The New York herald. [volume], February 12, 1876, Page 4, Image 4

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NE W *ORK KERALD
BROADWAY AND ANN STREET.
JAMES GORDON BENNETT.
PROPRIKTOK.
THE DALLY HERALD, published er-ery
day in the year. Four cents per copy.
Twelve dollars per year, or one dollar per
month, free of postage.
All business, news letters or telegraphic
j ??? ?... w. \'m york
UUDfJU(/VUC? XU UDb uc auuivoovw I
TTmat.T>
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ealed.
Rejected communications will not be returned.
PHILADELPHIA OFFICE?NO. 112 SOUTH
SIXTH STREET.
LONDON OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK
HERALD NO. 46 FLEET STREET.
PARIS OFFICE- AVENUE DE L'OPERA.
Subscriptions and advertisements will bo '
received and forwarded on the same term*
as in New York.
YOLUMF. XI.I NO. 4;]
g. . ---- . - 1 - '
WUMT8 THIS iFTBMM AMI ITOM.
BROOKLYN THEATRE
JANE EYRE, at 8 P. M. Mint Charlotte Thompson.
Tt)NY PASTOR'S NEW 111EA1 RE.
VARIETY, at 8 P. M.
UNION SQUARE THEATRE
ROSE MICHEL, at 8 P. M. Matinee at 1 :3() P. M.
NATIONAL ACAHKMY OP DESION.
lEXUIBITlO.N OP WATER COLORS
... ACADEMY-OP MUSIC
UL TROVATORK, at 1 :?> P. M. Mile. Tiiieut.
KIWI avenue"theatre
|J)'^UE, at 8 I' M. panujr Davenport. Matinee at 1:30
? TniRTY FOURTH STREET OPERA HOUSE.
Variety ..lkp m ?t -a i> m
BOWERY THEATRE.
fTTNCLE TOM S CABIN, at 8 P. M. Mrs. O. C Howard.
Matinee at 2 P. M.
PARISIAN VAKIF.TIES
VARIETY. at 8 P. M Matinee at 2 P. M.
FAN KRANC'ISCO MIN'8TREL8at 8 P. M Matinee at 2
a* M
GLOBE THEATRE.
VARIETY, ?t 8 r. M. Matinee at 2 P. M.
BOOTH'8 THKATRE.
JULIUS C.USA R, at 8 P. M. Mr. Lawrence Barrett. Matlueo
at 1 :'JU IV M.
THBATKE COMIQUK
TARIETY, at 8 P. M. Matinee at 2 P. M.
GERMAN! ATHBATRE
J5REI STA ATSVEKHRIil'llKR, at 8 P. M
T1VOL1 THEATRE
VARIETY, at 8 P. M.
WOOD'S MU8EUM.
.T ACK IIARRAWAY, at 8 P. M Matinee at 2 P. M.
THIRD AVENUE" THEATRE.
TARIETY. at 8 p M Matinee at 2 P. M.
W AI, LAO K'STU P. AT RE
JOHN OARTH.athi'.M Mr. Lealer tv all nek Matinee
?t 1 :3U P M.
OLYMPIC THEATRE
TARIETY. at 8 P. M. Matinee at 2 P M.
(IRANI) OPERA HOrSE.
OLIVER TWIST, at 8 J*. M. Lucille We.torn.
colosskFm.
IPANORAMA. 1 to 4 IV M anil 7 3(1 to 10 P. M.
EAGLE THEATRE.
V ARIETY, at 8 r. ?l. Matinee at 2 1*. >1.
TWENTY THIRD STREET OPERA HOUSE.
CALIFORNIA MINsTKBLS, at S P. M. Matinee at J r M.
(WITH SUP PLEM ENT.
FKW TORI, s.viTUbAY, F8BRUAKT 13. 1871.
FVom ovr rejxorfs this morning the probabilities
are tluit the weather to-day will be colder and clear
or clearing.
The H khali) by Fast Mail Trains.?Newsdealers
and the jndilic throughout the country
will be supplied xrith the Daily, Weekly and
Sunday Herald, free of postage, by sending
their orders direri to this office.
Wall Street Yesterday.?Gold was steady
lit 113. Money on call loaned at 3 and 4 per
cent. Government bonds were steady. Coal j
securities were weak and other investments
firm. The stock mnrket was irregular.
TnK Russians in Central Asia are gradually
cementing their power. The loader of
the recent insurrection has surrendered, and
all Khokand is prostrate before the Russian
forces.
