Baltimore

the chief city of Maryland, and the metropolis of a large territory. It is named for Lord Baltimore, whose colors, orange and black, are worn by the familiar Baltimore oriole. It is built on a harbor-like spur of the Patapsco. This river is practically an arm of the Chesapeake. It is only fourteen miles in length, but it is navigable for ships of twenty-seven feet draught. In 1729 a farm occupying the site of the present heart of the city was laid off into blocks and streets. In 1752 there were but twenty-five houses, only four of which were of brick. At the opening of the Revolutionary War there were about 6,000 inhabitants. In the early part of the nineteenth century Baltimore was a rival of New York. The building of the Erie Canal and the railroads that lead through the long pass of the Hudson and Mohawk valleys decided the contest in favor of New York. Baltimore fell behind neither for lack of enterprise, nor on account of local facilities, but because the products of the west could reach the seaboard more cheaply by way of the Mohawk Valley than over the high ridges of the Appalachian Mountains. If a low pass had existed between the valley of the Ohio and that of the Potomac, it is probable that the chief commercial city of the United States would have been located on the Chesapeake, presumably at Baltimore. Nevertheless the city has prospered wonderfully. The Civil War gave it prestige by interfering with the business of southern rivals. Baltimore now has an area of nearly 32 square miles. The census of 1900 reported a population of 508,957, making Baltimore the sixth city in the Union. It is expected confidently that the next census will show a population of at least 600,000. In exports it ranks second in the Union and in imports it is fifth. The annual exports to foreign countries, including corn, small grain, flour, live stock, provisions, tobacco, boots, shoes, cotton, oysters, canned fruits, vegetables, and machinery, cannot be far from $120,000,000 in value. It is the American port of a number of trans-atlantic steamship lines, including the North German Lloyd, Hamburg-American, and the Red Star lines, and is also in regular communication by steamer with all the principal Atlantic ports from Halifax to New Orleans. A large number of railroads, including the Baltimore and Ohio, center here. According to the last census there were over 6,000 manufacturing establishments. They pay out not less than $30,000,000 a year in wages and sell $161,000,000 of goods. The chief products of these local industries are ships, flour, cotton, duck, canned fruit and vegetables, canned oysters, machinery, packed meats, fertilizers, beverages, tobacco, clothing, furniture, and planing-mill products. It is the leading oyster market in the world. From a fourth to a third of the world's supply of oysters is obtained from Baltimore.

The various sections of the city meet at all sorts of angles. There are over 300 miles of cobblestone pavements. The public squares and principal parts of the city are beautifully laid out, well paved, surrounded by handsome buildings, and adorned with statues. The Washington Monument in Mt. Vernon Place is 180 feet in height, with a colossal statue of George Washington on the summit. A winding stairway of 220 steps within the shaft leads to the top, from which one can obtain a magnificent view of the Chesapeake, the Patapsco, the city, and its harbor guarded by old Fort McHenry, o'er which "the star spangled banner still waves." Among other memorials earning for Baltimore the title of the "Monumental City," is one erected to commemorate those who lost their lives in defending the city against the British in 1814. Baltimore has been fortunate in the liberality of its wealthy merchants. The Peabody Institute, the Enoch Pratt Free Library, and the Johns Hopkins Hospital are memorials of the men whose names they bear.

Maryland was settled largely by Catholics. Baltimore has long been the headquarters of that church in the United States. The chief dignitary, now Cardinal Gibbons, has his cathedral here. Forty-two Roman Catholic churches and thirty chapels with about 200 Protestant church buildings make Baltimore a city of churches. In addition to the public schools and a number of denominational and charitable institutions, Baltimore is fortunate in the possession of Johns Hopkins University, a richly endowed institution noted for scholarship. It does not offer courses in the lower years of college work, but devotes its energies to advanced instruction, in which it ranks favorably with the most renowned universities of Europe. In 1904 a great fire destroyed $50,000,000 worth of property.

See Star Spangled Banner; Johns Hopkins; Chesapeake; Maryland; Oyster