St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-03-30
Our New York Letter.

MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE
MAYOR HALL MIsSING-THEORIES OF
HIS ABsENCE-THE NUMBER OF TIKI
LOST-BOGUS CURRENCY-JoURNA
ISTIC SUFFERERs-THE LOTTERY PER
MISUNDERSTANDING THE SEASON
THE CITY AROUSED-MR. BERGH's PLAN
SCOOP NETS AND COVERED WAGONS
NEW YORK, March %, 1877.
To the Editor Of the Californian:
Our latest wonder is the sudden dis
appearance and mysterious absence OF
A. Oakley Hall, whom most of YOU
readers know by name if nothing more
He was Mayor of the city during the
days of the Ring, and was the only
prominent member of the city govern
ment of that time who was able to vim
dictate himself from the charges of fraud
aud theft under which all his associates
went down. Since the close of his Off
cial term Mr.. Hall has been one of the
most successful lawyers in New York.
Always devoted to the dramatic art and
profession, he one year ago joined the
ranks as damatist and actor, appearing
at the Park Theatre as the principal
character in his own play of "The Cruel
ble." This step of the ex-MayOr Great
ed wide sensation, and his debut was
witnessed by the most brilliant audi
euce the building had ever held. Two
weeks of acting convinced him that he
was neither Booth, Forrest or IA
Jefferson, and renOunciug the stage as
suddenly as he had adopted it, he re-
turned to his law practice which he
seems now so strangely to have de-
serted.
For week no tidings of the missing
man have been received and the dis
cussion of various theories of his dis
appearance has become part of New
YOrk's daily business. 1t is thought bv
Il few that Mr.. Halls vanishing may be
in some way connected with the recent
arrival of Sweeny from Europe; the
theory being that he does not wish to
get mixed up in the scandals which the
latter's trial is sure to revive. This,
however, is improbable as he himself
had been acquitted of completely long
ago. Hints of murder or suicide are
also freely exchanged but there is as
yet nothing better than wild rumor of
fered in explanation of the mystery.
And this naturally suggests refer
ence to the growing frequency of such
disappearances in New York, the num-
Der OF which grows from year to year.
A majority of persons going in this way
are subsequently recovered alive or
dead, but there are still surprising
number of cases in which some man,
woman or child drops suddenly out of
his or her place and is never heard of
more. Most of such cases occur among
the lower classes, and it is only occa-
slonally when the lost one has name
and fame enough to leave a vacancy in
society, as in the instance now before
us, that the public's attention is drawn
to the subject. 1t may give some idea
of the importance of this sad feature of
life IN great crowded city where hard
ly any one knows or cares for his neigh
Dor, to say that during 1876 there were
Co"NCh IOuI cases
of 'FOund Drowned alone in the wa
tiers which wash this island. hardly
think it would be an exaggeration to
assert that in New York a thousand
persons annually pass from view, either
into mysterious oblivion, or else to find
some unknown path to an unaccouut
able death and subsequent discovery.
1t seems aqittle rough in these hard
times when money is such difficult
thing to get hold of that we should have
to take considerable proportion that
Is bogus, but so it is. | do not remem-
Der time when there was so much
u. 5. currency afloat in the
smaller denominations as at present.
And not only the bad halves, quarters
and dimes are troublesome, but what
oOthers us poor newspaper men the
most is the counterfeit 81 900 bill which |
has recently appeared. When one of
us gets three or four of them in his
weeks wages, it really cripples him !
good deal-makes him wear his old hat
and smoke cheap cigars for while. II
Is earnestly to be hoped for our sakes.
hat the crusade against manufacturers
If the "queer," which has this week re-
suited in breaking up Brooklyn gang,
viii finally capture the fellow who is
us with those notes.
Another prosecution which is being