Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-12-03
Life in New York CITY.
"a Non Resident American. in the cOntemp
TdrH ReUietC

rdry keUtetC.
New York is no longer the city that it
was fifty years ago. It has grown so
rapidly in extent, in population and in
wealth that all the conditions of life are
changed. visit the palatial residences
of former days, and find myself in the
midst of towering warehouses, or in the
midst of German city, or surrounded
by squalid tenement houses, swarming
with Irish. Another turn, and am in
a Chinese quarter If I would find-th
fashion and wealth of the city, l must
go far out among the old market gardens
and the more distant pastures, which are
covered now with costly dwelling houses.
Then, 600, 900 sterling was a great for
tune; now, New York boasts of a citizen
who is worth e20, 600 600 sterling. There
are others who are almost as rich. They
are railway kings, or men who have
grown rich by the sudden and enormous
rise in the value of real estate; and so.
cialism, imported from Europe, having
no kings here to attack, has found a
name for these men, and threatens them
as ''monopolists The palaces of the
Fifth Avenue laugh at the faint echoes
which reach them from the halls near
the BOwery. where socialist clubs discuss
the rights of labor. and openly advocate
the assassination of mOnOpolIsts; but no
one can seriously study life in New York
without finding himself confronted, first
of all, with this problem of the relations
of wealth and poverty. New York has
not grown rich so much through the
skill and energy of her citizens as through
the rapid growth of the country, with
which she has had but little to do, ex-
cept in the way of developing her
natural advantages by building railways
and canals. Most of her rich men owe
their wealth to the rise in the value of
real estate or to fortunate speculation 10
stocks. It has not been a slow growth.
It has come suddenly. The poorest man
in New York who can read a penny
paper is familiar with the slang of Wall
street. He knows that he is cutting
stone or carrying mortar for palace
which is building for a man who has
captured a railroad" or "watered
stock" or made a corner" He does
not need to go far to be told that this
does not mean money earned, but money
stolen from the labOring classes. He
believes it. And even this does not
touch him so directly as the fact that he
pays an exorbitant rent to another
m0nopolist for his filthy rooms in tene-
ment house.
If this were all of New York society,
this article would never have been writ
ten. There are rich men whom wealth
has not corrupted and poor men whom
poverty has not embittered. This does
not need to be said. 1t may be said of
every city. But there are probably few
cities in the world where a choicer So
ciety can be found than in New York,
and there are few. if any. where there is
more earnest, active Christian life. We
find it among the rich and the poor. 1t
Is colored somewhat by the dominant
spirit of the city, but It is genuine. 1t is
struggling manfullY to redeem the city
from crime, corruption. filth, ignorance,
irreligion, and degradation of every kind;
and if the city is saved from outbreaks
of the worst forms of communism, 1t
win be by its means.
But l am dwelling too long upon
generalities. Let us come down to prac-
tical everyday life. The New Yorker is
always in hurry. He is an early riser,
aud generally eats hearty breakfast by
s O'Clock. IL he is religious man, he
has had family prayers before breakfast,
as this is the only time of which he
could be sure before midnight If he
does not read the morning paper at
breakfast, he reads it on the way to his
office. He is almost certain TO have call
ers on business before he can leave his
house: and if he is known to be benevo-
lent man. he has a score of begging let
tiers by the morning delivery. He gets
away as soon as possible. and is not seen
again until evening, when he comes in
lust IN time to dress for dinner. His
household affairs are managed by his
wife. He is liable to have business calls
before he has finished his dinner. If he
goes to his club, he talks business there.
He has committee meetings to attend. At
9 or 10 o'clock he may go with his wife
to a party. or he may get away little
earlier to the theatre. If he has an
evening at home, it is because he has
dinner party or evening entertainment
himself. He keeps late hours. If an
active religious man, Sunday is almost
as busy day as any other. If not, it is
divided between business and amuse-
ment In May his family goes into the
country, or to some watering place, to
remain until October, but the chance is
that he gets but little rest. When rest
uCCOAACo obSOAutOAg SSN~AeANA ~ SNS~R~
to Europe.
What the ladies do, except to make
themselves agreeable when they can be
found, cannot say from observation,
but they seem to be as over-worked as
the men. Some of them certainly specu.
late in stocks. They nave their clubs
and societies, literary and otherwise.
Many of the charities and religious So
= e H., "a fowxnfry ~ 4hatr
hands. Domestic and social affairs are
generally left to their management. II
most of the wealthy are devoted 10 fash
ion, many are devoted to better things
to self-culture. religion and benevolence.
Perhaps all this is enough to account
for the fact that there seems to be SO
little of quiet and repose in New York
life.