The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1880-08-31
For THE TIMES,
NEW YORK LETTER.

Mr.. EDITOR 1T would be with DIFF
ficulty one could come to New York to
stay any time and not say anything
about 1t, as to no other point in the
land can you go from the quiet country
to find such a contrast. Nothing can
lend interest to locality 80 much as its
wealth and business, and in this New
York leads. Against its hustle no
other place we have can be compared"
is about what our ideas form from its
reputation, and the ideal vague or defin-
ite, is correct or wide of the mark as
accident has it. In striking New York
for the first time its appearance falls
short of what reputation has helped you
to form of 1t. Its general stir through
out hasn't got the ring you look for, its
buildings are not of the outward attrac-
tiveness, its streets short of the boasted
grandeur, especially Broadway, Nassau,
Chambers and Wall, its leading thor
oughfares. From its name as well as its
authority for fashion one would think
Broadway elegant in the extreme. 1t
neither has the width nor the splendor
we expect of it. The trouble with us of
course has been over estimation. That
the massive walls of hewn stone and
marble enclosing the small offices and
business rooms from the ground up six
floors represent great wealth as the
columns sheer away down the narrow
streets is no question, but the splendor
of it is not shown on its face. The city
being surrounded with salt water is not
without its decaying effect. But New
York is enterprising. Such features as
the wire suspension bridge spanning the
East river at q single leap of 1895 feet,
at height to clear the common sail
vessel, and accommodating itself to the
convenience of the people of New York
and Brooklyn by easy approaches ex-
| tending far back over a series of gray
| stone arches that in their perfection and
| beauty promise to stand till the last day,
all at the round sum expense of $16 ,000,-
| 600, or about as much as Tweed stole in
his day, and nearly as much as the COM
bined cost of the Centennial buildings,
is one of its giant efforts.
The elevated railways coursing up and
! down half dozen of the ten-mile
streets, carrying you proudly over the
heads of all foot and driving travel and
in the most comfortable style of any thing
in the way of railroads: the Croton Lake
water works supplying the city with the
best of fresh water from the small Croton
| river forty miles out of town and now
the Hudson River Tunnel from Jersey
City side, of mile stretch under the bed
of the river and three fourth of mile at
each end, thereby connecting New York
with the railroads centering into Jersey
City, and at probable cost of $12, ,O00,-
600, are all characteristic of its enter.
prise,
1t might seem enough to bankrupt O
city when such combination of sums
with the thousand and one smaller ones
more directly its own are paraded en-
mass to its treasury, but when we learn
that score of its citizens each represent
wealth of from forty to fifty million
dollars, and dozens of them are common
millionaires, we find 1t not so much out
of proportion after all. The debt of the
city at present is nearly 500, 100000.
To stranger New York shows very
cringing and Jewish air, with money
and immoral lust as the object of life
Yet its Vanderbilts and Bennetts anC
Danas and .Astors are public spirited
enough in their abundance to see thai
their parks, drives, monuments, anC
sometimes charity do not fall behinc
other centres of similar wealth. Th,
last addition to their already costly
Central Park is the obelisk, Cleopatra I
Needle, taken up from its ancient assem-
blage of wierd and time worn monu
ments that have kept sublime sentine
with their bleak, upIifted heads in th'