Year: 1879

to let this exceedingly black cat out of her
hitherto very shady bag. He had neither
been to auction and bought real wet goods
nor pulled out his unstable merchandise,
wet it and dragged it about his floors, and
when he saw the people focking past his
store to those where the wet goods game
was being played, his rage knew no bounds.
He resolved to give the coup de grace to the
whole hunbug, and took his revenge on his
enterprising rivals and the hocking people
at one swoop, by painting a huge sign for
his store front, bearing the inscription !:
Goods soet to order, at short notice


A sUBTERRANEAN MONSTER.


Down beneath the pavements on Spruce
street, there is painting away, day and night,
every hour in the year, a huge iron slave,
running his giant arms out beneath side
walks, across streets, under massive build
ings and blocks, grinding away Samson like
in his dark prison house, perfect marvel of
strength, and without parallel on the Con-
tinent if on the Globe. He grips with one
of his long fingers the Bullock presses of
Horace Greeleys greatest monument, and
throws off 1000 Ifi6unes an hour from each
of the several presses under the famous Tall
Tower. With another, he grasps the light
ming presses of the paper which "shines for
all" and prints a hundred thousand Sans
before you have tasted your morning coffee.
Down Spruce street runs another giant arm,
which turns out the monstrous edition of The
NeaD York Ledger; another drives the presses
of the Sunday Dispatch, another runs down
into John Scott's cellar and prints over forty
weekly papers of lesser fame. To both
sides of Spruce, both sides of Frankfort,
both sides of William and one side of Beck
man, yet other arms stretch out and run
hundreds of devices for printing, ruling, per-
forating and binding in that busy nest of
types and cardboards fronting on and ada
cent to Printing House Square.


His fires never 60 out almanacs and
clocks, seasons and cycles, dynasties and
electoral commissions are not for him. He
heard the booming guns at Sumpter and
told the world what they meant, but his
painting quickened not. Lee laundering at
the gates Gettysburgh and Lee surrendering
at AppomattoX were one to this slave He
heard the tramp of armed men above his
head in 6l, and listened in '65 to the heav-
ier tread of thinner ranks bearing back
those tattered, riddled banners, which make
the veriest dotard's blood tingle in his veins
as he looks he saw Tweed's daughter wear
ing diamonds for shoe buttons, and looking
again saw the dethroned robber dying by
inchs in felon's cell, nor this nor that
meant anything to him. Old Time, to whom
we mortals bow most reverentially, looks
down through these grimy gratings and gets
no more attention than a contemptuous puff
of steam is his face This is the Slave of
Commerce not of Time he knows no law
but the demands of Trade and acknowledges
no master else


Twenty years ago printer owning a
steam engine which supplied more power
than he needed, began furnishing power to
his neighbors. They quickly found it cheap
er to take shaft from him than buy and
operate an engine for themselves, and the
business grew rapidly. This is the very
heart of the printing business of Gotham.
Within space of eighty acres is more capi-
tai invested in types and their accessories
than in half of all America. 1t was a rare
field Cor such an enterprise. A stock COM
pany was formed with $50, 900 capital, every
dime of it represented in the engines, boil
ers snd shafting. Great papers like the
Tribune, San and Ledger found it cheaper to
buy power than to generate it, and though
they have engines of their own, they hold
them only as reserves in case of accident.
No accident has occurred these twenty
years. A fire pump of immense power has
been attached TO these engines, thousand
feet of hose are always ready for use men
are at hand every hour of the twenty-four
and repeatedly have turned the full power
of these mighty engines upon the pumps,
and put out dangerous fires before even our
elert Fire department could reach the spot.
The chained slave has saved his master
nearly half million of money in this way,
to say nothing of the averted disorganization
of business from fire.


MORLEY.