The New York herald. [volume], February 15, 1876, Page 4, Image 4

About The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920

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4
NEW YORK HERALD
ERCADWAY AND ANN STREET.
JAMES GORDON BENNETT,
PKOPBIKTOR.
THE daily HEliALD, published every
da;/ in (he yar. Four cents per copy.
Twelve dollars per year, or one dollar per
manth, t'reo of )>ostage.
All business, news letters or telegraphic
despatches must bo addressed Nlw ioiut
ILkbaxd.
Letters and packages should he properly
pealed.
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'opeba.
Buoscnpnons una auvortiscincnis -win oe
received and forwarded oil the same terxna
an in New Vork.
VOLUME XLI NO. 4G
AMl'SKMKXTS TO-NKIIIT.
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIUN.
EXHIBITION OF WATER COLORS.
FIFTH AVFM'B THEATRE.
PIQUE, at a I?. M. Fanny Davrnpert.
THIRTY-FOURTH STREET OPERA IIOr.SE.
VARIETY, at S V. M.
BOWKllY THE^T RE.
IDA, at 8 P. M. Mr. Kalton.
P A III S IAN VARIETIE A
VARIETY, at R P M.
BAN FRANCISCO MINUSTRKLS.nt 8 P. U
GLOBE THEATRE.
VARIETY, at 8 P. M.
BOOTH'S THEATRE.
JULIUS C.ESAR, at i> P. M. Mr. Law rence Barren.
TIT BATHE COMIQUE.
UNCLE TOM'S CABIN, ut 8 I'. M.
T1YOLI THEATRE. ,
VARIETY, at 6 P. IE
WOOD S MUSEUM.
TIIIIU) A\ KMKTUKATKE.
TARIETV, at M'. M.
WALLACE'S THEATRE.
JOHN GARTH, at n P. M. Mr. Lester Wall tick.
olymTtc theatre.
VARIETV, at 8 P. M.
GRAND OI'KKA HOP3E.
EAST LVNNE, at 8 P. M. Lucille Western.
UOI.OSSKUM.
PANORAMA. 1 to 4 P. M and " Uli to 10 P. M.
EAGLI', THEATRE.
TICKET-OF-LEAYE M AN, at 8 p. M.
TWENTY THIRD STREET OPERA HORSE.
CALIFORNIA MlNsTKEl.S. at K P. M
GEP.MANI.\ THEATRE.
ZOTF AND SCHWKRT, at 8 P. V.
STEIN WAY li ALL.
READINGS, at s P. M. Mrs Anna Kaiuiall Dielil.
BROOKLYN THEATRE
QUEEN AND WOMAN, ?t8P. M. Vr Fred. Robinson.
tony pastor'S new theatre.
VARIETY, at s P. M.
union so Pare theatre.
ROSE MIGUEL, at 8 P. .M.
WITH SUPPLEMENT.
new v !ik, Tri;si-AV. i f.dki \i:v r., 1 x:b.
From our reports this morning the probabilities j
ore tiiat the weather to-deuj will be colder and
clearing.
The Herald by Fast Mail Trains.?Newsdealers
ami the public throughout the country
will be supplied with the Daily, Weekly and
Sunday Herald, free of postage, by sending
iticir orders direct lo this office.
Wall Street Yesterday.?The feature of
the day was an advance in the granger
gtocks. Express and some of the investment
etocks were also strong. Gold was steady at
113 1-8 a 1-4 a 1-8. Money was in supply at
3 and I per cent.
The Philippines.?Spain has a little war
of her own in the East, nn expedition of
eigiit thousand men having left Manila to
punish the Sooloo pirates.
The Belgian Liberals appear to regard a
Catholic procession much as a bull does a
red rag, and accordingly dash at it with nn
intent to injure, which is generally successful
in producing a long list of casualties.
Malines, the railroad centre of Belgium, was
the scene of the latest religions disturbance.
Gambetta's Organ, the Udjniblique Ranfaise,
has brought down the wrath of M.
Bufl'et upon it in the shape of a prosecution
for attacking the government namely, M. i
Bufl'et. It' he could only chain up the exDictator
instead of his organ the Premier's
desires would approach nearer to gratification.
Not being able to get the moon he cries
for he contents himself with eating green
cheese.