Turkey has accepted the AnJrassy reform
project after some show of resistance. It is
doubtful, however, whether this will end
whatever there is of insurrection in Herzegovina
or bring content to Bosnia.
Morn Guns fob Cuba.?The Spanish government
has purchased six Krupp guns,
which are to be sent to Cuba. Unfortunately
for Spain neither Krupp guns nor fresh
forces will put an end to the insurrection in
that island.
It Turns Out that M. Voisin, just appointed
Prefect of Police for Paris, is not so
much of a Bonapartist after all. The dissatisfaction
with his appointment indicates,
however, that France will be satisfied with
nothing except the Itepublic.
The Scottish 11iflk Club has declined to
* W
Accede to the proposition for a combined
British team and is determined to send a
team of its own to Philadelphia. We trust
thia will not be made a pretext by the English
riflemen for not sending an English
team.
Enoland and France, are having some
difficulties on account of the Newfoundland
fisheries, and it is rumored that a British I
man-of-war is to be stationed permanently
at St. Johns. This would add something to
the gayety of the Newfoundland capital, but
we doubt whether it would enable the
islanders to catch more fish.
A Waste of Money.?It seems to be an unnecessary
waste of money for the London
correspondents to cable us about the "walk- I
ing matches" of that prodigious humbug 1
Weston. No one wants to hear about him
on this side of the Atlantic. Times are hard
now, and we may have news of importance \
soon. So Jo not waste any moro money
on Weston. We Jo not care to hear about
him, at least at so heavy a rate per word in
gold.
Th? Exbcutio* of Owm Livdsay at Syracuse
yesterday was attended by an nnusual
circumstance where guilt is undoubted?the |
persistence of the doomed man in asserting
his innocence to the last. The story of the
murder, the finding of the body of the murdered
tuan and the history of the trial are
equally remarkable. Conviction was ob- I
t uned upon the evidence of an accomplice,
who, according to his own showing, shared the
guilt as well as the plunder. And now
comes a doubt whether Lindsay was justly
hanged after all?not a very strong doubt, it
true, but one which shows the danger of
Ranging men upon the testimony of accom- J
fdices whose evidence enables them to escape
he gallows. Hanging is bad enough where
fcuilt is clearly established, but it is always
to be deprecated when an accomplice purchases
exemption at the cost of tho life of
another. - * *
JTK W YORK
|?M|or Brace'* gpeeea?Why the Mouth
is Democratic.
The extraordinary attack upon the President
and his Southern policy by Senator
Bruce, the colored Senator from Mississippi,
opens up a question, which has been frequently
asked?Why is the South a democratic
unit? Senator Bruce gives on e reason? |
namely, that tha President has abandoned
his friends, the colored men. Therefore
we hear much talk from the re- \
publican leaders about the perils to the
country of a "united South" and the necessity
of voting down the democratic party, >
because it has behind it a "solid South
and sectionalism in politics is so dangerous
an element, and has been so potent for mischief
in our past history, that this cry promises
to be very effectivo. It is useful to see 1
on what foundation it rests. There is no
doubt that if one part of the Union is permanently
arrayed against the other for some |
selfish purpose, as was the case before the 1
war, when the South*was united for the one i
end of spreading the area of slavery, or, as |
happened in General Washington's time, J
when the West was jealous of the East, this j
is an inconvenience and may become a peril j
to the whole country. This is properly sec- j
tionalism ; and a sectional party, a party !
having at heart not the good of the whole
Union, but the selfish advantage al a part of
it, is undoubtedly mischievous.
It is a fact that the Soflthern States are
now solidly democratic. Does this make
them sectional ? Wo think not ; for they
have no sectional or selfish aim ; they do not
seek to advance any selfish policy ; they
have no objects in view, in their political agitation,
inimical to the whole Union. It is
an error, therefore, to speak of the present
political condition of the South as "sectional"
in the proper and usual sense of that
word ; and one proof of this is seen in the
fact that during and shortly after reconstruction
the republican leaders themselves
planned and hoped to make the South solidly
republican by the overwhelming numbers of
its colored voters, and believed they were in
this following a quite legitimate political
aim.
Nevertheless, it is not a pleasant nor a
uealtnlul thing that the whole ot a great ana
important geographical section of the Union
should deliberately join itself to one of the
two political parties which divide the country.
Instead of raising the mad-dog cry of
sectionalism about it it would be far
wiser to look for the causes of this phenomenon.
