Year: 1878

his post to his own country, said, "When,
in my visits to England. shut my ears and
keep my eyes open think the country very
fourishing; but when / shut my eyes and
keep my ears open / find that England is
the most wretched country on the face OF
the earth" This epigrammatic saying
may be applied to the present condition OF
our own country. What every intelligent
observer sees with his eyes wherever he
goes contradicts the incessant croaking
which greets his ears. Any person who
doubts that the business of the country is
really -eviving should make a brief tour
with his ears closed and his eyes open. If
he believes what he sees he must be con-
vinced that we are undoubtedly on the road
to comfort and prosperity


Let him begin by strolling through our
streets on any bright morning or afternoon.
Let him alight from the elevated railroad
at Macys and walk along Fourteenth street
to Broadway, and thence up Broadway to
Twenty third street and beyond. and then
down Broadway till he passes Stewards,
through the section which includes the
great fashionable stores. He will be
less struck with the profuse dis
play of expensive goods in the shop
windows than by the crowds Of brightly
dressed ladies which suffocate the broad
sidewalks, going and returning in the pur-
chase of attire and adornments Let him
then consider where they get the money
for this brilliant parade of costly fripperies.
If our observer transfers his explorations
through the miles of less pretentious shops,
through Grand street. for example, on the
east side, or through the avenues which
hem Broadway, he will everywhere be
met by similar spectacle Of full shop
windows and swarming customers. although
the goods and the attire are less expensive.
But it is merely more ribbons and fewer
laces, with common jewelry instead of dia-
monds. This infinite wilderness of gay
apparel proves that there is great deal Of
| money to spend beyond what is requisite
for mere necessaries or decencies.


Let him next 60 to our markets and in
spect the profusion not merely of meats
and vegetables, but of fruits and luxuries
from every climate which is accessible by
sea, membering that what he sees to-day
will be replaced by fresh supplies to-mor-
row, and that the multitudinous dealers do
not maintain such q display without Gus
toners who pay as we'll as consume.
poverty-stricken community could not in
duIge in so much expense.


Let him next thread the narrow and
crowded streets which are the seat of the
wholesale trade. The array of boxes which
cucumber and obstruct the sidewalks and
the drays which render the streets i'm
passable tell their own story respecting the
activity of trade since the beginning of the
present autumn.


make wider circuit through the city, and
if he takes q pencil and makes memoranda
of the new buildings in process Of con-
struction he will find, when he sends back
his coupe to the stable and looks over his
notes, that he has witnessed a greater
| activity of masons and carpenters than was
| ever before seen in the city at one
time. So great an amount of building be-
tokens a rapidly increasing population.
There are many proofs that this is not a
deceitful appearance. One Of the most
noteworthy is the crowded state Of our pub
lie schools. Notwithstanding the liberal pro-
vision which the city has made in the erec-
tion Of numerous and spacious school build
ings, the mmodations for pupils have
become inadequate. The school authori-
ties report that since the opening of the
public schools in September more than
three thousand children have been turned
away for want of room to receive them.
The number of children in the city bears a
pretty uniform proportion to the number of
parents, and the insuficiency Of the school
buildings corroborates the other proofs of
a rapidly growing population. Any per-
son who will take the trouble to visit the
schools, or who will even stand on the
street near any one of them when the pupils
are dismissed for the day, will see that
they are as healthy looking and as
well dressed as at any former Pc
Rod in the history of the city. The health
which glows on the cheeks of these one
hundred and twelve thousand children
proves that they have as much wholesome
food as is good for them. and their whole
and comfortable garments attest the abil-
ity Of their parents to maintain the decen-
cies of life in their families Another proof
though not so Incontes;able, that the city is.
gaining in population, is afforded by the
increase in the registry of voters over that
of last year. This might, indeed, be ut
tributed to q livelier interest in city poll
tics, but we cannot regard this as the true
explanation. We believe that there is a
great deal of apathy among our citizens
respecting the result Of the pending elec-
ton. Be this as it may, there can
be no valid answer to the other
proofs Of considerable increase Of the
city population. An increase of popula-
tion implies an increase OF business and
ON nloxment for neonla do not conn here