The Suez Canal, Purchase.?The debate
in tho English House of Commons over the
purchase of tho Khedive's shares has been
postponed until next Monday. It is not
very likely that any serious objection will be
made to paying out the four millions sterling
required. The liberals will assent to it
after a little grumbling. No party in
England ever ventures to interfere with a
foreign policy which the peoplo at largo
Indorse, as they have done with what
Disraeli would call his bargain. That idea
of a chain of fortresses from London to India
would inako John Bull generous to his
mother-in-law.
Tee Porte Appears Anxious to act in
good faith with tho Christian Powers w ho
ItMtrn Aniotlf oai.w.i . 1 it int a aoArt'Atinor tl'O
Mlit ? t VJUU ll> VUOi A* 4UVV fcUV
Andrassy plan of reform. The Turkish
government' have not only issued orders to
put the new reforms into effect in the revolted
provinces, but we are also informed
of their having formally begun to punish
offences against Christians in other parts of
the Empire. We are, however, still without
any indication that the Herzegovinan
insurgents have any idea of again submitting
to Mns uliuun rule, even at the price of tho
Andrassy reforms, honestly applied.
Babcock'h Citheb.?The curious and
strongly suggestive batch of despatches in
ciphor which passed between General Babcock
and Major Lackey last November are
printed elsewhere, both in the original and
translation. They show that Babcock was
in mortal dread during the early?part
of that month ol being called to St. Loais,
although he demanded to be placed on tho
witness stand as soon as the evidence in the
Avery case was closed, and compliance with
liis request was an impossibility. This does
not need comment; but another thing may
bo pointed out?namely, that the admission on
the trial of the "Sylph" telegrams, which in
his despatch of the JOth November ho was so
anxious to explain, has been fought against
tooth and nail by his counsel As they havo
been admitted General Babcock may now
begin bis explanatory task, ami might as
well includo tho cipher correspondence at
the same timo.
: i * *
\
^EW Y OKK
Th? Water Nnpply In ft'?w York.
The sufficiency of a water supply in a
great city like New York is always of the
utmost importance. In growing cities, and
especially in cities where new and lofty
edifices are taking the places of tlio low
structures of the last century, the water
facilities seldom keep p ice with the growth
of the towns. Even when the supply is
sufficient it is often found that the means of
distribution are inadequate. That this is
the case in New York the late fire in Broadway
is sufficient proof, nnil the disastrous
consequences which would inevitably have
followed if a high wind hud prevailed during
the " contlagratioh'a huonisli^us to prepare
against any sudden emergency. In any
direction a spread of the tlames would have
produced losses that aro incalculable. Up
or down Broadwav commercial induces and
palatial hotels of great value would have
been swept away. On either side of that
great thoroughfare an immense number of
factories and storehouses would have
fallen a prey to the flames. The
great fires in Boston and Chicago occasioned
comparatively small losses to those
which would result from an extensive conflagration
in tho lower part of this city, and we
doubt whether either of those cities was as
badly ofl for water as that part of New York
below Fourteenth street. Even at night the
supply seldom reaches the top floors of the
larger buildings down town, and during tho
day there is a great scarcity of Croton in
many of the principal streets. It is possible
there is a sufficient sui>ply in the reservoirs,
but the mains are too small to meet a great
demand; and so, whatever the head, the quantity
is limited. In order to illustrate this
.... l.: a r.. 11 i i ? l i ? 11. ? it : a :
Bui'ji'ui* iuiij uuu tu unuuic IUU HULUuniRN
and our citizens to understand just whore
the futilt is, we publish elsewhere a map of
the city from Houston street to the Battery,
giving a view of the more exposed localities
and the mains and pipes by which they are
'supplied. This will afford an excellent op[
portunity for studying the wholo question,
and we hope our illustration and exposure
1 of the inadequacy of the water service may
lead to the construction of the larger and
more serviceable mains which the growth
and safety of the city imperatively require.
It is scarcely necessary in this place to recount
the story told in another column of
the insufficient methods adojited lor supplying
the most important part of the metropolis
with water. No argument is required to
prove that a thirty-six inch main is inadequate
to feed all the pipes in the down
town streets in the vicinity of Broadway.
