“ CHICAGO, shĭ-ka̤′gō̇ The county-seat of Cook County, Ill., the second city in population and importance of the United States, and the railroad centre and commercial metropolis of the West (Map: Illinois, E 2) . It is situated on the southwest shore of Lake Michigan, at the mouths of the Chicago and Calumet rivers, in latitude 41° 53′ 6′′ N., longitude 87° 38′ 1′′ W. ”

“ Chicago has a splendid system of public parks, covering over 2200 acres, and connected by wide, level boulevards which have aided materially in making the greater Chicago an organic whole. There are about 40 parks, of which seven are of considerable extent. There are, in addition, numerous attractive playgrounds to meet the needs of great masses of children who were without convenient access to the parks. The principal parks are maintained by State funds, and are controlled by a Board of Commissioners for each division of the city, appointed by the Governor ”

“ In the educational work of the city, a prominent place is occupied by the Art Institute, the numerous classes of which are as free as practicable, and are attended by 1000 or more students. Its Art School, which is self-supporting, offers one of the most complete courses in America: besides the usual branches of art, prospective and mechanical drawing, ceramics, and the modeling of ornament are taught by a large staff of professors. There are a year's traveling scholarship in the department of drawing and painting, and two annual scholarships for women. ”

“ Chicago is a centre for the manufacture of harvesting machines. The McCormick, and the Deering Harvesting Machine Works are the two largest harvesting machinery manufactories in the world. The former's area is 150 acres. Being a lumber-market, the city has developed extensive manufactures of lumber, the value of the manufactures of furniture being estimated at $12,344,000, and the lumber and planing mills products at $7,530,000. Owing to Chicago's prominence as a railroad centre, the manufacture of dependent products is naturally great. ”

“ The largest lake import is lumber. The vastness of the forests to the north, and of the farming interests of the surrounding region, gives Chicago precedence over all other markets in lumber, grain, and live stock. For thirty years the annual imports of lumber have exceeded 1,000,000,000 feet, and in certain years have doubled that amount. ”

“ The negro population is given at 30,150. Certain of the foreign nationalities, notably the Germans and Swedes, are well distributed over the city; others tend to congregate in limited districts which are overcrowded—chiefly those adjoining the central business section of the city. Chicago boasts of the healthfulness of its situation and sanitary conditions, having the lowest death-rate (14.68) of any of the large cities in the United States. ”

“ Grade crossings of the steam-railroads are obviated by numerous bridges, viaducts, and by track-elevation—the city containing more than twice as many miles of elevated tracks as are to be found in the combined mileage of all other cities in the United States. The street-railroad system, comprising cable, electric, and elevated roads, operates over 1000 miles of track. There are four elevated roads, having six terminal stations. There is a loop in the business centre, with stations two blocks apart, around which all trains must pass. ”

“ Fifth Avenue and Market Street being prominent centres of the wholesale dry-goods interests, and State Street the centre of the retail trade. In Chicago there has been a noteworthy development of the department store, establishments here ranking among the largest and most complete in the United States. Manufacturing establishments are found in various parts of the city, while the great live-stock and packing industry centres in the famous Union Stockyards, 475 acres in extent, some five miles southwest of the City Hall. ”

“ The retail house of Marshall Field & Company, on State, Washington, and Randolph streets and Wabash Avenue, represents the climax of Chicago's great buildings. There are in this structure over 1,000,000 square feet of floor-space, equivalent to 23 acres. The new granite addition of 12 stories erected upon the site formerly occupied by Central Music Hall. State and Randolph streets, rests upon 84 caissons of concrete, extending nearly 100 feet below the street-level. On one corner of Randolph Street is the Masonic Temple, the highest building in the city. ”

“ There are over 4000 miles of streets, over 1300 of which are paved, principally with wooden blocks, macadam, and asphalt, the mileage of the last-named material having increased rapidly in the last few years. Most of the main avenues are parallel with the lake. Of these, the Lake Shore Drive, Michigan, Drexel, and Grand boulevards, Prairie and Calumet avenues, Pine, Rush, and Cass streets, and La Salle Avenue, with Washington and Jackson boulevards running east and west, are conspicuous representatives of Chicago's more attractive residence avenues. ”

