The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1897-09-10
* BOSTON LETTER.
Social Features of Labor Day
Have Come to Stay.

This Years Parade Was Impressive The
ress of the City shown by Digging Up
Its streets Old Water system
From Jamaica Pond supply For Fires.
Old Haymarket square Clock New
Census OticiaI-Dramatic Offerings, Etc.
In spite of the dull times-even hard
times-of the last rev years, the mon
stration in Boston Oh Labor day uemon-
strated that organized labor, otherwise
union labor, still felt that labor was an
active force and was not at All cast doMn
by general conditions. For dozen years
labor day parades have been seen in this
city, but in all that time no one of them
has had more force or more potent in
fluence. There have been larger parades,
more snowy ones, but the simplicity Of
that on Monday was so marked as to be
effective. 1t told to the world that the
marchers were loyal to what they con"
ceived to be the best interests of the
working classes. Ten thousand men were
in line, minding not the heat, nor the long
| lIdlCIl icy WGIS Jul IOl IN lilNiplC' anu
never before made this so apparent.
But Labor day is, outside of its trades
union features, distinctively a day of
sports. 1t is the laboring mans field day.
No one feels too poor to play on that day
and the hard working citizen who with
his wife and family, if he is so blessed,
does not take in some kind of out door
enjoyment is a rarity. The parade as a
demonstration of the power of labor is
all right, but it is the social feature of the
day that does good. Everybody wants to
get out of the harness at times, and this
is the opportunity for many. OF all the
holidays of the year, no one is more thor
cughly enjoyed by the masses of the peo-
pie, and every year its celebration is
growing more popular. Parades will
cease after awhile, but picnics and sports
have come to stay.
The subway is proving grand 22-carat
success. Everything goes as though it
had always been that way, and there is
more to come in short time 1t is expect
ed that soon the other entrance to the
completed subway, at the junction of
will be thrown open to daily use; and then
all the cars from the South End and
Roxbury, which now make the Granary
burying ground their terminus, will be
running in the subway to Park street.
The work remaining to be done on the
strip of double tunnel connecting the new
entrance with the other tracks on Boyl-
ston street could easily be completed in
two weeks, and unless some delay occurs
in connection with the completion of the
big blower, just north of Hollis street,
cars will probably be running there by
the time another first of the month"
comes round
Is it cold or warm down in the big
ditch? is question often asked and
many fair passenger has wondered
whether she should take a heavy wrap
or fan when making the trip. To such
inquirers let me say that the tempera-
ture OF the interior of the subway at the
stations has been found to be about s.
although this rises 10 degrees or more
when the test is made in the midst of the
crowd waiting for cars Down in the tun-
mel between stations the temperature
has been found to stand at about So
Some draughts have been noticed on the
platforms between entrances, and pat
rons with delicate constitutions are won
dering if swinging doors or some other
protection will be afforded before winter
sets in.
Speaking of the subway as one of
the latest advances made by Boston re-
l. 20, hot he e H..
great trench often demonstrated our
progress by showing us the ways and
doings of the earlier days. In fact, dig
up any of the old streets, and you find |
evidences of what the old residents were
doing years ago. This is notably shown .
by the unearthing of old wooden pipes .
and aqueducts that supplied water to the .
residents of the old town in the 18th cen
fury. These old pipes represent all that is
left today of the first systematic water
sl stem that the city of Boston-at that .
time town-ever had. 1t was built more
than a century ago, and extended from
Jamaica pond to the vicinity of Fort Hill
square, then known as Fort Hill.
The history of the beginning of this
ancient aqueduct-the incorporation of
the company that built the line, the lay
ing of the pipe and finally the discon-
tinuance of the system-teems with in
terest Water was supplied to part of
the inhabitants by corporation char
tered in 1885 The lineal extent of the
pipes was about Is miles, the service eX-
tending on the easterly side to the town
nearly to State street, and on the west
Crly side to the Massachusetts General
hospital. About As miles of pipe were
laid by the Jamaica Pond Aqueduct com
pany, the average daily supply being
about 100000 gallons. At the time of its
greatest prosperity the aqueduct sup
piled about 1900 houses, chiefly at the
South End and in the neighborhood of
Summer and Essex streets and Pleasant
and Charles streets.
Nothing could be more primitive than
The way the water supply for fires was
secured. Holes, about six by eight feet
we're dug in the streets above the aque-
1uct logs, and this space was boxed with
stout plank on the sides and ends, and
tight bottom put in. The aqueduct log
ranthrough this box. A hole was bored
INTO the log, and a plug with long end,
which could be reached from the street,
Inserted. In case of needed use for fires
he plug was drawn from the log, the
eHs.wa Id