Our map shows, however, that all the lofty
and magnificent structures in Broadway and
in the adjacent streets not only draw their
supply from that single pipe, but that the
firemen also aro dependent upon it. Under j
such conditions no head could force a suffi- j
cicnt quantity of water through the main for j
a great emergency, and the Fire Department j
would in consequence be practically helpless
before a great conflagration driven by a high
wind. In the fire of last week, even, much ,
difficulty was experienced, and had the j
flames spread rapidly, as in Chicago and >
Boston, calling the wholo force of the Fire
Department into requisition, the results of
the disaster would have been most ly attributable
to the scarcity of water. The fault being
known, and involving in its consequences
the safety of a whole city, the remedy
is a matter of the utmost importance,
and it is to this that wc call the attention of
tho Fire Department, the Commissioner of
Public Works, the Board of Aldermen and
tho people of Now York.
More mains and larger and more service- j
ninng ? l.or.1 ? f .,1 ? ? ifr.r tl...
safety of the metropolis. Other means of j
providing against a great conflagration
ought to he adopted, as cisterns at the street
corners, to be used only in cases of lire, and
stationary pumps on the North and East
rivers with independent mains and hose ;
but the great remedy, after ull. is an enlargein
nt of our whole water supply system.
When the mains down town were built New
York was not the great metropolis it now is.
Buildings like that at tie corner of Broadway
and Dey street had not yet been constructed.
The tow ering edifices ithich now line all the
principal thoroughfares had not yet replaced
the low structures our grandfathers were accustomed
to regard as imposing. Our means
of supplying the lower part of New York
with water were designed for a different city
from that which exists to-day. While
the metropolis lias been growing, not only in
extent, but in height, wfliilo our water supply
itself has been increased and means suppliod
for its distribution throughout tho upper
part of the island, no thought has been taken
of the effect of all this upon the city of forty
years ago. The means of water distribution
down town are what they were in the beginning,
and it is not surprising that in view of all
the changes which have taken place within a
few years they should be found inadequate.
Neither is it surprising that our people
should be slow in learning the effect of these
changes upon thoir own security. A lad is
always the last to recognize that he is growing
out of his clothes. It is now many years
since inew ?oik ouigrew us wuur bjwui,
and it is possible that only a great calamity
will teach us a fact that is plain to every eye.
Wo trust, however, that a danger which confronts
us every hoar will not bo much longer
disregarded, and that we shall soon have a
system of water supply commensurate with
the necessities of the metropolis.
In a matter of this kind it is all important
that we should bogin in the right way. The
disease and the remedy boing both ascertained
it still remains wisely to apply the
cure. Nothing must be done except upon
a full understanding of our present system
of water distribution and the means which
will meet all the exigencies of the future,
i These ought to be determined as quickly as
j possible and then put in tho way of speedy
and economical execution. It is foolhardy
to wait for a great calamity before beginning
: to provide against it. We know that all the
I lower part of the city is exposed to disaster;
: we know that Bome districts which will bo
found marked on tho Hkbald's map are
peculiarly exposed, and we know both the
cause of this and the remedy. Hut there is
something else in the way besides the difficult*
nf nmilvimr the cure?the apathy of
J r '??o
our municipal authorities And of the
people in face of tho danger. Even the
I lato tiro, although it excited such general
HKKALD, TUESDAY, FEB
attention that Broadway, between Howard
and Grand streets, wan crowded daring the
whole of lust week to so great an extent that
it was almost impossible for the ordinary
pedestrian to force his way through the multitude,
has not had the effect of awakening
otir people to a full appreciation of their
condition. Yet it is plain that there is a
groui Kcarciry 01 water in tuo lower part 01
the city; that the street mains are unable to
carry a sufficient supply for the ordinary
wants of business, to say nothing of the
quantities which would be needed in a great
emergency, and that seven hundred and
fifty million dollars' worth of property is in
danger within two blocks of Broadway from
Spring to Chambers streets. It is not possible
to contemplate such a condition of our
water supply without feelings of alarm, and
we commend the whole subject to those
whoso duty it is to provide against the contingencies
of the future as one of the !
highest importance and fraught with the
most important consequences.
Health and Business.
An irresistible argument in favor of an
elevated railroad on the east side of the city
is that such a road is necessary to the pro- j
tection of the public health. The present
system of transit not only distributes disease,
but causes it. Wo shall refer to only '
one of the evils of the horse cars at present.
Thoy reverse one of the fundamental principles
of hygienic travel?which is, that a
car should be warm in winter and cool in
summer. The street cars freeze their pas- 1
sengers in winter?especially at night?or
arc only heated hy the exhalations from wet t
clothes and the bodies of the crowds they j c
with them according to their deserts.
