St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-12-23
Our New York Letter.
New YORK, December 16, 1881


Have you any spare coins about you
trOw not, for behold it is precious
near Xmas, and the shekels take unto
themselves wings and wheels, and flap
pers and, for all | know to the contra
nv, even the Keely motor, till when
thou lOokest for them, 10 they are not
It's on the face of it an unprOpitiOus
time for handing round the hat for
anything outside of the old established
grooves in which a man must chip in
with the crowd if he's a man at all.
Still, if you have any money after sub
scribing to Santa Claus & Co., may be
you will pay a little attention to the
revivified appeal for money to build a
pedestal for BarthOldi's great Statue of
Liberty Enlightening the World. The
French have raised their share for the
statue itself and gracefully gave our
minister the honorable duty of striking
in the first rivet to join the fragments
of the colossal lady, and | think it
looks a little near closefsted, mean,
misery, and so forth, for us to be so
slow.
The East River Bridge begins to
look to the outward observer, some
thing like completion. The fOunda-
ton for the permanent roadway has
been connected in the center of the
vast span, and to celebrate the event,
distinguished party of citizens, in
Guiding the Mayors of the two cities
and the wife of the Chief Engineer,
walked across on temporary fOOtwalk
and cracked bottle of champagne by
way of launching the concern on the
world as bridge. Meantime, there is
war in the board of directors, which
like many other boards of banks, &C.,
seems to have been run by two or three
members, the others knowing little of
what was going on, and being content
to look wise and important and draw
handsome emOluments therefor. The
announcement that secret contract
had been made looking to the moving
of freight and Pullman cars, which was
never intended, while at the same time
to accommodate the delinquent Edge
moor Steel and Iron Co., which sup
piled the metal in most unsatisfactory
way, lighter material had been accept
ed than had been provided for by the
plans, fell like bombshell in a recent
meeting and raised storm which
threatened to rage for some time, and
probably end in the discontinue of the
ingenious manRuvres of the underhand
scheme. The Real Estate Chronicle,
one of the most able business papers
published in this city, seems to hit the
nail exactly on the head when it points
out with no uncertain finger exactly
where the blame should rest. 1t
names no names, but simply notes a
damaging coincidence which spots the
notorious old jObber (who is not I'M
connected with party and public land
sales) alluded to in a most unmistaka
BILE way.
The gales on the Atlantic continue
with Unprecedented severity, and
steamers continue to arrive several
days overdue, almost all reporting
with mOnOtOnOus regularity loss of life
among the gallant officers and crews.
The swift, long, narrow masterpieces
of marine architecture, as it is the
fashion to call them, which in calm
summer weather certainly make very
quick runs, make poor showing in
this sort of weather, and it is instruct
i've to note how comfortably some of
our old fayOrites manage to cross.
tell you what it is, when there's a reg
ular nOse-ender in the way, I'd rather
ten to one be in any one of the old
National line boats than in the latest
"triumphs," etc. The Spain and Egypt,
for instance, have made their regular
time, and haven't lost boat, or even a
match box, while the "triumphs," etc,
have been under water, from all ac-
counts, the major part of the passage,
and seem to have lost everything that
could possibly be swept from their
decks boats, smoke stacks, ventila-
tors, everything. The Canada, by the
way, has kept up the well-knOwn life
saving tradition of the National line
by the rescue in a bowling gale, at
great risk of the lives of the splendid
fellows who performed the feat, of the
entire crew of German bark in dis
tress.
The cherubs who sit up alOft in
church chOirs and squawk mellifiuOus-
ly, are not always as angelic apparent
ly, as they ought to be. War has
ragged with bitterness among the sweet
singers of the fashionable ST. Thomas
p. E. church, and the high collared
director in high choler, dismissed a
lady vocalist in way which has start