The daily gazette., 1883-05-26
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
THE OPENING OF THE BROOK
LYN BRIDGE.
WHAT THE RESULT WILL BE.
A Boom for Vendors of Small Wares--
Coupon Frauds--Bad system Of Book
keeping In the Comptroller's Once.
lspecial coptespondenee Of the eazette. !

things to look forward to by the guests, but
when the excitment is all over the next day,
how tired everybody feels. The particular
wedding on Thursday did not differ in the
least from usual affairs of this kind. The
bride, Brooklyn, the home of maidens fair
and matrons devout-was arrayed In all the
splendor demanded by the occasion, and
| everybody made much of her. The groom
on the contrarS-dear old Gotham, had to
make the best he could of the circun-
stances. l have been serving as guide
and patron to a couple of charming
friends from the country for the last
sixteen hours. have shown them Brook
lyn from end to end, and as a result am
rewarded with the cheering information that
Brooklyn is very nice place because one
feels so glad on getting away from it. It
is singular that with its close proximity to
New York, Brooklyn remains more pro-
vineial than the veriest country town is in
terror.
The manners of che people, the little
peculiarities in the dress of the women, the
peculiar tinge of verdancy in the appear
anees OF the young men; the bourgeois
dignity OF the elderly men all combined
make up an ensemble which you can find in
no other large city in the world.
The population is divided and sub
divided into little associations, coteries.
etc., where the young men and young
women con gregate, but it has not a first
class club or CLUB house for men. The good
people OF Brooklyn believe that the bridge
will materially increase the prosperity of the
place. l believe on the contrary that IL will
diminish it. ] think it is the FIRST step that
the city takes towards losing its identity.
1t will certainly be absorbed by the Empire
city which is steadily but surely extending
its limits. 1t mas already absorbed good
portion OF Westchester county. One need
not be surprised to sec it extend to Spuyten
Duyvil creek within the next 20 years.
Brooklyn Is bound to follow 1t is a law of
nature taat large bodies sh0uld absorb lesser
ones.
OF the growing nesJ yi more room co ac
cOmmodate the ar.aies @ nru1le that come
here 70 settle down, i.J ms rive you the
proof by PRODUCING soIn" statistics. New
York Island coutsine $500 acres, less |. .0GO
acres which are us "a lor public parks.
$500 acres are covered W.Gh houses, hence
there are but S,0JA Vacant acres. Now.
during the last len year 1000 acres were
absorbed, and of these $50 were built IN
within the last year. 1t is an easy matter
to figure up how long it will take to con-
sumo the surplus AT present we are
rounteracting this rapid cor unl ption "
erecting tall structures from six to ten and
eleven stories high, but a couple of disas-
trous fires will soon irighten people out of
their liking for them, and then they will re-
sumo spreading over the. surface of the
island.
For venders of small wares "Bridge Day"
was perfect bonanza. Everything pOssi-
BILE was sold in the shape of souvenirs med
ais, pictures, wooden and metal models of
the structure, cakes and candy made to re-
semble the form of the bridge and the usual
knick-knacks in the shape of surprises. One
vender told me that he had earned nearly
seven dollars on Thursday, and he sold
five cent article on which his commission
was two cents. Out-of-town visitors were
of course the heaviest buyers.
The investigation OF CarrolPs coupon
frauds still progresses and the further it
goes the more people seem to have been in
volYed in it. No one of course intimates
that Comptroller Campbell had any share
in the frauds, but the earelessness with
which he allowed an organized system of
wrong doing to continue, is criminal and
there is scarcely a doubt but what
steps will be taken to bring about his
removal. l was talking to well-known
merchant the other day who years ago held
position in the Comptroller's office. "The
system of bookkeeping there" said he, sis
no worse than it has always been, but It is
wretchedly bad. No business man of the
slightest knowledge or experience would
tolerate it for a week. l remember some
years ago man, an expert accountant, Of
fered to sell the office plan OF conducting
its affairs, by which saving of a million
and half of dollars a year could be eff
tected. His proposition was not accepted"
And yet despite the pickings and leav-
ings and perquisites which politicians in
office get, politics does not pay. Carroll
the deceased young coupon clerk, who was
most heavily implicated In the coupon
rauds, and who is now being made the
scapegoat tor thefts which he undoubtedly
never committed spent his gains on women,
and at the card table, but great portion OF
it went to the support of his party. Charles
Blackie, the late Clerk of Special Session,
who was moral man and a gentleman in
every respect, and who always en-
ioyed comfortable income, died
100000 in debt. An intimate
acquaintance of mine who had
retired from business and then taken to
politics more TO have something to do than
for any emolument told me few days ago,
that during the three years that he had
sio led with it," he had lost about $40, 900
in variety OF ways. There are a great
many men in politics who own magnificent
houses, drive fast horses, are compelled to
subscribe largely for campaigns, religious
and charlt3 bic purposes. Were they to die
tomorrow they could otleaye their families
enough of money to buy meal with This
political life is all hollow mockery and
sham, much worse than that of France
which Daudet showed up so well in his
"Nabob," his "Kings in Exile" and other
works.
| met distinguished surgeon the other
evening and in the course of conversation he
remarked to me that the science and art of
operative surgery had made more progress
W thin the last twelve months than during
the previous twenty years. "We have got
to understand the construction of the hu-
man body better, and we know how to treat
local diseases better. No end OF devices and
instruments have been invented, and we can
almost manufacture new body for a man,
In the matter of eye and ear diseases the
progress is particularly marked. Operating
for what is commonly known as a cast in
the eye used to be very risky piece OF
work. 1t is now very simple. We burn
where we used TO cut"
Salmi Morsf is being heartily laughed at
for his new play "Bustle among Petticoats,"
which is utter, audacious rot, still it pays
for everybody goes to see how bad it is and
laughs at it "When you write a play"
once said leading and now successful dra-
matist to me, "you must produce either
trst-class one or an utterly bad one. In
either case you will win money, and the
chances are that the bad one, If it is with
out any redeeming features, will pay you
better than the good one." Perhaps Mr..
Morse got the same "tp" and is now fol-
lowing 1t out.