We propose to examine them brieflj'.
In 18G8, of fourteen Southern States?excluding
Maryland?all but Georgia, Kentucky
and Louisiana either cast their votes
for General Grant or cast no vote. In 1872
Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and
Texas went democratic, and Louisiana was
also fairly carried by them. In 1874 all the
Southern States, except South Carolina
and Mississippi, had become democratic.
In 1875 the democrats carried
also Mississippi; and at this time
even South Carolina is not certain to remain
republican. Thus, since the accession of
General Grant to the Presidency the republican
party has lost almost the Whole South,
and this in spite of the fact that the federal
power and influence?always very potent in
the Southern States?have been used as
they never were before since the foundation of
the government, to maintain the republican
ascendancy in those States ; and in spite of
another fact, of equal importance, that there
are in all those States two parties as strongly
opposed by sentiment, opinion and tradition
as the republicans and democrats in
the North, and leaders in each of these parties
ambitious for power and place and
very ready to seize these from their opponents
if the opportunity offered. How,
then, is it that these two parties and their
contending leaders have been welded into a
solid mass of opposition to the republicans ?
How is it that whigB and democrats have
snnk their traditional animosities and jealousies
all over the South and are found acting
together ?
If we examine the story of Southern politics
during General Grant's Presidency we
shall discover reasons quite sufficient to account
for this remarkable coalition, without
having to suppose a spirit inimical to the
Union or the general welfare. We shall find
that in ever}- Southern State where republicans
have ruled they have boen incredibly ;
corrupt and wasteful^ of the people's money ;
they have robbed the taxpayers, until in
many places their levies amounted to confiscation
; they have created vast State, county,
city and even township debts, over and above
the heavy taxation ; have destroyed the credit
of the States they misruled ; have brought
financial disgrace and ruin upon many communities,
and while thus shamelessly plundering
they have neglected all the most important
duties of rulers ; have corrupted the
courts of justice, encouraged'or tolerated
lawlessness and crime, and refused all remedies
for the people's wrongs. The people of
the Southern States would not be Americans,
thoy would hardly be human beings, if they
rested content under such monstrous misgovernment
as that of their republican rulers 1
has been.
The result lias been that gradually, in
most of these States, the decent and intelligent
part of the whites has been driven into
the democratic party. Louisiana, for in- i
stance, is a whig State, and the whigs would ,
have carried it over to the republican party,
but the corruption of that partjr repelled
them so strongly that in the election of 1874 !
less than five thousand whites voted with
the republicans, and these were almost
vn iiu > iu> uiuci'-uonifrs ana ineir ]> rsoimi
following. The same is true of Alabama,
Arkansas, Mississippi ami other Southern |
States. It was not merely disgust at republican
plundering which drove the white
voters away from the republican party; it
was because they could not stand the too
long continued robbery, the exhausting
hues, the heavy debts.
Another cause justly confirmed their detestation
of the republican rule. In their
extremity they turned for help and justice
to the federal government at Washington,
and there both help and justice were contemptuously
denied. They found the robbers
favorites at the White House and influential
in Congress, and their own complaints
and remonstrances were rejected as those of
"rebels." The President gave the federal
. uationdute in the Sv?ui h to men Hka Snenccr.
HERALD, SATURDAY, FE
Dorsey, Packard, Casey and Ames, and these
men were allowed to appoint to important
federal offices in their States persons many tl
dozens of whom have since been convicted ?
