New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-12-24
THE IMPERIAL METROPOLIS.

The greatness Of the gift which the successful
Peace Commissioners to-day bring hither has al
ready been much dwelt upon. but never exag-
gerated The horrors Of war from which we
have been freed, the blessings Of peace which
have been restored to us. the responsibilities OF
extended dominion which have been laid upon
us and the opportunities of bencicent achieve
ment for ourselves and for humanity which
have been opened before us are all too vast for
possible overslatcmcnt They are III circun-
stances for n nation whose progress and power
and riches and whose record of things done are
the wonde. and admiration Of the world. They
are tit circumstances. TOO. for the metropolis OF
that Nation. which more than any other part
perhaps than all other pars-of the Nation is TO
he concerned with them. 10 bear their burdens
and TO enjoy their benefits. 1t will be well 10
give day 10 n certain nIrospection of this i'm
peria capital thus 10 gain fuller comprehen-
sion Of the character Of the city to which the
Commissioners bear this gift
\ volume. whole library might be filed
with descriptions Of Ncw-York without exhaus-
ton of the IA me- To-day The Tribune offers
such treatment of il. In actual quantity Of
reading matter the seventy-two pages Of our
Metropolitan Holiday Supplement are equal TO
duodccimO volume OF nearly fourteen hun
dred pages or series Of six volumes Of two
hundred and thirty pages each. Such Is the
actual bulk Of the matter presented to the read
ers Of The Tribune today. But mere bulk Is
not the measure OF greatness or OF worth. The
pens OF writer's trained 10 discrimination and
conciseness. and the blne pencils Of editors past
masters In the art of putting much in little. have
given 10 this work n quality OF comprehensive
less and terseness combined such rs we shall
scarcely find in handbook or encyclopedia. Here
are a range Of topics and completeness Of
treatment such as Is commonly looked for only
In books Of cumbrous voluminosty. all within
the compass Of single issue OF a daily paper
1t Is fit memorial OF this great metropolis and
Of this suspicious epoch.
And what a city this is shown 70 be, Think
OF a billion dollars capital invested IN industrial
enterprises and more than half a million men
and women employed therein. Think Of an as
ISOLATION Of banks with nearly sixty millions
capital and eight hundred millions OF deposits,
Think Of a Clearing House with S247 900 900 OF
transactions in a single day and Of a Sub-Treas-
ury with business amounting to 81, SOC, OOO, 600
In year. Such figures battle comprehension
and intoxicaic the Imagination Yet they ex-
press merely the plain, practical truth concern
ing the city Of Naw-York. We shall find this 10
be. according 10 these luminous and truthful
pages, beyond all comparison the foremost city
Of the Union In finance. in commerce, In manu-
features and in the general volume Of industry
and enterprise. Here are the great exchanges.
Here are centred the interests Of the most cOlos-
sal railroad systems in the world. Here Is such
a group Of hotels no other city even approx
mates TO Here. in single municipality, ia
ruassed a greater population than that Of any