St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1898-04-13
Our Chicago Letter.

Our Chicago Letter.
The City's Growth.-Cnrfew Laws.-The Sal
walton Army and Gen Booth.--The Church
Of the Christian Scientists. -"Coin" Harvey's
last Sickness. - Local Charities Funerals
Conducted by Bicycles.
Correspondence of the CALIFORNIAN
The postmaster at Chicago has 2495
employees. There are 81 stations and
agencies and the general revenue is
S5.50OO0O. Its revenue has increased
IL per cent in the last twelve months.
There are ITO daily collections and GIG
deliveries. and yet there are So square
miles of the city's territory without car
rier service! These figures may seem in
credible, but they are taken from the
postmaster's annual report issued today.
There is no precedent for such a growth
as the city is enjoying Between the
hours of six and nine in the morning and
four and six in the evening the streets
are blocked with the crowds hurrying to
and from their work. 1t is like unto an
army OF ants marching on. At night when
the big sky-scrapers pour forth their pop
ulation the streets are almost impassa-
Bile. All lines of transport alton are jam
med between these houses and the prob
lem of carrying even much less accommo-
dating the outlying part Of the city's
host is an ever recurring matter OF
anxiety. Steam and rail, cable and cleo.
trio lines on the surface or elevated-have
apparently reached the limit OF safety SO
far as their carrying capacity is to be
considered.
see the Eastern papers are criticizing
US because some of our cities have adopted
what are known as curfew laws by vir-
tue Of which children under 16 years OF
age are not allowed to be on the streets
after certain specified hours of the night
They argue that it is putting the state in
loco PARENTS and that councils and cities
have no right in any way to assist in the
government Of the family, or tell the
father what time he must have his chill
dren under his roof. But is it correct
reasoning? The state compels the par
ent to send his children to school and to
send his boy to teacher about whose
selection he has had no voice; the child
is obliged to take up studies regarding
which the parent is not consulted. Shall
not the state, for the same reasons it
does these things, prevent a parent from
allowing that which will disqualily his
child for good citizenship or make him a
charge on the state? It has the same
right to say that boys shall not grow up
loaiers that the municipality has to say
that they shall not grow up illiterate. If
parents did their duty by their children
there would be no need OF compulsory
educational laws or truant officers
neither would curiew laws be necessary
But would go still farther and favor the
6nng of parents who allowed their chill
dren on the streets during the prescribed
hours. Such an idea as is now being adj
vanced by educators in New York state.
The wisdom of these laws are fully sho wn
throughout the West. They are easily
enforced and are welcomed by parents as
assisting in restraining FESTIVE boys
FESTIVE of the requirements of every well.
governed home.
They are enforced in upwards of $50
cities and towns in the West. The only
complaints come from those cities that
have never tested the curfew regulations
Judge John Barton Payne of Chicago
recently gave from the bench the follow
ing wor OF advice to a lawyer whose
client had been guilty of some miscon-
duct in the trial of SUIT. He said,
"While would not attempt to fix q
moral standard for you, you have main
tanned that it is your duty to stand by
your client. | must still say that feel
the first duty of lawyer is to his own
honor and public justice" These are
ringing words, repeating principles we
all approve and which should be prac-
ticed not only in the relation of lawyer
and client but in other walks of lille as
well.
A number of cultured people met in a
Chicago parlor the other evening. They
were people who would feel insulted to
be told that they spoke bad English or
used dialect. They were well known
to each other and the conversation was
not only very informal but was also
very iorcible. One of their number
amused himself by taking down the Ian
guage iu shorthand. As it was done &C.
cordlng to the phonetic system all the
slurs and deficiencies were made manifest.
| This was afterwards written out ON a
typewriter and the conversation sub
mtted at subsequent gathering The
people were mortified to know they had
been using what reporter terms very
"scrappy" English and all sorts of slang