of public plundering. Many others have r
run away to avoid just punishments, while M
most of them were mere adventurers and j
political bummers. Nor was this all. The ^
President has seemed to take especial pleas- tl
ure in making appointments which were t,
simply insults to these Southern communi- ti
"ties. Thus, when the revolutionary scheme of n
Brooks failed in Arkansas and a republican tl
Congress declared him to be in the wrong, tl
General Grant appointed him Postmaster at ^
Little Rock, turning out an honest republi- g
can to give Brooks the place. To one of tl
Brooks' adherents he gave a consulship ; to B,
another a post office. Yet these men had h
just been pronounced by Congress guilty of v
having planned a crime against the State
which would in other countries have made n
them outlaws. Aenin when two Conores- n
? -D , _ II'
eional committees had declared the Louis- ti
iana Returning Board of 1874 a fraud and p
had overturned its verdict, the President at p
once appointed Wells, the chairman of that t]
Board, the chief perpetrator of this revolu- p
tionury fraud, to ono of the most important n
federal offices in the South, and the Senate e
has lately confirmed him. When Alabama s,
became democratic Spencer had still influ- p
ence enough at the White House to procure B
for his creature Ilines the Marslialship of 0
the State, and he would hold it to-day had e,
he not been detected in committing frauds on r<
the Post Office. When Mississippi, in turn, p
no longer willing to bear the corrup- 0|
tion and maladministration of Ames, e(
becomes democratic by the help of honest tl
repub^ans, Senator Morton tries to rip uf> ri
the election by an investigation which has
no warrant in the constitution and whose c
single aim is to maintain the power of a set b
of unscrupulous and lawless corruptionists. b
When Governor Chamberlain in South Caro- (j
lina trios to purify his party he is openly p
denounced in Washington as "no better ](
than a democrat" q
Is anything else needed to account for the c
fact that the South is solidly democratic ? p
With only fair and honest management at t<
Washington four or five of these States
would be strongly republican to-day; and, p
what is of greater importance, in all of them a;
parties would be divided on natural and C)
proper issueB instead of on the color line, g,
It is the fault of the administration at Wash- S1
inrrtnn that, this has net come about. The V.
President Las deliberately and constantly
taken the side of the plunderers in the d
South. To them, and to them only, ho has
shown boundless favor and given unfalter- B|
ing support ; when the people of their States p
repudiated them ho has given them federal w
places ; when they appealed for help they ei
got it ; when they misrepresented the South ti
he believed them and refused to hear other ti
evidence than theirs. And now the repub- p
lican party is alarmed at the result. p
a
Mayor tVickham'i Power of Appoint- r(
in e lit. 01
The resolution which has been adopted by
the Assembly instructing its Committee on ^
Cities to consider the expediency of report- ^
ing a bill vesting in the Mayor of this city ^
the absolute power of appointment, without
the consent of the Board of Aldermen, has a ^
suspicious look. A greater concentration of 11
responsibility in the hands of the Mayor 6
might be deemed expedient in a general re- e<
vision of the charter, but as a separate 01
change it would be absurd. The public 1
opinion of the city will oppose it so long as n
the general framework of the charter re- ^
mains in its present form. ' If tho heads of
departments and commissioners came in 1
and went out with every new Mayor it
might be wise to give him the sole power of rt
appointment, and thus fix upon him alone 11
the responsibility for efficient administration.
The idea of such complete authority **
would be to give each Mayor an **
unrestrained control of his subordinates ^
and leave him without excuse for permitting
malversation, incompetence or negligence 01
on the part of any city officer. But to give I1
tho Mayor this absolute power of appointment
without other fundamental changes ftI
would subvert responsibility instead of en- ^
forcing it The commissioners and heads
of departments hold for periods of four and C(
six years, while the Mayor is elected for ^
only two. Such a bill as the Assembly has al
in contemplation would, therefore, em- f1
power Mayor Wickham to appoint the sub- 11
ordinates of his successor in office. It
would give him, for example, the power to ai
appoint, next October, a now Comptroller as C(
the successor of Mr. Green for the ensuing ri
four years, although his own office would 41
expire in a little more than two months? 11
that is to say, he would appoint the prin- ?
cipal subordinate of the next two Mayors. ^
The same illustration will apply in the case ?
of every commissioner or head of a depart- v
ment whose term expires within the present 44
year. We believe in concentrating responsi- P
bility by giving every Mayor the choice w
and control of his subordinates, but 01
such a bill as is proposed would P
destroy the responsibility of subsequent 01
Mayors by enabling Mayor Wiekkam to ap- j
point irremovable officers to serve under ^
them. There assuredly ought to be some I n
cheek on the Mayor when he appoints subor- j al
(linates for his successors. We should be j w
glad to sec the present absurd system swept 01
away and all the heuds of departments have
even terms with the Mayor. It would then
be reasonable to let him appoint them, because
their terms would all expire with his tl
own, and his successor would have tlic same p
liberty of choice. ] st
This contemplated bill is probably a part L
of the bargain made between Mayor Wick- ( c<
ham and the republicans to prevent a thor- tl
ough revision of the chartor and spring elec- n
tions. He wishes to remain in office until ii
next January. As a part of tho price ho has ol
already appointed two republican Police fr
Commissioners, and he is willing to give the tl
republicans other important offices for long ci
periods if the republican Legislature will re- ii
lievo him from the necessity of submitting c!
bis appointments to the Common Council b
for continuation. si
Ii
Him Stajtord Northcotr'b Marine Insttb- t<
AHcm bill, of which an outline comes by cable ai
this morning, will attract groat attention ft
among. shio owners and shippers,
BRUAlir 12, 1876.?WITH
Packing Boxes on Wkeels.
