The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1894-12-17

ing city OF the west, at least al against
Chicago. Her situation was such with
rsierence to the rivers of tho Ohio and
Mississippi valleys and the immense
areas oil rich country they penetrated or
touched that it was difficult TO see how
Chicago, even as queen Of the lakes"
and the hub OF several railroads, could
hold sway against her. His points were
we'll made and, having due reference 70
chronology, practically unansWerabls,
and was one OF those who we're i'm.
pressed and convinced by his argu.
monts. How II came about that "fate
miscarried" aud that the thing that so
plainly was to have been. never came
to pass las yeti is an interesting chap
ter in American history, but rather too
long for the columns OF the INrELLr-
GESCER ut this time. Il was simply
another case OF the unexpected thing
happening; the unexpected thing that
go often makes or mars our personal
lives, as well as the lives OF cities:
There were two factors that interviewed
to change the relative prospects OF St.
Louis and Chicago, each one Of them
only dimly indicated at the the time.
viz: the long duration OF the war and
the phenomenal development OF the
railroad systems OF the west and north
west, and particularly the DEVELOPMENT
OF belt lines around cities, and innumer.
able switches therefrom 10 factories
aud shipping houses. These factories
are what did the business for Chicago
versus st. Louis az respects their dis
proportional growth up TO this time.
EFFECT OF THE WAR.
OF course the war was on at the time
referred to, but no one believed that 1t
was on for four years, and no one ap.
preciated the magnitude OF it; no one,
unless it was General Sherman, and he
was thought to be crazy because he had
said il would take two years and 70.
| 1uire 100000 men. Neither Mr.. Wooa-
ward nor any one else anticipated that
st. Louis would be bottled up, smoth-
cred and boycot:ed for four years. or
that four years afterwards she would
simply sit still, like Marlus amid the
ruins OF Carthage, and survey the desc.
lation and impoverishme OF her trade
territory, and be reduced to q minimum
OF growth in consequences. Yet this
was exactly what happened TO ST. Louis
and exactly what did not happen to
Chicago. She was completely Knocked
out By the war and by the sOuth's four
years aftermath OF poverty, and by the
prejudice OF foreign and domestic cap
italists against her position politically
and geographically as field for invest
ment and exploitation.
Looking back to those days OF the
war and those following the war, one is
inclined to seek further parallels in the
cases OF Venice and Genoa in the cru
sades OF the middle ages. Venice was
queen Of the Adriatic," you remember,
where the galleys OF the crusades were
QUILTED and from whence they sailed,
by which ne got such start Of Genoa,
st. Louis of those days, and became
the Chicago OF her time. Venice is now
decadont while Genoa ia rejuvenescent,
and OF course the st. Louis man will
insist on my bringing the parallel clear
down to date. As to how It will really
pan out in the years TO come is con-
undrum / shall not hero undertake to
solve. As a historian OF the 'curren6
coiamo" order it is my province simply
to seek out and set in order such in
formation aud speculation as can CLEAN
By the wayside, and leave to others the
cracking OF nuts and solving oil prob
lens. As you know, have had my say
in regard to Chicago at divers times, be-
fore the fair and during that great epoch
in her history, and have always spok-
on OF her as city whose light was set
on a hill, and that never was and never
would bedhid under bushel. Therefore,
likethe prophet who had had glimpse
OF the tents of Jacob. and OF the taber-
nacles OF Israel, l cannot go back on Chi
cago. She is the second city Of the
union while ST. Louis is thefifth. They
were exactly even in 1850; at that time
100 900 each. Now the former claims
one million and six hundred thousand
people, which according to the last NOR
tality reports OF st. Louis she only has
100000. In other words, while Chicago
has increased abont 800 per cent, St.
Louis has increased about $50 per cent.
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN.
What might have been the ratio to.
day had not things gone wrong for st.
Louis to such lamentable degree will
ALWAYS remain in that category OF the
unknown and unknowable wherein lie
buried many myraids OF mysterious
possibilities and potentialities. Just
what sort OF a city Venice might have
been had the crusades never occurred
ia Cermaue to the speculation as to
what sort OF city St. Louis might have
been had the war never occurred. Who
can tell? As well try to tell what
might have became OF Rome had Hanni-
bal been equal to his opportunities after
the great battle OF Canine. Territorially
she sat enthroned. not like Venice ION
her hundred isles" but, better still, on
her hundred rivers. aud from tho
center clear down to the sea" she was
mistress on all OF these. No ono can
study the maps aud fail to see the i'm.
perial character OF her geographical
situation. Such ganglion Of nayIgabIe
rivers, covering such wealth OF access
to some OF tho richest areas on tho
globe, were never given to any other
city. Her boats could ascend the Mis-.
souri, clear to the Rocky Mountains and
the Ohio almost to the AlIeghanies, and
the upper Mississippi to the falls Of St.
Anth ony, or descend the lower Missis-
sippi, to the Gull OF Mexico. or penetrate
TO tho interiors OF Tennessee and Ala
bamn by means OF the Tennessee and
Cumberland rivers. or to tho interiors
of Arkansas and to Indian territory, and
OF Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas by
means OF such tributaries as the
Arkansas, the White, the st. Francis,
II 4 Ii. L.