Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-01-15
LETTER FROM NEW YORK.
TnR wEATHER-CHFRKCEpEHrE cHANGEs-THE
TENEMENT HoRRoR-THE oREifsk-TuE rREss
DISSkE-A sUnNkR IDKA-Tns WORLDS PAIR
Cpps AND fNpS kTC.

here In New Iork-rsthcr more than less IL
has been go-as YOU please race between snow,
rain, sleet, hail and slush with little side
show In which Old Prob. and Fahrenheit have
rivalled each other In amusing the public. one
dsy IL has been cold enough 10 make one shiver
ia furs and the next warm enough for a light
overcoat: one day the streets have been 81
blocked by snow that getting about IN horse
cars. SleistS carriages or on foot has been
almost impossible the next day the indescriba-
bly, uncomfortable mixture or melting snow
and mud has been knee deep only 10 be fol
lowed twenty four hours later by torrents or
water, rendering the fording OF a Broadway
crossing an aquatic achievement or the most
dangerous nature. IL this sort Of thing con-
tirues much longer Edison viii have TO turn
his attention 10 the invention or some new
method OF getting around. To meet the de-
manGs or very much felt want" this new
vehicle should combine the varied qualities OF
the snow-plow, life boat Ice boat snow-shoes,
balloon. life preserver. pontoon bridge and mud
scow. And while the Wizard or Menlo Park Is
wrestling with the machine. why not appoint
General Grant TO the position or Old Prob.s
What he doesn't know about weather no one
would ever fiDd out or care 10 learn from expe-
rieDce, and his trip around the world could
thus be utilized for the good OF the country.
TuE TENEMENT HOUSE HORROR
That recent tenement house holocaust. as
your esteemed contemporary. the New Yorx
Hera'd, would felicitously call IL, has for In
revived the public interest In sub1ec
about which vast deal has been written and
said and very little done. I was through the
ruins or the tenement house where the nine
lives were lost, and the only wonder was that
any one got out alive. Little Charlie McKenna
who saved the lives OF his two brothers and
one sister, is quite hero, although he seems TO
think what he did was quite the correct thing
10 do-which II certainly was. Money has been
sent 10 the boy through the newspapers. poems
have been published about him. benefit per-
formance was given for him ana other suffer
"a a
Will spoil the brave II tie fellow. Altogether
more pathetic than nythng else saw In that
tenement house was In one OF the rooms where
three children We're burned. or sufo .ated TO
death. Ii was some hours after the dead bodies
had been removed. and the mother, di1ed with
her sudden sorrow, was at work In the wreck
OF her former home. with fearless eyes digging
out or the debris the little shoes that would
never be worn ny her bables again, with the
stockings tucked Into the shoe Just AS they had
been left By the children only the night before
IL this unnecessary sacrifice OF lie should
result In sone action which Will Insure greater
safety 10 the UDfortunateS who are forced To
huddle in these human niyes IL Will not have
been In vain.
THE oBEIIsK.
After tedious trip OF several weeks the Hur.-
bert-Nanderbilt- -Gorrtnge Cleopatra obellsk has
reached its destination I'm Central Park. IL Is
declared that this interesting monolith has a
history dating back thirty centuries. Who
shall say how long IT, VIII stand as an object
OF Interest In the metropolis or the New
World? And still more interesting question.
equally easy 10 answer is. How long VIII the
present metropolis OF the New World De here
TO afford refuge for This vagrant from the land
OF the PhaTaohs? In this connection it may
hot be necessary 10 mention that General
Grant, as matter OF course. will be the chief
figure al the final ceremonies la the park after
the obeiisk shall have been placed on It's
pedestal.
AsUANRR IDEA
One OF the latest projects for adding TO the
pleasures OF 2sew Workers next summer Is the
building OF a 'grand floating palace" 10 be
permanently noored of the Battery IL Is to
be 500 feet long, SO feet wide, with three decks,
and bathing conyenieDces below. The charges
OF admission Will be graded TO suit the finances
or all CLASSES, there will be music afternoons
and evenings. and eatables and drinkables ad lib.