Iu the operation of passenger traffic by
be horse car companies it is to be supposed
bat there is the same consideration of the
elation between receipts and expenditures
rhich is found in all other systematio en- 1
eavors to secure a profit. There is the
urne effort to take in the utmost cent and
tie same anxiety to lay oat an little as possile.
Consequently the companies spare no
rouble and even spend a great deal of
loney to secure every tare, to prevent the
heft of five cents, bocause the possession of
hat five cents involves in principle their
'hole receipts. They equally give very
reat thought to the economy of a dollar, for
he same natural reason that every dollar
aved is an addition to the difference they
ope to make between what is taken in and
rhat is paid out.
Suppose any great commercial establishlent
were able at a stroke of the pen to sup- ,
ress any one of its larger items of expendiure,
or even to reduce such an item by one?
alf, how great a difference this would make
a its prosperity ! If Stewart, or Claflin, or
he Flint Glass Company, or any other esiblishment
that sends every week a vast
umber of packages to retail traders in
very part of the country, could
avc all or half the money it costs
5 buy cases and pack the goods, that , :
!t>no would often determine the prosperity !
ithstanding. But if the horse cars cannot ,
irry the public conveniently without loss,
erhaps some of the rapid transit companies
in ; and if the horse car companies are
>rced to treat the public properly, and find
lat with that condition annexed they canot
make any money, that their franchises
re really without value, then, perhaps, they 1
ill oppose a less strenuous opposition to the
rganbcution of rapid transit
I
Protect Ion to Infants.
Senator Booth has introduced a bill into
le Legislature to prevont the sale and aprrnticeship
of children to gymnasts and
Tolling players. The case of 'Trince
eo," which occupied the attention of the
jurts last summer, seems to have suggested
le necessity of this measure. The bill is a
ecessity, and we hope it will be enacted
ito a law. People who know nothing
f the training necessary to fit a child for tho
>ats of dexterity and strength exhibited on
le "ham-fat" stage cannot conceive of the j
ruelties and tortures which these precocious
lfants are compelled to undergo. These
tiildren are little old men when they should
e still in their mothers' arms, and their
miles and bows from behind the footglite
are forced from suffering and
snrs which come from the blows
ad kicks of the trainer and the
? * ? ?* a.-? i ? * rrv.
tun ana anciaontn 01 me inumuK- i
fhoU bn>io?M ?# tniyuua cliildron,. into I I
j
I a season s iraue. iuauy luwcuttuva uu
sonomize largely over their fellows in this
jspect. Some charge all this to the cus?mer,
and some pack in one case what
thers, would put in three. This economy,
ipecially in regard to glass, is limited by '
le requirement that the wares sent shall 1
3ach the customer in good order. But if
lis requirement did not exist all our merhants
would immediately become "bloated (
ondholders." Any dealer who now packs
is artistic wares of glass, porcelain or other
elicate material with due regard to safety J
a transportation, must do it at a liberal outly
for lumber; but if it was of no conseuence
to him how it was delivered he
ould grind up a set of porcelain in a morir,
pack the shard in an old straw hat and
ass the precious parcel into the express
agon as it passed his door. No money for
linber, none for hay or straw; no wages for
n expert packer; no carman or horse and
art required on the premises. He would
o to Europe in a few years to spend the 1
aperfluity of his accumulations, and the
est that rival tradesmen could hope would
o to hear that he had been blown up by |
ynamite.
Now, this is just the position in which a
:reet car company stands with regard to the
eople. Its vehicles are packing boxes in
hich so many passengers are sent from one (
ad of the line to the other, and the condion
in which the goods reach their destina- (
on is of no Consequence to the company,
rovided, only, injury stops short of such '
hysical maiming as will afford ground for
suit at law. Absolved, therefore, from the
>quirement to spread out the passengers in
rderly rows down either sid^the packing
ox; permitted to jam "tHem in with hyraulic
pressure, from one-third to one-half
le expenditure .for packing boxes and
orsea to haul them is economized. Packed
ke sardines down belo- and hanged like
ams up above, the car tha >uld seat twenty
lay be made to carry sixty. If any inenious
person will sketch in his mind's
ye, Horatio, a transverse section of a horse ;
nr, with four-und-twenty passengers seated I
us-ii-ins, he will immediately perceive that
ot more than one-third the space is filled, j
here is all the distance on either side be- I
veen the passengers' heads and the roof
uite empty. In the middle the space be- '
veen the passengers is unoccupied from the 1
jof to the floor. At least twelve can be put
1 a row down either side of this middle
pace hanging by f^kaps and leaning over
le heads of the seated passengers, while
le space between these semi-pendent rows 1
as an unascertained capacity for stowage. '
Thus, if a car with seats for twenty four i ^
irries seventy-two, the company saves the
rico of two packing boxes, the price and the
>ed of four horses, the wages of two drivers 1
ud the wages and pilferings of two conuctors.