I A Vu-rrM to Overcbowdkd Cabs.?John J
Ginna wm killed by being thrown from the
platform of an overcrowd, d car on the Sci* '
oud Avenue ltailroad. The acuta were all
occupied, the car full, and a displaced I
switch, throwing the vehicle suddenly out
of it* direction, pitched the young man into I
the street. Ilia father has recovered throe ; <
thousand dollars damages, or the equivalent i
of sixty thousand fares, from the grasping ;
company. Another sad Argument for "No .
t scat no fare." I i
carry. This method of warming cars is not ' i
what the people want. In summer the pack- i
ing-box system makes comfort impossible, | c
j and the suffocated public in both seasons j t
feel like a thermometer turned upside j ]
| down, registering cold when it ought to be 1
1 hot, or being cursed with the tropics ]
; when it lias a longing for an Arctic <
; wind. Now, tho elevated road can i
alone reform this evil. Steam cars ?
| can be heated in winter, and they can be ! c
i ventilated and cooled in summer. This is I s
I one great advantage that persons have who j t
! live in towns on the Pennsylvania, Erie, j c
| New York Central and other roads, and do I
business in New York. It is an amazing ' t
difference to a man whether he sits for an , I
hour in a slow street car, sweating as if ho j r
were at the Equator or shivering as if at the I
Pole, or is swiftly carried to his home on an d
elevated road in a pure and equable air. t
Objection has been made to an elevated i
road on Third avenue on the ground that it ; u
will injure business on that great thorough- j r
fare. This is not truo. It is the street cars j v
that injure trade on Third avenue. Thou- 1 J
sands of ladies do not visit the stores be- j \
cause of the notorious overcrowding of the 1
street cars and the insults and inconvcn- I
iences to which they are in consequence ex- is
posed. Tho difficulty of reaching any given is
place on Third avenue koeps buyers of 1
all kinds away from the shops, and, there- ti
fore, the dry goods trade and many other e
| important branches of business are steadily j
tending to the western portions of the city, c
The elevated railroad would reform these t
evils and, by making travel pleasant and i
quick, would bring Third avenue far more t
business than it has. i t
r
Spain and Cuba. r
Diplomacy chooses the tortuous path in t
preference to the straight one. We have i
now an "indirect" reply to Mr. Fish's 1
last "indirect" note concerning Cuba. It I
ia very absurd to see two Powers like I
Spain and the United States conversing ii
with each other through third parties. Spain I
now says that tliero only 800 whites in the t
Cuban insurrention, the leaders being foreign 1
adventurers, while there are 40,000 nativo . i
! Cubans among the Spanish volunteers. Still ' t
28,000 Spanish troops during tho last year a
have reinforced those already on tho island, t
and tho end of tho war is not yet. owing to c
"tho difficulties of tho country." Spain, ^
however, can make no terms with an insur- c
rection which has sustained itself for nearly
eight years. To make both ends of its
statement meet it falls into inconseonences.
* ?
which may be put as follows There is uo
insurrection worth speaking of; hence a *
hundred thousand soldiers are wanted to a
put it down. The island is twice as pros- *
porous as it was; hence gold is at a high premium
and tho soldiers are unpaid. We can
make no tenns with an insurrection which ^
does not exist; hence no reforms can bo
granted until it is put down. The Epoea, of "
Madrid, says that Spanish official thieves ^
have robbed moro than tho rebellion has ^
cost. Truly a "difficult country."
Assr.mei.vmen on tux Fence.?In the inter- *
views of our Albany correspondent with the *
Assemblymen of tho llailroad Committee 1
and the Committee on Cities wo have ob- *
served that several of these gentlemen place ^
themselves on the fence in tho matter of
giving passengers on horse cars a scat for a ^
fare. How is it that they find it so hard to
decide between the plain rights of tho people
and tho unhealthiness, indecency and
discomfort which the crowded cars force
upon the travelling public? How is it that
they hesitate between a system which would
insure decency, comfort, healthful transit
and safety to personal property and one that
gives steady, safe and lucrativo employment ;
to a thousand pickpockets, in addition to I
favoring all the monstrous evils above ;
noted? Is the money of the railroad com- j
' panics in tho hands of the lobbyists at ;
Albany enough to make these legislators
j balance it against the crying needs of the |
; people? Wo want to know. We shall keep |
a sharp watch on those doubtful gentlemen,
and. when thev have decided, shall deal i (
RUARr- 13, 1876.?WITH f
Walt Till the Election 1* Over.
