Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1901-06-17
BESANT ON AMERICANS
The English Novelist'S Views
of Our Cities.
He ESPECIALLY LIKED BUFFALO.
Sir walter Thought IL Narrowly Es-
capped Being Another Chicago.
Great Cities Of the East Not OF
Much Account In His opinion-Story
of "A Little IaotbInck.

Much Account In His opinion-Story
OF a Little Bootbinck.
After the late Sir Walter Bcsant. the
English novelist. had returned home
from his visit to the United States.
where he had attended the congress of
authors AT Chicago in 1898. he sub
United himself To the English inter
viewer. The result of the cross exam
ination, as published in The Fall Mall
Budget. shows that Mr.. Bcsant fell Il
victim to the charms OF Buffalo and
was only saved from an idolatrous
worship of New York states lake port
by the contemplation of Chicago. which
seems to have completely filled his eye
and mind. After sketching his brief
tour through New England and his
visit TO Or. Holmes and the houses of
Emerson and Hawthorne MIR. Besant
received the following interrogative
round shot and proceeded to give his
idea OF the bounding" west:
Having done all the New England
towns. you went west. | SUPPOSE
Yes. We stopped at Niagara for
| three or four days. The place is very
| different now from what IL used to be.
| The shantics and the like which SAW
tffcre Il years ago have been removed
and n lovely park made on each side.
| From Niagara we went to Buffalo. u
town about as big as Leeds. with q ho.
tel that is certainly better than any
thing out al London, it, indeed. il be
not quite n good as the finest In Lon
don. And here | may remark that
American hotels are, on the whole.
wonderful. Furniture. appointments
and the like are all perfect. The
charges, however, are very much
higher thar they are in this country
An American dollar In an American
hotel is not worth more than Il shilling
would he in one here. Nor is the rea-
son for this far TO seek. The people
who use hotels in the United States
can afford almost anything: therefore
they do not care what prices they pay.
All they ask for is comfort combined
with Inagniiicence."
Did you like Buffalot"
ut was very interesting to me. as it
was the first place in which l saw
something OF the extraordinary bust
ness activity of America There is a
there is no rush like that which one
sees in Buffalo. This place might. by
the way, have become the Chicago of
America There are four towns all
situated on milwaukee, Detroit,
Chicago and Buffalo. The position of
Chicago proved the most central and
she consequently won the place which
She now holds among American cities.
And this premier place she means TO
hold. there can be no doubt about
that"
"N hat do you think of Chicago?"
The business part Of the city is ugly.
IL consists of vast blocks of buildings.
Three of these blocks-they are CON
uguous and each is Is stories high-ac-
commodate no fewer than 1900 people
principals. clerks. storekeepers. ware
housemen aud others-every day This
part Of the town is empty In the even
ing and Is silent on Sunday. II Is IN
point of fact very similar to our own
city Outside the region OF business
there are beautiful villas. forming sub
urbs like those which encompass Lob
dom
And the Inhabitants of this great
city. what of themf"
There is one great point to note In
all Of these towns" said Mr. Besant by
way of reply and that is the vast
number of foreigners. In Buffalo. for
example. there are Polish quarter. a
German quarter. IN Irish quarter and a
native American quarter"
But the English. Have they no
quarterT
They generally merge with the
Americans The Irish do not"
nd the other races-tbe Poles, the
Germans and the Iker
These will merge Ike the English
do with the Americans And that will
be very soon. | think Listen to this
little anecdote: While in New Haven |
was asked one day II ! would haw1 my
boots sbined- II was a bright faced
pretty little fellow who accosted me-
asked him his name. and be said that
ii was Bobolovoski or something of the
sort-spell IL Ia your own way-and
that he was a Polish Jew He was
only 10 years Of age. be said and he
got up every morning at and went
ont TO shine From TO u he was AZ
school He shined from II until the
afternoon. when he went to school
again. and In the evening be shined
once more Now. this little fellow was.
in fact. perfect American-there can
he no question about it-aithougb by
birth he was a Polish Jew"
And now. Nr. BssanI ! should like
a few of your Impressions OF America
Il have not oyermuch to say" be re-
piled The thing which struck me
most was The fact that you have not
seen America at all until you have
been to Chicago New York is not
A Nx.xx L.