If a company only has to support
vo horses instead' of six, one driver and '
inductor instead of three, and to buy and
eep in order instead of three cars only one, J
ad can still take in just as much money
om its traffic, the difference this must moke
l its accounts is obvious. Some conuctors,
slightly more idiotic than the rest,
?sure us that unless this sort of thing may ' 1
mtinue the companies will be made "bank- '
apt ; that, in short, the only profit of this I
-affic is in its abuses ; that all the money ;
lade by the car companies is simply coined I '
at of the inconvenience and the misery of j
le people compelled to use these vehicles, j '
ur opinion on that hoad is that the sol- !
ency of the company will oftenor be found ,
) turn on the condition of the conductors' j
ockets?bell punches to the contrarv not- i .
SUPPLEMENT;
1
gymnasts is as barbarous as Duri n^httag
and bear baiting, and not only should it be
prerented by law, but the publio should
frown upon all places of amusement where
little children are placed on the Btage to
show the skill which persistent cruelty has
imparted to them.
What Dom This Baggage Smashing
Bill Mean t
The independent fraternity of baggage '
smashers has hardly recovered from the
death of its groat chieftain, Thomas, the '
dynamite fiend, before it is called upon to
endure another calamity. Not one of the
order ever dealt a stronger blow to a Sara- '
toga trunk than Senator Cole dealt the other (
day to the whole body. The bill which he
introduced into the State Senate makes
baggage smashing a misdemeanor, and imposes
a fine of twenty dollars or imprisonment
upon railroad porters who commit it
The phraseology of this bill is open to objec- |
tion, for it makes a startling change in the
meaning of our language. Baggage smashing
has never been defined as a misde- !
meanor, but has always been recognized as
an amusement. Thus Webster says:?"Baggage
smashing?1. An athletic sport. 2. :
The act of smashing baggage." Worcester ;
defines it as "a popular railroad game, a
playful relaxation." The late Chief Justice, !
Mr. Chase, in delivering the opinion of the
Supreme Court-in the case of Delonoy vs. j
Walton, said:?"After a careful review of the
evidence I can see little difference between
baggage smashing and base ball.
Both are amusements requiring great
strength, unusual skill and extraordinary
nerve. The plaintiff claims damages in
twenty thousand dollars, on the ground that
he was struck in the eye by a Saratoga trunk
which one porter was throwing at another.
The defendant pleads that these porters,
who were employed by him," were merely
indulging in a harmless and innocent sport.
The offer to produce the trunk was bold
almost to rashness, but the Court was not j
bound to admit this extremely fragmentary
evidence. We cannot convict upon a
broken lock, a torn strap and a few splinters
of wood. (See Blackstono on Bridges,
chap, xxi., p. 485), as evidence the trunk is
not strong enough. The suit is, therefore,
dismissed, with costs on the plaintiff. He
may recover the trunk if ho can, but that is
all the damages we may grant him." Here is
the opinion of one of the ablest of American
jurists, and it must be overturned before
Senator Cole's bill can be considered sound.
This view of the case is not invalidated by '
the fact that Chief Justice Chase said afterward,
in private conversation with Mr. '
Charles O'Conor, who will remember the
occasion, that he did not care who made the '
laws for the railroads so long as he was not
compelled to take part in their amusements.
In the one case he felt as a man, but in the
other he acted ns^a judjje^
Baggage smashing having been thus recognized
as a legal amusement can the Legislature
constitutionally prohibit it? We are 1
sompelled to decide that it cannot, and also \
obliged to add that if it could it would make
no matter. Any such law would be inoper- 1
itive for reasons which mijst be convincing
to any impartial mind. Trunks are now '
made of the strongest materials. A stone 1
trunk has become quite popular, and an 1
iron-clad, oak plank, steel riveted, fireproof '
safe is often used by travellers. Socretary ;
Robeson, as is well known, uses a con- j
demned howitzer for a trunk. Yet the im- j
provemcnt in baggage smashers is greater '
than the progress of mechanical invention. '
They are able now to smash a cannon, and, (
this being the case, will have no trouble in 1
smashing the Legislature, which is composed i (
of weaker material, more loosely put to- (
gether, than the trunks in common use. j
Senator Cole is a strong man, bat they may : 1
pitch him out of a car window yet.
