The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1875-11-03

and the keepers of the rum-mills r
in despair. Ii useG to be a very
nice thing for young De Smythe to
drop into a gaming-house, eat q mag
~Diicent supper, drink a bottle OF
splendid wire, aud lose few hundred
at faro. aud il was equally nice for
the proprietor Of the house. IN
those days all the stores and houses
the ancient Smith left to modern De
Smytbe Were renting al enormous
rents, and the young gentleman dido't
know what 20 do with bis money; but
now tw0-ihirds Of them are empty,
and the other third find a at
half the old rates, and Augustus ends
i difficult 10 keep has mother and
sisters, to say nothing Of bis vices.
The high-priced drinking-places are
scantily p~a'ronized. and the clubs are
IN 4 fearfuliy d~emoralized condition
financially. The receipts al the bar
Of q prominent club has dropped
within 4 year Gs per cent, and the
others are still worse. Il takes more
labor 10 make 4 dollar now than il
did o year ago, and the people
havcn't rot il % spend. SO some
good comes out Of evil. The rum
business isn't what it was in New
York.
INTERESTED POLITICIANS
There be Republicans and Demo
Gratis IN New York, Tammany and
Anti-Tanmany, Reformers, and
those who are not credited with re-
form; but these classes are not all
Who are interested in the elections
in this city. There is a vast army
Of Strikers" who DO not care a
straw who is elected and who de-
featcd, but who depend uoon the
elections to make money out of them.
There are thousands of well-dressed,
fairly-appearing mel in the city, who
isfest the doubtful districts, and who
offer their services" to whatever
candidates choose to bid for them
first. They always control, or, at
lest pretend to control, a certain num-
Der Of sure votes-tbat is, votes
which they can throw wherever it is
made their interest to place them,
and the candidates are expected to
fee them, either in actual cash or
with a share Of the fat places, in the
event Of success. OF course seventy
per cent. of these fellows are the
merest p~retenders. They control
nobody, and their stock in trade is
impudence and self-assertiOn. Can
didates new to the political field are
taken in by them the old ones laugh
at them. / overheard, the other
night, a conversation between the
proprietor of a fourishing rum-mill
and his managing man, which Illus
trates the method in New York pol
itics. 0fcourse all the names are
fictitious:
Proprietor.-Has Jones been a
bringing people in here to-day?
anager.-Not a man.
Prop.-He thinks he has a sure
thing of it, and don't propose to
spend any money.
MaR.-Smith was in to-day q doz-
en- times, and every time with a
crowd of a dozen or twenty, and be
paid for 'em literally. They all had
all they wanted.
Prop Smith is a gentleman, and
he'll poll a sweeping vote in the
ward. If you get a chance let Jones
know what Smith is doing.
This brief conversation has meat
in it. Jones and Smith are running
for the same Office, but as the party
nominating Jones has a large major
ity 10 the ward, be does lot think it
necessary to squander money on the
election, Smith in the meantime, US
ing the grog-shop to make his calling
and election sure. The patriotic pro-
Of the rum-mIll wanted Mr..
Jones to know what Mr.. Smith was
doing, to alarm him into using the
same weapons. The grog-shop pro-
prietor hates the candidate who will
not pay for grog, and all the inau-
ence be can control is used in favor
of the one who pays for the most of
it. The few weeks before nomina-
tions, and the time between nomina-
tons and elections, is their harvest,
and they make the most Of it. Rum
is IN important element in New York
politics.