New-York tribune., 1907-01-13
POOR CHICAGO!
An English Visitor Thoroughly Dis
approues the "Umdy City."

I InIr1fy
! verttsements There is but enc interlude in the
/ desolate expanse-Niagara. and Niagara is not an
Inappropriate introduction to Chicago. For Chicago
also is beyond the scale of human comprehension
ana endeavor In mere size both monstrous:
II Is in size alCne that tEey comparable
I Long before he reaches the sfav Citv" as its
Inhabitants fondly call it, the traveller is prepared
FOR the wor1t. At Pullman thick pail already
'hhss over everything. The nearer the train APP
proaches Chicago the d-aarier becomes the aspect
YOU are hauled through nile after mile of rubbish
and scrap hean. You receive an impression OF
SharledSed hints and broken bottles When you
pass the city Limits y,u Ltleve -ol:srlf at yoIIr
J5urncys end AoU have arrived only at the boun-
dairy Of ChIcIgus ambition ana Chicago Is forty
minutes distant The station, which bears the
name fv2d Street" is stH tu,. plairies 4 little
Eoie patience and you catch hrst glimpse. of the
ake-Nast. smooth and gray in TIE morning light
a Jo''' ard you are des ending, grip in hand upon
the platform.
The first imprcs ion of Chicago and the last is
oi an unfinished monSros.ty. 1t might be 4 vast
runway station hl"t for erd women twenty
feet nigh. The skysC rapcrs in which it cLerfshes
an IHordnate pride, SHIT the rav; of sun
lght which pcnetrate It's dusky at.nosphere they
nave hoi ia" excuse Cf narrow space which their
ilVai" III New York may pl~ad. They are built in
more "ah, ,onn' SIS. for within the city limits whose
Instance rom the centre the best proof of chi
Cages 10 ptfuIacss, many miles Of waste
ground covered only with broken fences and bat
Uieu s"aAteS. AMI As they raise their heads
nrUugA Iig the murky fog, these skyscrapers wear
umi's, their ornament Is liic5usIy heavy and
IN New o,.i, hey never combine Us they combine
cIemor bI uih, tnh,, !hto an impressive whole. They
0'S4r SmG Patantly of their size, and that is all
word OF excuse can be found tor the oGtskirts Tor
new lnan Az an and Chinese quarters, for crude
NV. Nv ulstrlcts which fasten like mpets upon the
iess rotnless mass OF Chicago" 1nese 70 an en,lirlng
separate ana Of Themselves i' anu de'""'n "hich
I'm ils SUGGESTION of horror Chicago democratic
Ierk fH m ] ana poor alike suffer from the prevailing
shor o' IiS'e, me proud residences the Lake
sulky skyscrapers Some of them LOOK ike nr sons.
some some make sad attempt at gayety: ali are amaz,
ing is oened thaG none " h, 10, 10 t4em moth
@ @olat they prefer 10 express themselves their
What then is toerable in Chicago? Lincoln
rark, which the smoke and fog of the city have
snlep5or 3oS'uIeG m ana me noble AXE WHO'S fresh
y. ~ - no ptlahy Or man can ever deface. And
at one moment OF the day, when dark cloud hung
hind the sKyscrapers each black. and bcRer fer
us ehGlIcIng @ smoke Chicago rose superior 10 her
After ugness the worst foe of Chicago is dirt
is al the peril of nlthy hands that you attempt to
open window. The streets untidy as the
houses, houses, garbage Is dumped in the unfinished road
way WAYS ana IN and out OF your hotel you will seek
The citizens of Chicago themselves far too
busy busy to think whether their city is spruce un-
is universal and insi.tenj The energy OF New York
Is said 10 be mere leisure compared to the hustling
9f Chicago Wherever you go you are conscious OF
the hotel is packed with people chatterng, calcu-
Whcf registers the latest quotations never ceases
In The street every one is hurryng that he may
Materiasm is the frank end and aim OF Chicago
as possible The means are indifrere3t ' ro fbenf
II Is the pace alone which is important All they
money, And when they are. rich they have no
useless 70 them except TO breed more money
The inevitable result is I savagery OF thought and
If We may believe the newspapers Of Chicago.
he IS At ptcut
instrument in this city OF the backwoods But
seldom ueeg community Of harbarlans which did
ana Ghicazo in It's hours OF eese is an entnusistic
patron Of The higher life In culture # is fast out
mon sce5cc and Iteretre :" than ot5e
ished for the proper study of Ihseu AMI Browning
nghtenmen, Of women as for sending up or down
e erde % society viii pass like many others and
though II may appear sincere while IT lasts, it is
The one triumph OF Chicago is its slang. It has
Invented lingo more various and fuller OF fancy
Ibsen ana exercise it's invention after Its own
Yet with all It's faults and absurdities upon its
6e ,he t tTpe bTas Of p Ia all he
assaults OF It's enemies Never In history was so
stranger to understand upon what it is based Chi
cago is Chicagothat is what its citizens say with
Its dirt and dust do disconcert It's scf"sJeem.
appointment to It's candid soul and Il peculiar
virtue escape your observation much the worse
If Chicago can only astonsh the world. that is
enough. It's citizens fondly hope that everything
prominence are the three g1ds Of Their idolatry
al prominent. and their buildings all the larg
est that cUmber the earth II is great comfort 10
board Of Trade to reflect that the weathercock
that surmounts its tower is the biggest ever seen
by human eye. There is not one OF them that Will
not tell yuu, with a satisfied smile. that the slow
est OF their fire engines go from one snd Of the
city TO the other in tVe seconds. There Is not one
OF them who IN the dark recesses of his mind; Is
are proud Cf the sonscless height of their houses,
ana Of The apdity win WHICH th'y mount 'Gwrd 3gv
which spring up about them like mushrooms IN a
fhi56fs fhi6rF ~ Which IN the should fee Shame and even
when their buildings have been measured and ttelr
For when all the world has been satisfactorily
cago? They cannot take delight in the soil. since
he mos; cf them do not belong to il The patriot
together amid their lofty Gins must perforce be an
faction upcm thS dshcveed Suburbs in whc they
e m Rey nsed net tb 5s he dy az But Gt
wherever they dwell and whatever they do they
are convincct e their own superiority.
And what amiable Impressions do You carry away /
from Chicago besides the majesty of the lake ever
i1rd iiiTpi" sireat sa1 bt1cE regiment march,
Ing along MchtsSn marching Ike soldiers:
and by it's side on the pavement a laughing shout
ing mob of Negresses danced triumphant cake
walk They grinncd and sang and "hattered in
Perfect heppiness and pride They shovel frank ii
friends. But, animated as TIE srectacle Was here
an English eye II seemed a tragic farce Verit-
nhappy l. the city which has no history; and
what has Chicago 10 offer of histoy or tradition?
what h@s to ,e m the Ga nr Tnce slg T re Tss
and she stin lives in the recollection visiGr ~ .
cafhcdraI. epe@sy q; pictures In Chsage he is
asked to wonder at the shgpeeTs rssdsnceS II
izati,m fades and dies what Will be Chicat2s /