Another serious objection to this bill is ! '
that it is special legislation. It attacks two c
classes of citizens?first, the large and influ- I f
ential order of baggage smashers, who would ! *
be deprived of the only amusement they |
have. During the centennial year probably
three hundred thousand European trunks ' *
will be brought to America, which this bill 1
would make useless to any one but their *
owners. Is the order to be deprived of the 1 1
immense satisfaction it expects to gain from 1
this opportunity ? In the second place the , *
bill attacks the business interests of the trunk ^
makers. Millions of dollars have been in- 1
vested in this city alone in trunk making upon !
the im^e^ faith with the State that it would 1
not legislate against the baggage smashers. : |
Are we to destroy this business? We urge
the Legislature to pause. We appeal to the
Governor to interfere. Let no personal con- c
siderations prevent him from discharging j s
his publio duty. Let him banish his own j
trunk from his head if this matter is ever
brought before him.
Sn? the Street Railroad Companies. 1
The only way to teach arrogant corpora- )(
tions in this city that the publio has rights /
which the companies are bound to respect is j
to bring them into court This was done ?
by a young man named Henry Friede, who ?
was thrown from the front platform of a f
Third avenue car and lost a limb
in consequence. A jury gave him a t
verdict of ten thousand dollars dam- 1
ages, and the company will bo
compelled to pay it There are many other (
cases where suits ought to be brought and s
damages recovered, an especially noteworthy
one being reported in the Herald of Sunpay 1
last Mrs. T. J. Cummins, who resides in
Eighteenth street, was going home in a Third
tvenue car on Friday evening. When she
reached her destination she desired the
conductor to stop the car, but he disregarded
her request and even a second request met
with no attention. Attempting to get off
irrVill o tlio aa* wna in ?1<a a > 1'
nunc nuo x.?i non iu LUUliUU DIXC wus l>u I vn u
violently to the pavement and suffered
\ fractnre of the ankle joints, from which she
will be an invalid for months. It is seldom
a case so atrocious as this is made public,
but it illustrates at once the-brutality of the
servants employed by the companies, the
avarice which brutalizes them and the disregard
of the rights of passengers which characterize
the management of our street railways.
Under such conditions the proper
course is to sue the companies and thus give
the courts an opportunity to teach these
grasping corporations that they have responsibilities
viush wiU be enforced.
rh? Hippodrome aad tU? KaUglou
Ser* ten.
So much excitement wan occasioned in the
rity yesterday by the reports that found cir:
ulation in reference to the Hippodrome that
he Building Inspectors made a thorough
lamination of the building. Their report
are print in another column. The Inspector*
report that all the doors now open outward,
A. :a i. J iL.i ii _ _
nut overy uwr ia guaiueu, mm mere is a
arge body of polioemen in waiting, a com.
plete telegraph system, so that in the event
>f the slightest alarm all the doors can be at
>noe opened, and that there are fire extinguishers
in every part of the building. Il
would be criminal in the highest degre<
neglect any precaution. A correipondent
complains that the doors ar?
aot opened before half-past seven, and thai
persons who wiyli to hear the evangelists '
ire compelled to wait in the cold until that
time. The committee inform us that tin
reason for this is that if the doors wers
opened earlier the room would be filled with
loungers and the air would be poisoned.
Furthermore, the evangelists say they do
not want a mere crowd of cariosity hunters
who would come in the afternoon and
bring their suppers if a/Uowed, but
the mechanics and workingmen, who
jannot be through their dinner before
half-past seven. Of course there will
L>e some hitcbes in accommodating those
vast multitudes ; but too much care cannot
be taken to make the building safe and comfortable.
Now that the attention of the committee
and the authorities has been called to
the subject we are glad to foel that the utmost
vigilance is shown, and we trust it will
uot bo in any way relaxed.
Centennial Nominations.