The testimony of Mr. J. W. Douglass, exCommissioner
of Internal Revenue, in the
;rial of General Babcock contains some curi)us
revelations. The President, the Secro,
:ary of the Treasury and the Commissioner
vere all agreed, we are told by Mr. Douglass,
is to the existence of extensive frauds in the
evonue service and the necessity of invesigating
them, and in order to facilitate fair
nquiry it was determined to issue an order
rausferring' supervisors from one place to
mother, liiis was based upon tlie principle
lpon which Douglass afterward sent Joyce
o California, so that he would not be an obtaclo
to the investigation of his affairs in St.
Liouis. The order of transfer was a wise
neasure, and ought to have been carried
>ut at once. But Mr. Douglass coolly testiles
that upon consultation with Secretary'
iristow they "cencluded to wait until
he fall elections were over. We waited,"
le said, "and then there were a number of
Senatorial elections, and we had to wait
intil they were over; then wo found that
ve were in the midst of the Presidential
dection, and that was another obstacle;
ifter tliat we arranged to make the transfers."
loro is startling news for the people. Enornous
frauds, amounting to millions of dolars,
are committed by the Whiskey Ring.
Che President and his nearest advisers know
>f the facts, and are in duty bound to dis:over
and punish these wholesale robbers of
he nation. But they refuse to do so. They
>ostpone the investigation threo times,
["hey wait till the elections are over. ,
Why should they wait upon such a pro
ext i Because tlio thieves were the policial
friends of the administration, lioldng
positions of trust and honor
inder its appointment, and able to
:ontrol conventions and votes. To have
ixposed these men would have been to have
iroved the chargos of corruption against the
epublican party and to have cut off a large
portion of its political revenues. Gen>ral
Babcock told Douglass that the
pressure on President Grant would be so
itrong that the order would have to be resiled.
McDonald, who is now in jail, convicted
of the very frauds this order was inended
to expose, telegraphed to Douglass
in February 3,1875 "Don't like the order,
t will damage the government and injure
ho administration." On February 4 the
'resident rovoked the order by the following
tote through one of his private secretaries,
juckey, to the Commissioner :?"The Presilent
directs me to say that he desires that
he circular order transferring supervisors of
nternal revenue bo suspended by telegraph
mtil further orders." Truly, Babcock was
ight about the strength of the pressure that,
,-as to bo brought to bear on the President. '
oy was carried to every member of the
Y'hiskcy Eing with the speed of electricity.
It is true that after the elections Secretary
Iristow prosecuted these frauds, but the fact
? evident that before the elections the adminoration
suppressed even the investigation.?
'he honor of the government was degraded
o win the elections for a party, and the revnues
of the people were allowed to be
ilundered to swell the revenues of State
ommittees. We learn with grief and shame
hat in the opinion of the administration it
s more important to carry an election than
o punish crime. Is this the spirit in which
he President's famous order, "Let no guilty
nan escape," is to be interpreted? It would
ather seem to be, "Let all guilty men escape
ill after the elections." Then, after millons
of dollars have been taken, after States
lavo been won by deceit, after Senators have
?een elected who would have been defeated
lad the people known the truth, then pun
sh the criminals whom it was necessary to
irotcct before. The President now claims
hat he revoked the order to remove sus>icion
from the minds of the guilty officials,
n order that they might bo more easily deectod,
but Mr. Douglass contmdicts him;
,nd if the testimony of the latter be true,
he government has committed a greater
ffenco against the people than any with
vhich even tho Whiskey lting itself is
; barged.
The Two Big Be of Brooklyn.
There are many persons, in Plymouth i
ihurch particularly, who profess to believe
hat the real antagonist of Mr. Beechcr has
ilways been Mr. Bowen. Ho is the secret
memy, they say, who, like the man in the
'Pilgrim's Progress," continually poured
rom his concealment oil upon the tiro that
?thcrs vainly tried to quench. Mr. Tilton,
hey tell us, fought openly, but Mr. Bowen
ittacked treacherously, and for years kept
he scandal alive by his intrigues.
