The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-06-24
4 JUNE D.fY IN CHIC.iGO.
II Forced n Southern Delegate to Inquire
whether lie Was III Chicago or In Hell.

CHICAGO. June 23.-As n Southern delegate
walked out OF the cold storage wigwam this
afternoon into the inky blackness Of Michigan
avenue. he said to a big policeman: For
Gawds sake. tell me. are we in Chicago or in
hell ?" His uncertainty is not surprising. for
during the past week Chicago has been an I'M
canny. uncarthly rain -delugcd. cloud dark
enei. thunder pounded. lightning stricken
dirty. sodden. Shiny. sickly. frightful conglom-
GRAFTON OF massive buildings and excited. Woe
begonc. hopeless citizens. Banks Of dense
fog have corked up every smoke Crmed
street. with their helpless. smoke grmed
nhattants. From morning until night. no less
than three times daily. absolute deluges
OF rain have fallen upon the panic stricken
people. bolts Of systematically vivid lightning
have zigzagged through the sky. denlolishing
monuments. Worlds Fair buildings. and
2l-storicd business blocks. and knocking
down human beings and animals without re-
gard to time. place. or condition This is in
no sense exaGg"ration or attempted humor. II
Is solid fact although the hapless citizens
Knocked down ly the lightning bolts are far
beyond the condition Of being able to prove 1t.
No New Yorker can at all conceive what THE
Sun here attempts to portray. In justice. it is
to be hoped that no other kind OF man can
conceivei it. The Chicago people themselves
say that even they. living In this home OF tho
elements. never conceived Of such disturb
ances as now whack down upon them every
few hours. 1t rained here solidy twenty seven
days In May; 1t has rained even more steadily
all OF June, Noah never could have built his
would have been washed away in the attempt.
Se.s GSssxo people he f1ewd o aso hu
Ss{ IT., tEIs{ I $sS :SSas Ss
and even en-, the lady visitors to the Convention
are getting SO case hardened against the most
Of one % Of the chiefs o, the BE-
mocracy told The SUI; correspondent yester-
day Tint ShS nssh to be so Gratd Of shnins
r n" more i"r tie iorkrd missiles Of Vulcan than
II they we've So many peanuts.
Every day that tho Convention has been in
session this awful h state Of things ha, con,
81 n"mocrats assembled here one Of these up:
henvals II nature lifted the roof from tn" vast
wigwam and carried II into the lake. whore i
forever. The substitute provided served to
shut out the sky from the eyes OF the delegates
failure. Morning, noon. and night during tho
Convention ne thunders have roared glove
land mob. the lightning has played about
the heads Of the presiding officers and the
them ms though they were sitting in the open
air But SO used have these people herom" TO
this state Of things that they sat In their seats
with tn" calmness Of despair. wondering what
would happen next, and firm in the conviction
that there could 10 nothing worse In store
for them.
The climax was reached to-day while tho
Convention was in session choosing a tail to
tho Cleveland ticket. While tho Hon. John
thousandth time mailing tho banner to tLr
mast. darkness suddenly came upon the vast
assemblage. The faces Of the 10000 spccta-
tors in the great hall became mer ged into one
symphony OF sckly green. Roars OF Thunder
that almost froze ones blood bombarded the
bling blanket OF clay On which all Chicago
buildings rest. The noise OF the battle In the
clouds was SO oycrpOwering that the shout
Ing OF the multitudo beneath the leaking roof
was hut childish prattle compared with it.
But for the fact thai the multitude had been
baptized three times daily In this frightiul
rage Of tho clements. they would have been
panic stricken in their wild stamI edo for
safety
But il the thunder was appalling the light
ming WAS magnificent Through the few open