" .-.4The
correspondent quoted in the HoitAiiD
of yesterday, who proposes Charles Francis
Adams for President and John Jay for Vico
President, as centennial candidates, on the
ground that Mr. Adams is the grandson of
the great Adams and Mr. Jay the grandson of
the*illustrious Chief Justice, and that wo
should have some Revolutionary blood in the
canvass, does not go far enough. If we are
to have Revolutionary candidates in this,
our centennial year, we should have
Revolutionary democrats as well as republicans.
We think that even Mr. Blaino
will concede that there are good democrats t
in this country who have the purest blood,
so far as Revolutionary patriotism is concerned.
Unhappily we have no descendant
Df the peerless Washington, or we could
elect him without opposition. But we have
others. Why not have a national ticket embracing
the North as well as the South?
Strange as it will undoubtedly appear to Mr.
Blaine and his friends, there were Southern
men in those glorious times who deserved
weu^i tneir country ana wnose memories
wiil be green in this'year of independence.
Wiiy not have John Quincy Adams, ot
Massachusetts, as the democrat^ can^jdat.i
for President and Wade Hafhpton, oTHouth
Carolina, or Fitz Hugh Lee, of Virginia, foi
Vice President? Adams, "Johnny Q.," as ha
is called, is the great grandson of John
AdaniB and the grandson of John Quincy
Adams. He is a first cjass, true blue, oldfashioned
democrat, while Wade Hampton
and Lee havo in their blood the best stock ol
the Revolutionary South.
It would be interesting to see Charles
Francis Adams, the father, running against ?
"Johnny Q.," the son. But this would tranquillize
the canvass. The republicans could
burl the commandments at the son if he
lared to say a word against the father, and
the father would compel the radical orators
to respect his parental pride. The only
irator who would abuse Mr. Jay is General
Van Buren. Ho is in Japan, and probably
rould not hear who is nominated until all
ras over. The fact that Hampton and Lee
doth fought in the rebellion is unfortunate,
>r would be if this year were not to be largely
jiven to the celebration of the greatest rebelion
in history.
The Railroad Excitement in Wisconsin
las broken out anew in connection with the
lending proceedings in the Legislature fox
nodifying the foolish Potter luw. An organization
has been formed to defeat the amendnents
unless various railroads will agree to
leavy reductions in their charges for freight,
rhe particulars of this movement are given
n our despatch from Milwaukee.
The Bill to require employes of the
jovernment of New York to reside within the
imits of the city has been reported adversely
o the State Senate. The country members
dearly do not want their constituents to
pend their time away from home.
PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE.
Isn't there a great deal of Buncombe and bunting la
be Senate discussion on the Centennial appropriation f
Senator John Sherman, of Ohio, arrived In thecitjr
ast evening from Washington and Is at the Firth
Lvenue Hotel.
A Western republican paper iqgffosla that the name ?'
if JeflT Davis take the place of that of Cassias M. CI. 17
n the proposed democratic ticket for Vice President.
'he great Southern Caesar dead, there would be some
iropnety in tbo democracy turning to Clay.
Mr. Barney Williams calla upon the legal profession
0 erect a monument in memory of the late James T.
irady, and promises his aid, which would no doubt be
iberally given, In behalf of the proposed testimonial.
Jr. Brady woa great reputation at the New York Bar,
nd Mr. Barney Williams' suggestion deserves the con deration
of the profession.
''Query" sends the following contributions to the
lonkling complete rhymster:?
Why should we to John cling
To lead us to detest,
When, surely, with Fred. Conkllng
We'd whip the dents so ncatf
Or this:?
Let's to the dogs old John fling.
He surely can't succeed
As well at handsome Conkllng.
Indeed, indeed, indeodl
The Uneoln Club In ward Right has flung its gorgeous
>anncr to the breeze, bearing the Inscription, "Our
:hoice lor President, Roscoe Conkllng." There I* not
nuch poetry tn this, but the members of the club ns
loubt believe there Is a good deal of truth in IU
Says the Chicago rimes ?"When the military court
ras gathered in Chicago for the purpogo of finding %
illle whitewash for Babeoclt ?a Job that was spoilod by
he promptness of the St Louis Grand Jujy?General
tan cock presented a well written and forcible argunent
in favor of adjourning the inquiry until the civil
lUthoritles had disposed of the case. The paper atracted
no little attention, and the General was highly
lommendcd by many for tne ability he dlsplayod in
letting with an Important point of constitutional law.
tnd now it appears that Hancock deserves no more of
be credit of that paper than the mere reading of it,
md that Its real author was Jero. Buck. ol pajuasvi.
rani*. "