“ Chicago has a carefully planned system of public-school education. In 1847 there were four schoolhouses in Chicago, built at a cost of $5000 each—two-story brick buildings with an assembly-room and four classrooms on each floor. The educational department in 1902 comprised 15 high schools, including English high and manual training schools, and 233 elementary schools, besides a normal school, a reformatory school, a parental school, and institutions for the deaf. ”

“ The Chicago Bureau of Justice employs legal talent in aiding the poor to recover just wage-claims. The Bureau of Associated Charities carries on a worthy work by means of its summer camps and outings; and the Chicago Charity Organization Society, made up of representatives from the various allied organizations, exercises to some extent a centralized power by virtue of its general supervision. ”

“ There are certain items of county and township government not herein included—e.g. the county maintains the charitable institutions at an annual cost of $800,000.
Population. No other city has attained anything like the magnitude of Chicago in so short a time. With but 4470 inhabitants in 1840, the city had increased in 1870 to 298,997, ranking fifth among American cities; in 1880, to 503,185, ranking fourth; in 1890, to 1,099,850, standing second; in 1900, to 1,698,575, still holding second place. Greater New York alone had as great an absolute growth during the last decade ”

“ The trade in lumber products has shown, in recent years, some tendency to decline. The imports of grain in 1900 amounted to 307,000,000 bushels, besides 9,300,000 barrels of flour. In these products Chicago has exceeded Minneapolis, Duluth, Milwaukee, and Saint Louis combined. There is a marked increase in the importation of corn and oats. For the decade ending with 1900, the annual importation of hogs has averaged over 8,000,000 head, and of cattle and sheep over 3,000,000 each. ”

“ Detached houses mark the purely residence districts, which, together with the more recently acquired suburban areas where rural conditions to some extent still prevail, and the magnificent parks and boulevards of the public-park system, are noticeable in contrast with the congested business area, with its noise, dust, and smoke, and scattered tall office-buildings. ”

“ Chicago is, accordingly, governed by a general act of the Legislature passed in 1875, and by such subsequent acts as have in some measure modified the original act. The council is unicameral, with 70 elected members, there being two from each of the 35 wards. An elected mayor presides at the meetings of the council, and has a vote in case of a tie. He also has a veto, which may be overridden, however, by a two-thirds vote of the council. Some of the powers vested in the council have been delegated by it to special departments—i.e., police department, etc. ”

“ The library and gallery of the museum, as well as the lectures, are open to all students. The fee is from $5.00 to $25.00 for a term of 12 weeks. The Armour Institute of Technology, similar in scope to the Pratt and Drexel Institutes, has been enlarged since its inception in 1893 to include, besides manual and technical training, various courses in engineering, architecture, and science, leading to the degree of B.S. The Lewis Institute, opened in 1896, is an institution for the practical training of poor young men. ”

“ Chicago's phenomenal growth seems quite natural, however, when compared with the development of the ‘Great West,’ of which it is a part. Chicago has a remarkably high per cent. (34) of foreign-born population, and of the native-born, 59 per cent. ”

“ Over 25,000 men are employed in the industry. Every part of the slaughtered animal is utilized, thus giving rise to the manufacture of important by-products (such as soap and candles) , the value of this product alone in 1900 being over $9,000,000. The tanning of leather is of almost equal importance.
THE STOCKYARDS
The convenient location of Chicago with respect to the coal-fields of Illinois and the iron-ore regions of Lake Superior contributes greatly toward the industries which depend upon these two supplies. ”

“ The streets, with few exceptions, cross at right angles, and are generally wide, some of the boulevards being 120 feet in width. Some of the long thoroughfares, notably Western Avenue and Halsted Street, nearly equal the length of the city. ”

“ These lines connect all parts of the city and suburbs, and are extremely efficient, the system probably being the best in the country. The various steam railroads, which have over 1500 miles of track within the city limits, offer additional transportation facilities ”