St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-12-28
Our New York Letter.


1000 ARREsTs-THE CIGAR STRIKE
JAMES GORDON BENEFITS LATEST
PRoJECT-soME DISTINGUISHED AR
RIVALS.
NEW YORK, Dec. IA, 1877.
10 the Editor of the Caledonian:
One of our pet sensations during the
last week or ten days has been the cul-
mination of the troubles of the saloon
keepers of this city who have been in
hot water for months owing to defective
laws on the subject of their privileges,
which resulted in "a conflict between the
Board of Excise and the Police. Most
of the liquor sellers have been unable
to get licenses that would hold, and
being unwilling to relinquish their bust
ness have been going OH selling, in more
or less fear of the troubles which have
now come upon them. AS there are
some $500 of them within the city limits
the work of the police in enforcing any
general order against them is for
midable one but the latter went at it
bravely on Thursday afternoon under
orders from headquarters and so Jealous
were they that by evening over 500 ar
rests were made. Many of the unfortu-
nate ones were men of money and high
standing in ward politics, and hot was
their indignation, therefore, at being
hustled as most of them were, into
crowded cells where they passed the
night. The next morning the Police
Courts were crowded to witness the ex-
animation and bailing out of this heavy
grist of alcoholic worthless. In one en-
counter justice got decidedly the worst
of it. A certain Murphy being called
up to the railing for the usual formali-
ties. His Honor asked with facetious
sternness "Haven't seen you before
somewhere, Mr.. Murphy 7" To which
the unabashed drinkmixer promptly
replied, 'Yis, indade, yer worship.
Whin was bar-tinder at the - Ho-
tel, yer Honor used to drop in on me
quite frequently" At this the motley
audience yelled with laughter, and the
justice hastily responding ''Well, well,
we won't go into that now," proceeded
to business.
Many more arrests have since been
made until the retail liquor business of
the city is practically suspended except
so far as it can be done on the sly
which by the way amounts to consid-
erable; for when the average citizen
wants his drink, he generally wants it
very much, and efforts on the part of
the authorities to prevent his getting it
seem only to render him more thirsty.
So all sorts of strategems are resorted
to, either to avoid the eye of the law or
to evade its effect.
Both the wholesale and retail LIQUOR
men are now aroused and are holding
frequent meetings to devise plan for
forcing the authorities to extricate all
concerned from the legal muddle in
which they are involved.
And not only is the unregenerate New
Yorker in trouble about his cocktail
His difficulties are even extending to
his cigar. The great cigar strike has
D.
and the effect is already noticeable in
the market. Talking to-day with a
member of the Cigarmaker's Union,
was informed that the cessation of the
labor of 1900 cigarmakers during the
period mentioned, had reduced the ag-
gregate production over 100000 ci-
gars. In his opinion the resulting search
ty will soon force the manufacturers to
accede to the demands of the strikers.
And now they tell new story about
James Gordon Bennett, the eccentric
young man who owns the New York
Herald, and is the patron saint of ex-
travagant sports. l call him young
man because in the eyes of the public
he will always remain such partly be-
cause he had distinguished father, and
partly because his own actions are
mostly such as men associate with reck-
less and dissipated youth. In point of
fact he must be verging on forty and is
growing prematurely old. AS your
readers are probably aware he has been
in voluntary banishment for about a
year on account of duel with the
brother of his ex-fancee. He divides
his time between the onerous duties OF
riding with the hounds at his shooting
box" as the English call it, somewhere
in the interior of England, and attend
ing to the gayeties of the French capi-
| tai, where he is as we'll known a char
acter as in this city.
Well, the tale is now that this pattern
! journalist, unable by all the ordinary
methods of expenditure, to get rid oi
the income of the great paper which he
is prevented from selling by the terms
of the elder Benefits will, meditates
emulating the late A. T. Stewards ex.
ample by building a new town. An6
apparently agreeing with the latter thai
the best site for such an enterprise is {
barren and sandy plain, he is reported
to have selected such a location il
mosuuito-haunted New Jersey some
twenty-five miles from the city. 1t ii
certain that he has bought an immense
tract of land in the locality indicated
and is trying to increase it by buying
up the surrounding farms; but whethe
he will go on with his alleged schem,
to cause this desert to blossom will
palatial buildings it is too early to as
sert definitely, in view of the uncertain
character of its protector.
Among the prominent recent arrival
in the city is reported that of our new
State Senator from Buffalo, DR.. R. V
Pierce, who was returned at the las
election by a majority of nearly 5000
, after stormy campaign in which hi
opponent was Judge Clinton, wei
known and prominent citizen of tha
district. Such popular verdict is
{, recognition of DIR. Pierce's enterpris
7 and ability which have contributed $