
/ an astonishing sight There are the
gas and sewer pipes. telegraph. tele-
! phone and electric light wires. and
/ ,ables for street cars. IL Is perfect
! underground city by itself 1t Is not
necessary to state how many hun
4 bred miles there are OF each
kind OF canals or conduitS. But
this underground city IS the more
remarkable in a place ike Chi
. caro. as the ground on which the city
stands IS perfectly fat and level and.
ia part. was below the level of the lake
and the river which was to carry off
the refuse and sewage. II is one OF
the most interesting achievements IN
the history OF Chicago that the entire
level Of the city was raised nine feet in
order to give the sewers the necessary
fall. The sewers here are not what
thew are in some Of the old cities where
one can walk through them, At times.
without being in any way annoyed.
The present comparatively imperfect
flushing system has been criticised a
a great deal. but II will probably not
/ be altered until the country becomes
more thickly settled and the soil loses
{ some of its richness. When farmers
( shall be obliged to use fertIliZing ma
! terial to any great extent then it viii
. be possible TO dispose Of the sewage OF
our cities in the manner they do in
Paris and Berlin.
f; 1t Is but q few years since Chicago
was disfrured by the presence Of tele-
graph and telephone poles. such as are
used in the country, but standing along
the main thurourhfares in the heart Of
the city. A network Of wires spreads
along the fronts OF houses. Whenever
there was 4 fire the department had,
first of all. To cut the wires in order 70
get Gt the buildings The time lost IN
this. the inconvenience. let alone dan
ger to life from the live wires, caused q
protest which ended by all wires IN the
central part of the city being placed
underground. But in the outlying dis
tricts the streets still look like country
roads with the telegraph poles stand
ing along the curb on either side.
This i another OF the provincialisms
that cling 10 Chicago as a reminder Of
its recent childhood.
Per contra. this reminds one OF that
enterprise which marks the extreme
1 Of Ch!cago's metropolitan development.
+! The worlds fair 4 desire Is being
1 manifested by many that Chicago may
retain some monument of the great
exposition. 1t IS argued that II would
I be not only an enormous waste Of time,
money and labor 70 destroy all the
! great buildings Of the exposition after
they shall have served he purposes for
/ which they were erected. but i would
lie little short OF an act OF vandalism
The White CITY" as the exposition
has been called, Is I spot of marvellous
beauty even now. Il would be pity
to destroy It entirely. AS to the cost.
many are OF opinion that the sewage
from the buildings will hardly cover
the expense OF taking them down
A. present the expressed desire IS
| that only the great Manufactures and
I Liberal Ar:s building and the temple
| for the Fine Arts be kept Some would
! include the Horticultural building as
appropriate to the park surroundings
| and useful as greenhouse.
The Art building has been put up IN