Veil, however this ?nay have been,
he mask is dropped at last, and Mr. Beocher
ind Mr. Bowen confront each other as open
oes. Tho religious editor has called the
ireacher hypocrite, perjurer and adulterer,
ind tho clergyman has called the layman
slanderer and liar. This plain issue is made,
jut it is very uncertain whether It will soon
je settled. Mr. Bowen proposes three
udges who are to try tho facts and render a |
rerdict to the public, but aro not to reveal ij
he names of persons concerned^ and to
his Mr. Beechcr objects. The position
a like that of a modern prize fight,
vhich never comes off becauso of a dispute.
ibout the referee. Some years ago two no;orious
pugilists got into a ring in a Western
State and glared at each other and called
rach other names for half a day, and left the
ring at last without fighting, becauso neither
iide would accept the referee the other
aarned. It is to be hoped that Mr. Bowen
ind Mr. Beecher will not weary and
iisgust the public with such an exhibition
; but so long as they merely
ibuse each other there can be no other feelings
in regard to their dispute. If Mr. Bowen
ran accept the summons of the Examining
Committee of Plymouth church to appear in
ten Jays and toll his story ho should do so, I
tnd if Mr. Beechor wishes to clear himself
tie mast not oppose any impediment to an impartial
inquiry. As the affair now stands !
the two big Bs threaten to become the two
big bores.
A Cotnrr Uoino Bkooino.?The scene at
the City Ilall yesterday was not a pleasant
one in which Becorder Haekett, Judge Oil- i
iersleevc and District Attorney Phelps appeared
botore a committee of the Board of
Aldermen to l>eg proper accommodation for
the Conrt of Ueneral Sessions. The stCDS to i
SUPPLEMENT!
provide rooms for this Important Court
should bo taken immediately. The present
arrangeineitts are disgraceful to a city like
New York. .
\
Capital Puniitlimuiit.
The fact that Dolan in this city, Rubenstein
in Urooklj-n, and Piper in Boston, arc
now all under sentence of death draws attention
to the old discussion in reference to
the advisability of capital punishment as a
means of repressing crime. Into that discussion
we do not propose to enter. The
law declares that whoever takes life shall forfeit
his own, and that law is the master of us
all. But there are some points in reference
to its administration which should not be
overlooked. Wo really have the most cruel
law in the world for tho punishment of murder.
We complain of the tfrench and ,
Chinese systems. We shudder at the guillotine
and the barbarity pf tho Chinese, who
torture their victims and behead them with
the sword, llut what torture is to be compared
to that which our criminals suffer when under,
tho sentence of the Court and awaiting its
execution ? There is no certainty that it will
not bo executed. Many a wretch has felt
the entangling rope around his neck without,
abandoning the hope that his lawyers had
succeeded in another stay. The delays in
justice are an immunity to crime. Tho murderer
may well look at tho cases of Stokes^'
and Scannell and feel that there is no capital
punishment
Now, we owe it to justice, which should be
stern and sure, as well as to humanity,
which demands that even the most depraved
shall not be tortured, that our criminal code
should be revised. Ther6 should bo none of
the delays which we had in the Scannell case.
There the murderer was in prison for years
before his case came to a judgment. When
a person is accused of murder he should be
tried before a competent tribunal?say two
Judges of the Supreme Court or any two of
our criminal Judges. Thon, upon sentence,
he should have the right to take his case at
once to the Court of Appeals for revision.
This should be to him a writ of right. This
Court should be compelled to hear this
writ within thirty days, and say whether in
all respocts tho conviction is in accordance
with the law. Then it should be the duty
of the Sheriff to carry the sentence into elocution
within a fortnight or throe weeks
after this j udgment.
By this means all interests would be
served, xne prisoner would nave tne mgnest
safeguard that the law can throw ojjout
the life of the citizen. There would be npno^
of that agonizing uncertainty which now at-*
tends every sentence of death. The interests
of society would be served by tho prompt
and sure punishment of murderers. It would
be well for our friends in Alban^*to look
into this subject. As it now stands our law"
in relation to capital punishment does not answer
the purposes of justice. \
The "Times" la Right.
In an excellent editorial in yesterday's i
Times on tho distressing scenes witnessed
inside and outside a crowded horse car
the writer draws attention to an inci- v
dent coming under his notico on Sunday
last Two miserable, overtasked,
horses, drawing a crowded and jammed
Fourth avenue car, "took it into their dumb
heads that they would not bear this sort of
thing any longer. And so they stopped
short and stood in their tracks. It was
plainly a deliberate determination of two
overworked beasts that their good nature
should be no longer imposed upon." Then
the writer proceeds to apply the lesson to
New Yorkers, who suffer as much as the
horses from the unhealthful and indecent
overcrowding. We should at least
show as much spirit as the horses, that j
gained their point by their determined
protest, for in submitting without a murmur '
"we are worse than tho very horses,
who, with us, suffer from the impositions of
their masters and ours, the street railway
companies." The Times is right. New Yorkers
must exhibit not only tho same "equino
determination," but "a little downright
mulishness," in this fight with the oppressors
of man and beast:
Centennial Privilege*.
