Wilmington daily commercial., 1874-07-25
FIRST EDITION.
PHILADELPHIA.
OUR sATuR RpAY LETTER.

Special Correspondence of The Commercial
PHILADELPHIA, July 25
Some one has bundered" fearfully in the
Ross kidnapping case. 1t has been over three
weeks since the child was stolen, yet the author
lties are no nearer the truth now than they we're
at the commencement. In effect they have
greatly lost ground, for the attention given to
the arrest of Wooster who it now turns out had
no possible connection with the crime suficed
both to lose valuable time and to throw the
search completely off the scent Wooster has
been finally released from jail, but the week Civ
en- to the attempt to connect him with the kid
mapping has been worse than wasted With such
| accurate descriptions of the men, the boy, the
horse and especially of the wagon, as have been
| furnished, 1t seems very strange that the whole
police and detective force of the city have not
achieved something definite before now. Hope
is strongly laid upon the large reward 1920 00O)
| offered yesterday by the Mayor, but the feeling
| 10 coupled with the expression that this action
should have been taken some time ago.
Unless the thieves, in rage at the failure OF
their purpose, should murder little Charley, it is
not likely they can hold possession of HIM much
| longer. The whole community has resolved
itself into detective agency, and 30 keen is the
scrutiny of thousands OF volunteers that detec-
ton must soon come ii the boy is anywhere in
the questions it would be as much as the lives of
| the parties undertaking it are worth. On the
other hand his secretion, even with the vigilance
now exercised, must be matter of extreme dir
iiculty, Nor is 1t likely that he was removed
from the city at an earlier stage of the game for
the double reason that the transit at any time
would have been perilous, and that rogues have
always realized that great city affords better
chances OF concealment than more thinly set
tied neighborhood. The large reward now of
farpl will make thp xidnappara ad paIi
ious for their safety, and the sequel will proba-
bly, be that before long little Charley, who has
by this time acquired national reputation, will
be found wandering about in some remote part
OF the city, while his unnatural guardians will
have vanished. But if they are not ultimately
arrested and punished there will be general
feeling of indignation at the ineficiency of the
police
Judge Cadwalladers decision in the Brady
Salvage meets, in public way, with moth
ing but approval here, but in private there is
much adverse criticism. The Judge
held, while Brady's action in the first in
stance deserved recognition that he measurably
forfeited that recognition by refusing afterward
to restore the command to the proper officer.
1t is not necessary now to go over the story it
| is enough to know that Rivers by common con-
sent-and as shown in this trial-was an incom-
petent and that Brady was requested to retain
the command by all the remaining officers of
| the ship But even if this retention of the COM
mand was an act of insubordination it should
| not in justice, affect the previous service.
Brady saved the ship pay him for that II he
was afterwards mutinous, punish him for that.
| Viewed without prejudice there can be no escape
| from this conviction.
| II it were not for the Ross excitement, and
| the all pervadng Beecher discussion, it is pro-
bable that the villainous attempt to murder
| family with ''infernal machine, the facts of
which were this week reported, would occasion
| more comment than it does. But Sin the pres
ence OF the greater evil the less is not felt
Beecher and Ross mainly occupy the public mind
and other topics must take to. the corners. And
| yet q viler offence than the one here referred
| to has seldom shocked the community. You
may remember the Shusterichter murder and
| suicide of some months ago. The murdered
woman was the daughter of Mr. Chas. Herring
a storekeeper on End St. near South. Herring
| has had hard fortune with his sons.in law.
/ Now, another of these relatives is held on a
/ charge of attempting to dispatch the whole Her.
| ring family. box holding three pounds Of
| powder was lngeniously contrived for this pur-
| pose, but by careful opening, or some defect in
/ the apparatus the machine did not explode You
readers will shortly begin to think that this is
| anything but Quaker City.
Although the Beecher-Tilton case is not strict
ly local topic, yet any resume of affairs which
| should omit any allusion to it would give very
poor idea Of what people are talking and think
| ing about. II all the characters concerned
moved in our own society there could not be more
intense interest and more constant specu-
lation here over all the varying phases of the
/ case. The dominant feeling il undoubtedly for
Beecher, although it is Il feeling that seems to
grow more and more qualified daily. 1t Is felt
that Mr. Beechers explanation, as far as it goes,
| is the true one, but that while more remains,
the worst-as Mr.. Tilton puts it's not true.
In other words Beecher loved the wife of anoth-
er man; the wife loved man other than her hus-
| band. If we want the key to Beechers letters, so
yehemently demanded, here it is The fact of such
| love-without guilt-was enough to inspire all
the despairing, self-reproachful words he uses
| That is the position to which we are gradually
coming here, and have no question but it will
be proved the true one. Tilton thus has his
| wrongs-deep wrongs. Seeing his wife drifting
from him he has imagined the rest;-for to be-
eve that he would wilfully lie in such case s
quite impossible His wits are turned, and we
will soon see more startling evidence of it. But
is not even this lessened degree of Beecher s
guilt terrible2 must he not even on this count
''step down and go outT"
The Jay Cooke & Co. Bankruptcy has been
brought before the public again this week, for
the purpose of showing creditors the condition
| of affairs before and after the suspension, as
we'll as of offering exhibits of the personal ex-
| penses, &c, of members of the firm. great deal
| of morbid curiosity on the part of those people
who are forever curious about what their fellow
citizens are "worth" was thus gratifed, but it il
doubtful if the publication served any Other
purpose. 1t appears that on the formation OF
the new firm in 1871, Mr. Cooke believed himself
possessed of about three and quarter mIllionsi
Mr. Moorehead Of two millions, and the othei
juniors of proportional amounts. They were al
generous livers, yearly expenses ranging from
$4,000 year, upwards. Mr. Cookies expenses
| we're over $30,000 q year from 1871 to the time
of the failure. In addition to his country seal
"Ogontz, 'he had his island of "Gibraltar, where
} he was wont to entertain housefull of invalio
} preachers in the summer seasons. His charities
| and donations for the same period are put al
$50, 600. Register Mason has also explained
the reasons why the per cent dividend which
was to have been paid in May has not been made
over to the creditors The immensty of the
7 business has it seems, as yet made the settle
ment impracticable, but hope is given thai
when made it will amount to seven instead Of
five per cent. For this munificence those con
cerned will doubtless be properly thankful
Brave promises are made of the results OF the
4 reconstruction of the Chestnut st. Theatre
which il fulfilled will agreeably disappoint thos'
| who know anything of that ill-starred structure
i In point of fact the ground is not there, and
g Justly proportioned house, which shall at th'
| same time be commodious enough to pay, Il
D scarcely possible. Not having the superficia
t area at command the builders have thought e
. compensate by extra height, butts tall, well -lk
a auditorium is not pleasant especially in the up
y per tiers In the reconstruction the rear wal
g has been thrown out almost to the street
: There is no lobby to speak of, and people vii
enter tho auditorium almost from the front steps
} | Everything has been sacrificed to seating room
I and the additional mistake has been made o
adding fourth tier. Icannot see how it is pos
sble to make house 30 constructed popula
| resort
+ News was received late this afternoon of th
Q wrecking of one of the Pacific Mail Co.'S steam
| bui at tha Roach Yardp at GheAter. Tl