Year: 1872

A calamity has oyertaken the city Of
Ration which Is without a parallel In
ibis country save in the burning of Chi
r.eo. It b, indeed, without any other
Dsnllel in modern timsT, in any country,
IN respect to the enormous destruction OF
u,Operty. A frc broke out in the heart
of The business section Of the city, at On
e.rly hour Saturday evening, and famed
bya gale, which sprung up by unfortunate
coincidence, ragged for 10 hours before it
could be brought under control. At the
end Of that time two thousand acres in
the business heart Of the city were in
ruins the loses being estimated to ex.
coed two hundred millions Of dollars.
The thrilling story, in all its dreadful de-
tails, is fully told in our news columns,
II Is difficult for the mind to grasp u
calamity so vast and overwhelming, and
still more difficult for the pen to portrayit.


The section Of thecity devastated is re.
ported to equal an extent oI three square
miles. That would be three miles in
length and mile 10 width-more than
double the area covered by this whole
city. This urea was deusely packed with
elegant and costly structures, very msny
Of them uuequaled on the continent II
anywhere. In no city Of the United
States could anything like SO much archi-
teCtursl Splendor and value, or so much
wealth In mercantile stocks, be found on
the same area. On some Of the streets
square after square was covered with
magnificent granite block, six and seven
stories in height, filled from cellar TO roof
With the most expensive fabrics. AL
these havegone down together into heaps
Of ashes before blast seven times hot
let tAAn the fiery furnace Of scriptural
rgrown.


1t ia some alienation oi the terrible
disaster TO know that it has not rendered
very great number Of families house.
less, The ravages Of the fire were con-
fined mainly TO the business squares, and
comparatively few dwellings appear to
have been burned; so that while thou.
sands on top Of thousands are ruined,
they are not yet homeless. While the
loses in money are quail to Il not great
eF than those Of Chicago, there Is not the
same multitude Of Gugitives 20 be sheltered
and fed, and hence not the same pointed
aPpeal 10 the sympathies Of the world
Nevertheless several cities, and Chicago
inst among them, have taken steps to
tender oil the aid in their power,
and others will be prompt to follow.
WhA! the effects Of this event, immediate
or more remote, will be on the business
interests Of the country, We shall not at
tempt here to speculate. 1t Is impossible
that so vast a sum should be totally lost
othe values Of the world without pro.
ducing a shock. But the losses will be
distributed throughout the country, as
they were in the case Of Chicago, and need
not, lteeems to us, produce a panic unless
there should be a needless and unmanlY
giving away to unreasonable apprehen.
"OuA Il the country could 60 through
The Chicago calamity with so little dis.
'uFbance to business and values, we do
uOtsee any good ground to doubt that it
can weather the storm now.


We take the liberty of suggesting to
HsHonor the Mayor whether some meas
u'es should not be taken by Council so as
lobe prepared to render our share of aid
'0Ihe sufferers so soon as 1t may appear
AOwgreat and urgent their needs may be.


'OrEoF WooD G CoUNTY.-The Parkers-