Wo see a statement of the grants made by
the directors of the Centennial Commission*
for certain privileges on tho grounds of tho ;
Exhibition. These privileges include the
monopoly of certain rights. Tho aggregate
sum realized is $150,000. For tho catalogue,
$100,000 is paid; for restaurant and beer
rights, $125,000. Milk, bread, chocolate and
candy bring $11,000. Soda water will earn
$52,000, and tobacco $21,000. There is one j
grant for rolling chairs, and another called '
"The Department of Fublic Conffort," which
are to realize over $30,000.
Of course it is proper that there should
be some revenue from these grants. They
will, no doubt, be valuable in many ways; but
at the same time there should be care taken
that they do not become abuses. One of the
troubles with the Vienna Exhibition was the
endless number of restrictions imposed .
upon all who had any businoss with the Ex- !
hibition. A glass of water, a chair for a
momont's rest?the most natural and necessary
comforts?were taxed. The consequence
was that, in addition to the price of
admission, the visitor was so taxed before he
left the buildings and grounds that the
charge amounted to an extortion. This is
something to which Americans will be much
less likely to submit than Austrians. * If
these grants are to be a monopoly it will go
toward destroying all the good results expected
to flow from the Exhibition. Wo.
trust that in making any concessioh the directors
will take the utmost pains to protect
the people.
Amend Kuiuh's Bill.?The Legislature
which stopped all other business in the
early days of the session to rush through'
the Masquerade bill should show a similar
alacrity now to enact a reform which would
be a boon to the toiling hundred thousands
of New York and not the gratification of the
whim of a few hundred pleasure-scokcrs.
Let Killian's bill be promptly put on its
passage. Let it bo amended so as to hand
the task of seeing that the law is enforced to
Mr. Bergh, and giving the fines resulting
from all violations of its provisions to Mr.
Bergh's society. By these means we can
Dromise that the law will be oarried oat in 4
' ' Mil. ?t
its letter and spirit, if there is any attempt
to smother the bill in committee it will be
proper for some public spirited member to
move, in full Assembly, that the committee
be ordered to report forthwith. Then we
shall put all members on record and gauge
whether the public right or tho railroad
lobby is the stronger. Surely tho committee
can do their duty without waiting to be
"seen" by the agents of tho grasping monop- , 1
olies.
The Crowning Shame.
We indorse the views of a contemporary
in reference to the failure of the Freedman's
SnvitifTO Vlnnk iri W.aahincrt/wi ---
not one among the many investigations now
pending to which we look with more interest.
The Freedman's Ravings Hank
was established for the purpose of aiding
the frecdmen to save their money, amass
property and become good and thrifty citizens.
It was encouraged by all who wished
well to this most unfortunate class. The
depositors, many of whom in their ignorance
felt that they weie giving their money to the
government, were only too glad of the inducement
held out to them. Millions were
deposited, and suddenly, in a day, the
whole concern came down with a smash. It
was not simply the loss of money, but it
was the class which was robbed.
The men who did this thing deserve to be
damned to everlasting infamy. In fact, this
whole business of the failuro of savings
banks should be looked into with sevore
scrutiny. We are too lenient with thcsO
robbers of the poor. Who has been punished
for the failuro of the many savings
banks which have failed within the past few
years ? When a swindler like Oakley robs
the English people ho is sent to jail and will
probably be called on to pick oakum. 13ut
with us the whole matter is over and forgotten,
and the men who robbed the poor aro
allowed to go out and invent new robberies.
By all means let the Freedman's
Bank be investigated, and when wo are
about it let our reform Governor win a new
title to the esteem of the people by prosecuting
the robbers of the poor.
The Re-establishment of Spanish Ceedit.
Id no respect abandoned Its traditional policy In Uis
Eastern question; it is Europe which, frankly recognising
the loyalty aud disinterestedness of that policy, ban
ceased to regard it with suspicion and mistrust"
The Albany Aryui (dern ), In reciting "tho issues be
fore tho country," asserts that the "wholo republican
policy is merely a morbid method of governmental action.
