St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-02-04
Our New York Letter.

TRUCKMEN IN ICE-BLOCKED STREETS
ONE SYSTEM OF TRANSPORTATION
MANAGED IN VERY DIFFERENT WAY
MUNIFICENT MILLIONAIREs DIsTRIBU-
TING DUCATs IN DESERVING DIREC-
TIONS-MORE ARCTIC ADVENTURES
APPEALED FORA RADICAL RECON-
MENDATION BY RADIx-THE WORLD
OF GOTHAM IN A wHIRL OF FUN.
NEW YORK, Jan. %, 1881.
To the Editor of the CalsdOnian:
We are in the throes of another
walking match. 1 shan't say much
about it, for, to tell the truth, l know
very little about it. This sort of thing,
somehow, pals ON the public mind,
and l suppose l must have imbibed
some of the prevalent apathy. Still, as
the event nears its close the interest
revives, and no doubt the finish will be
as exciting, and the Rink as thronged,
as of yore, on similar occasions. Most
of the hands have again come to the
front, and ''the Lepper," who was for
merly distinguished as an uncultivated
braggart, seems to have developed I'M
expected pluck and staying powers.
For sheer nastiness in a thaw, down
town New York can beat the universe.
1t is not generally known how costly
it is for the city to have such dirty
streets. More mud may, perhaps, be of
use to clothiers, who thrive by supply
ing fresh garments to the victims of
splashing vehicles, just as matters may
be benefited by the vagaries of UNI
brellas in rainy weather on crowded
thOrOughfares but the mOnstrOus heaps
of frozen snow which have for weeks
disgraced our streets are simply costing
merchants not less than 100000 day
at the lowest computation. 1t is next
to impossible to ship goods on time.
The few streets which are comparative
~ clean are thronged, and jams ensue
which last for hours. 1t is dangerous
to life and limb for pedestrians to at
tempt to cross the street in the full
swing of exasperated traffic, fol- every
one is out of temper, the frosty air is
laden with curses as thick as snow
| flakes, and man aud beast are alike
worn out in the vain attempt to get on.
And then the papers are full of letters
from travelled wiseacres to tell us how
differently things are managed in Paris
or London, or the Cannibal Islands, or
somewhere. It's too bad to suffer so,
and be tOld-truly, too-what fools we
are to stand it.
| mentioned in my last an invention,
or what was tantamount to one, a re-
vised adaptation of a well-known en-
gineering device to repairing great
ships, by the manager here of the Ma
tional Steamship Line. l might have
said a good word for the line itself for
| have travelled by it and can truly say,
after an experience on several great
ocean lines in the Atlantic and Indian
oceans, that l never was more comfort
able as passenger. The saloon peo-
pie seem somehow to be allotted rather
more room in their staterooms than is
usual the table is good, and the officers
are the pick of the Mercantile Marine,
all of them being qualified masters, and
the captains, one and all, men with
record. The steerage is, | think, adj
mirably looked after. The provisions
are ample, decently served and proper
ly cooked, while the accommodations
are decidedly superior. This line was
the fist to provide steerage steward
esses, and did it of its own accord
| With all this, the fares are cheaper, as
Il rule, by two or three dollars in the
steerage, and five or ten in the cabin,
than are demanded elsewhere. These
facts have made the line favorite, es-
pecially in the matter of "prepay" tick
cts, when people who have been well
treated on the way to this new and
happy land send for their friends,
ranking them across the herring pond
by the line they consider the best
This is human nature, and the manage
ment of the National Line are reaping
the steady reward of long continued
liberality. There's no cheeseparing
sticking to the letter of contract with
them. Their measure is full and run
ming over, and they keep their friends.
I'm one of them, and feel inclined to
say so at every fair opportunity.
A nice old banker, Mr.. Leney, of the
Bank of the Metropolis, finding he has
more money than he knows exactly
what to do with, in selfish point of
view, has been distributing some of his
surplus in very openhand and sensi-
BILE sort of way. The superb Long
Island Historical SOciety's building has
been recently finished, and formally
and festively occupied by the members,
and Mr.. Leney has just passed in his
check for $4,000 toward the perma-
nent book buying fund. The Butler
Street Home for Destitute Children is
one of the many charitable institutions
which seem to meet with considerable
popular appreciation, and Mr.. Leney
has just handed over 100000 to its
managers to erect new wing. This is
all so far; but this sort of thing is con-
tagiOus, and there are plenty of rich and
generous men who are quite ready to
follow such an example.
In line with the following, l would
say just one word regarding the noble
use to which several columns of space
are daily put by the Herald. Under
the caption, always With YOU" is a
directory of thoroughly investigated
cases OF distress among the deserving
but unfortunate. The expenses of
gathering and presenting these facts
are immense, as any publisher knows,
but the good done is enormous. There
is no mistake about it. Mr.. James
Gordon Bennett has plenty of enemies,
and is very likely not entirely free from
some of the faults they charge him
with but his heart is in the right place.
and it don't need very strenuous urging
to induce him to put his hands away
down deep in his pockets and bring
them out with plenty of solid comfort
for the suffering. l have before this
alluded to his princely munifcence on
several occasions, and be is one of those
people who are emphatically never