The Portland daily press., 1892-06-25
TWO TYPICAL TOWNS.
The Wonderful Convention Cities of
the Northwest.
Walter Wellman Is Amazed by the Stu
pendous Enterprise of Chicago and
Charmed by the Hospitable Munif.
cence of Minneapolis.
Especial Correspondence.l

SuICAdOy q uilo Ibis WOnQerIul
city of the west is today contributing
more than its share to the current his.
tory of the times. What they are doing
in the big wigwam you will learn BY
telegraph; but while the votes are being
taken, while the shouts ring out after
season of painful silence, while the
world inclines its ear to catch the
keynote of the refrain, let us walk
about the magic city of Chicago and
study it.
Chicago is the amazing, the dunn
founding city of the western hemisphere.
Once l lived here, and then thought I
knew the place pretty well.
But leave Chicago for a year or two,
and it is like stepping out of theater
near the end of an act. While you are
gone Transformation takes place. Five
or six years ago venturesome capital
list erected a tall building here. 1t was
nine stories high. People said he would
never get interest back on his invest
ment. The capitalist was little timid
about that, too, and for fear all his
offices could not be rented he changed
and put theater in their place. From
that day to this all the offices have been
rented, and the building has regularly
paid IL per cent. net on its cost and
fixed charges. But for the space taken
up by the theater land that commands
high rentaD, the annual return would
be at least 15 per cent.
Won hava all hoord oo5 wood oLz.-L
Chicago's wonderful high buildings, and
probably l can tell you nothing new
about them. But the marvellous thing
to me is not that such high structures
can be built, but that all their floor
space should be SO quickly rented.
Whence do all the office people conner
Is there no limit to their number? It
seems not, for they tell me every new
and modern Office building in town is
doing well. Every month or so new
one is completed and thrown open to tho
public. Perhaps it contains in its four
teen or fifteen stories 500 rooms. In
month only few of them will be found
vacant.
Over and over again this process is re-
peated throughout year. The old
buildings have just as many tenants as
they ever had. A new crop of renters
is harvested by each new structure. The
number and capacity of office buildings
increase faster than the city grows.
Thus the conclusions inevitable that as
time wears on larger and still larger
share of the business of this city is done
in offices. In Chicago probably dozen
banks use the second or third floors of
office buildings. Manufacturing con-
Germs have offices in town and both fac
tory and warehouse in the suburbs
Even commercial houses are falling into
line and carrying on their business by
means of samples in these mammoth
hives, convenient of access to all Gus
toners, and handling their wares in es-
adjustments more remote from the
business center, where transportation
facilities are better and rents cheaper.
As the huge Office buildings multiply
am glad to say the women have had .beir
dainty fingers in the pie. To be convinced
that this is woman's era one has but to
come to Chicago and look at one of
the newest and most magnificent of the
structures which are making the city
famous. 1t was built and is owned by
the W. c. T. u. Five or six years ago
one of the women of that society, Mrs.
Matilda B. Carse, told me she was going
to put up million dollar Office build
ing, and showed me the plans which an
architect had prepared. "a nice plan
INTELLECTUALLY and pretty scheme-on
paper" / remarked. $50 you don't
think we'll ever build it2" remarked
Mrs. Carse laughingly. "You haven't
much confidence in women as builders.
Well, you wait and see." And here is
the building in the heart of the city, big,
beautiful, profitable. 1t is not safe to
doubt the capacity and the energy Of
women in this day and generation.
And the rapidity with which they do
these great things in magic Chicagol
Last February was here, and friend
pointed to vacant lot in which work
men were making excavations. eve
are putting up big building there
he said My friend being financially in
terested in the structure, I thought 7
would step up there today and see if the
foundation had been finished. Imagine
my amazement when I saw, instead Of
a cellar or the mere foundation which
had expected, a structure eighteen stories
high in its tallest part and nearly ready
for the tenants. Next week they'll be-
renting out the offices, and in month
1900 human beings will recognize that
building as their business home. A
juvenile city within four walls, of which
not brick or stone had been laid four
months ago!
The big wigwam in which they are
today nominating candidate for presi-
dent is another example of the rapidity
with which they carry on great CON
structions here. A huge colosseum,
built in a month; storm which sweeps
its roof away; a change of plan and
new roof, more substantial than the
first, put on in six days-all very Chi
cagoesque. More notable still is that
wilderness of palaces, the Worlds fair.
which grows precisely as the beanstalk
of Jack the Giant Killer is reported to
hox