The natural action Is to bo attainod by a return
to healthy democratic principles. The real issue bclore
tho country is, whether these morbid and unhealthy
republican processos shall contiuuo, to the exhaustion f
and destruction of the vital forces, or whetbor the government
shall discharge its functiona as Its founder!
dusivned."
i
which Canovas del Castillo referred to in addressing
the ministerialists of the new
Cortes yesterday, is a far greater task than
putting down the Carlist rebellion, which has
only dragged on becauso the pretorians of
the army never, until lately, thought it
worth their while to grapple with it
earnestly. The constitutional monarchy of
Alfonso's royal mother never could placo
Spain on a financial footing with the rest of
Europe, and the difficulties have since increased
a hundredfold.
Garvey and Inoersoll retold yesterday .
the story of their criminal connection with
the Tammany Ring in the Tweed six million
case. It is marvellous how interesting that
old story still is.
How Ucnvx Politic an Assessments may be
made to look when they are brought into
court after a lapse of twelve years ! See
Fowler vs. Wood in the court reports.
PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE.
The Southern States talk of raising much colTon.
The latest hymn is "Moody, Make Room For Your
Sankcy."
Aftor to-day "donkling" will not be printed In this
column as a rhyme lor Conkling, unloss it cotncs (ram
Tennyson.
Many of the houses in Virginia City (Nevada) are
protected against avalanches by V shaped structures,
intended to divido and turn aside the descending snow.
The great estates of English landed proprietors hava
been chiefly formed t>y the gradual aggregation of purchased
lands round au original nucleus of patrimonial
property.
James Phrton is flity-four and his stepdaughter wifj
about forty, l'arton was thirty-four when ho married
Fanny Fern, and she was forty-flvo. The whole thing
is a general average.
Norristown Herald-?It is said that Mark Twain will
dramatize his "Pink Trip Slip for an Eight Cent Fare."
If he does ho shonld be "punched in the presence of tho
passonjaire"?or any other man.
"Vent" writes a long poem, with tho following conclusion
Of whom, to give you an inkling,
Roscoe, first name; after, Couki.ng.
Many rhymes to "Conkling" sent to this office are
omittod cither bccaaso they are repetitions or boennse
they are undignified. No poetry should be written
about a Senator unless it Is august.
The Virginia (Nevada) Enterpriie predicts that {the
time is not far distant when Silver will be depreciated
to half its prosent value. Tho production, already Im
mense, is destine! to no vastly increased by the improved
methods for roducing ores.
The great estates of the Scottish landed proprietary
consist chiefly of what a century ago was the merest
waste land, valuable to nobody, but subsequently
brought under cultivation though the wtso liberality
shown In granting long leases to skilful capitalist
farmers.
It is said that Professor Gicfling, of Gormany, has
produced from chemicals influeucod by a galvanic battery
a perfect ego, which by artificial means he has
hatched. The chick, however, has no feathers. It is
bald-headed all over and won't need singeing. Thus
docs German genius triumph over pin loatbers.
BQlow says:?"Koracortain kind of technical knowledge
and depth of musical cultivation Boston stands
first. But for a breadth of coniprohension, a downright
thirst for good music and a koen appreciation of
it, givo me Philadelphia It has the most sensitive
music audiences I have played to in this country "
The Troy Budget says Its contemporary, the WMg
(both republican), evidently.takos delight in "punching"
Sonator Conkliug, and tails to recall Mark Twatn'a
idiotic lines:?
Punch, brothers, punch?punch with caro.
Punch in tho presence of the paasonjaira
Which is bad for the Budget
Ho was a minister from the country, tall, self-conscious
and with a tuft of pale board on his chin. She,
his wife, held his arm in a buoyant way that told or*
once gleeful girlhood. She was glancing at a candy
window when he said,' ''We must not think of worldly
affairs." She thought of tho five children at homo and
sadly replied, "Dear, you aro always right."
The Richmond Wtiig, speaking of a Southern Pacific
Railroad, says:?"Much better would It bo for ths
South and tho whole world were the government, If It
really intends to go into work this of facilitating com
mcrco, to begin and complete at aa early a day as posaibla
a canal either through tho Iathmus of Ilarien or by the
Nicaraguan or Telinantcpec routo to tho Pacific Ocean."
Prince GortschakofTe special organ, the Journal of
St Pelertburg. thus unconsciously exposes Russia's
Eastern policy and the humbug of the triple alliance:?
'It should be borne in mind that this government baa