AT night the whole will be gorgeously ilumi-
nate0 by hundreds OF gas Jets and a number
OF electric lights. Al present the only trouble
Will be TO receive permit from the proper
authorities.
TnE WORLDS FAIR AGAIN.
Now that the commissioners OF the proposed
worlds fair OF lsS3 have come together, II ap
pears that the delays and disputes which char
acterlZed the sessions or the executive board
are to be duplicated on larger scale In the prin-
cipal BODY. The matter oil a site now has TO be
gone ali over again. and the result is impossible
TO prognostIcate, although prep0nderance or
opinion appears TO favor 1nwood Nanderblt's
Subscription or t25O.ooO, conditional on the
raising OF 81 600 600, is much smaller than anti
cipat.d. In my humble opinion the only thing
needed now TO insure the success OF the fair Is
the election OF General Grant president or the
commission
THK PRESS DINNER.
Among the leading social events OF lie season
must be Included the eighth-nOt the Hf,st, as
the Tribune Incorrectly reported it-annual din
ner OF the New York Press Club. given at the
81. Nicholas Hotel, last Thursday evening
tickets S, including pint bottle OF very bad
ciaTet- There WAS q large attendance, includ
ing many OF the most prominent people, and
that means, OF course. that General Grant was
the honOred guest OF the evening. And he
made very good speech. too one or the best OF
the many clever post Irdndtdi efforts with
which he has recently surprised public that
untu within few mouths past were b!issfully
Ignorant OF his best oratorical and rhetorical
posslbliltieS- The dinner was a success and not
the least important feature or ft was the bilI
OF fare. prepared with q strict view TO the
eternal fitness OF things, by Mr.. H. Clay Lukens
widely known AS the paragrapher OF the DIuD
Aces, ana chairman OF the reception conhnlttee
at the dinner. The different courses, Instead
OF the conventional headings, or the fre1uent
classical quotations, were all suggestive OF the
profession OF which the Press Club is com
posed For example, over oysters was --latest
from Norfolk" the roasts were Introduced by
--latest from the Fire." Farm and Garden
suggested the vegetables, and other head lines
we're equally feIicitOus. Pardon the momen.
tary aggression, but it is hardly a step from
something good TO eat TO Gen. Grant. and as
have Inadvertently mentioned bis name. i must
say he show ed ia his remarks at the Press Club
dinner such familiarity with the duties or the
newspaper man as TO suggest that at it next
annual election the Press Club could not do
setter than elect him president
ODDS AND RNDs.
Mr.. Richardson. son or A. ID. Richardson
the editor OF the Tribune, who met with tragic
end some years ago, has had varied experience
es newspaper man. IL may be remembered
dian country, he was at one time captured ana
killed, all OF which was succientiy
from Mr.. Richardson's note book.
left In place where IL could be conveniently
found, with that end In view. Since then he
has been editor OF the Dramatic Ne,rs and IS
now correspondent OF several outof-town
dailies. He is also editor OF the Stroud hi
laricuS sort OF paper the organ OF the under
takers. Some gosliDg tried to introduce into
this country the European custom or wearing
black gloves with full dress Signor Arditti
leader OF the ochestra at Her MajeSty's grand
Italian opera at the Academy or Music, has
worn black gloves for two seasons. The dealers
have never sold SO many light-colored gloves as
since the attempted blacK-glove mania In
there Is nothing very new since
last wrote. Bernhardt has prolonged her orig
nal engagement 30 that she will be here until
The end OF April. Paulding, q young actor OF
great natural power and very little legitimate
dramatic training, is at the Fifth avenue Maui
r1ce Degremont, OF Brazil, the fourteen-year-
oid-pbenomeDon- boy -ytolniSt who is really a
genius, made his first appearance In tina United