St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1878-09-06

NEW YORK's GREAT CHARITY-LAUDA-
BILE BALLOT sTUFFING-oUR PARA
Disc BY THE sEA-GLoRIFIED COMFY
IsLAND-THEODORE THoMAs-A Gu
RIoUS CASE.
NEW YORK, Aug. 81, 1873.
TO the Editor of the Cdledonian:
The ravages of the yellow fever con-
tinue to form one of the main subjects
of thought and action in New York.
Instead Ga decreasing, the two or three
column reports which the daily papers
give of the progress of the disease show
it to be rather gaining ground than
otherwise. The sympathies of this city
are fully aroused as may be inferred
from the frequency of meetings and en-
tertainments in behalf of the sufferers,
and the freedom with which money and
goods are offered in the cause. Over
500, 900 has been contributed, and the
results of a system just put in operation
will doubtless be to largely swell this
amount. This system is the novel and
sensible one of placing ballot boxes in
numerous public places for the recep-
ton of such cash as citizens feel i'm
PEELED to donate. The idea is a happy
one. People can vote early and often,
and that without registration or natur-
alization. The papers urge repeating"
and "ballot stuffing" as among the most
sacred duties of the community. No
vote is challenged on account of age,
color, or previous condition of servi-
tude, and not even the women suffrag-
lists can complain of any tyrannous re-
striction of their rights. The result of
this plan is not known as yet but the
idea seems to have struck the popular
fancy, and will probably do good work.
Among the entertainments in behalf
OF the fever sufferers was one at Man
haitian Beach, as portion of old Coney
Island has been re .christened and this
reminds me to say that, of all the trans
formation scenes ever presented to
wondering and delighted eyes, that
which has occurred within one year ON
the sandy barren of Coney Island is a
little the most marvellous. For MANY
years this strip of sand has been a good
deal frequented in the summer season
on account of its nearness to New York
and Brooklyn, but up to last season its
patrons were mostly of the order which
takes kindly to beer and pugilism, and
OF that other class who, open eyed and
open mouthed, fall easy victims to the
ut hn lNla
card monte men. But suddenly-in-
deed to us who have meanwhile been
busy about other matters it seems to |
have been in the twinkling of an eye
the spot has been so changed that even
its own father-the Atlantic Ocean
can hardly recognize it. Two enormous
and sumptuOus hotels have sprung like
Aladdin's palace from the earth, to-
gether with mass of pavilions, bath
ing houses pagodas around all of which |
by lavish expenditure of money the
wilderness has been made to blossom
like the rose. A net work of narrow
guage railroads has been laid to con-
meet New York and Brooklyn with the
new watering place, the suddenness and |
immensely of whose popularity are pro-
pOrtionate to the miraculous quickness
of its growth. 1t far outstrips Long
Branch and Cape May both in elegance
and in the multitude of it's patrons. The
passenger traffic between it and the
city is something wonderful. On some
evenings there have been as many as
100000 people in the hotels and along
the beach; while in gayety and daz-
cling brilliancy the scene is only COM
parable to such European watering
places as Baden-Baden on Wiesbaden |
which latter however lack the invig-
Grating sight and sound of the ocean.
Powerful electric lights illuminate the
beach and grounds at night and throw
a weirdly beautiful radiance over the
white-capped surf and the bathers dis
porting themselves therein, while bands
of music from the pagodas contribute
to the general enjoyment. One of these
bands includes Levy, the great cornet-
list, and its pagoda is the nucleus of
crowd reaching usually well up into the |