The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-09-09
III Bumdred. >.
....,. Years Hgo.
How the People Lived When the
Country Was Young,
ARTICLE No I

Lille During the Eighteenth Century-It
IS not uncommon to talk about good old
times" and contrast them fayorabIv with
the present. The progress Of the pasf
century has been so great that in com
parlson the people of a hundred years ago
were savages. Most Of the comforts Of
the present times were unknown 1t Is
hard to make 1t seem true that President
washington never saw a railroad, or a
steamboat, or telegraph line, or a pho
tograph, or typewriter, or a sewing ma
chine, or a rubber band or shoe, or n
piano, or stem winding watch, or a cy-
cIoped1a, or dictionary, or chrome.
or steel engraving, or a friction match.
or a heating stove or furnace, or q gas
light or electric light, or fire engine.
or thousand other things common to
every one today; that he lived before
there was an iron or steel bridge, that he
forded rivers around Washington and
Philadelphia on horseback, that he had
dx9 glass In his windows, and never owned
Brussels or Wilton or Administer car
pet, even while president. There was not
power loom in America until 1914, and
WOOL card1ng Was done by hand with teas
les. Furthermore Washington If horn
over again today, and appearing in our
streets, would be looked upon as a rare
show, either in Washington, New York.
Philadelphia, Chicago or St Paul The
NSJS "NAAN OOtioAOt1 iltII Dis more LHan a
hayseed; and 1t is probable that, In spite
OF his natural dignity, he would be upset
by the novelty of the sights that would
meet his gaze, and be bewildered by the
rattle Of elevated railways and trolley
lines, and in trying to dodge bicycles and
automobiles
CITIES AND TOWNs-When washing
ton became president all the chief towns
were on the seacoast or tide water rivers
For fifty years following the beginning
OF the revolution the site of Chicago was
fiat, unbroken prairie, without a white
inhabitant. When the Revolution had
closed Cincinnati was log fort, with a
few huts; Detroit was a little French.
settlement surrounded with a high stock
ade. New Orleans existed, and st. Louis
was small trading post, but they both
belonged to Spain. Mobile and Pensacola
and Natchez and Vencennes consisted
of a few huts gathered about old French
forts The nineteenth century had pass
ed its teens before ST. Paul was known
San Francisco did not receive it's present
name until nearly half the years of the
nineteenth century has been told. There
was not city nor town worthy of the
name in the English colonies west of the
Allegheny mountains a hundred years
ago. Along the Atlantic coast we find
Portsmouth. Boston, Providence, New
Haven, New York, Philadelphia, Balti-
[AIGAd1uIld, Nlii1dHlSDurB, OQaTI6S-
ton, Savannah and others Of less note
But the largest of these were mere col
lections of d few hundred houses ranged
along streets, none of which were sew
cred, and few of which were paved or
lighted. AT the corners and on both
sides Of the way, stepping stones were
placed about a foot apart that pedestrians
might be kept out Of the mire, and these
steps on rainy day caused frequent
conflicts between citizens anxious to keep
their feet out Of the mud. Every prin-
cipal house in the cities had its gutter
projecting far beyond the roof and send
ing a torrent of water down into the
street. The windows were filed with
diminutive panes of glass, generally not
more than four inches square. There
were no street railways, nor parks, no
public statutes or monuments to COM
memorate men Or events. The watch
man went his rounds at night with rat
tie and lantern, called out the hours and
the state of the weather. and stopped and
demanded the name of every person found
walking the streets after o'cock. Houses
were not numbered and streets were not
named.