St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-01-10
Our New York "Radix'' Letter.


as some OF Jne papers nave oeeh lpuuS
triously trying to make out. New
Years calls in a wilderness of slush
and the horrors of a premature january
thaw, petered out slim, and as usual
we are told the good old custom is
dying out.
Meantime, all the festivities are not
over. They never are over in fact, in
New York. Even in the height of the |
cheated term" when all residents who |
can afford it HE away to Europe or the
mountains or beaches, there is enter !
tainment briskly provided for sOiOurn-
ters from elsewhere. The affair of
the year has Just come off, the annual
Charity Ball, and never was it more
| splendid. Jewels and costumes of
rarest quality were eclipsed by the
/ beauty they adorned, and the crowds
who thrOnged the vast new Opera
| House made this 10y far the largest ball
ever given in New York. And the
! ball room with its adjuncts was the
most splendid ever waltzed in. 1t was
gay and glorious scene.
One of the milliOnaires to whom we
owe the possibility of the erection of
such structures has come to severe
grief. Mr.. Willard, whose superb, and
in this country unique, triple palace
have before described to you, a man
of taste and supposed financial ability,
has been forced to abandon his position
as Colossus of Roads. His railway en-
terprises soaked up his money and
that of friends and others who Flushed
in on his meteor trail like sponge.
1t is all gone SO far as the victims are
concerned, though no doubt forming Il
basis in the quagmire for successors to
find causeway to success. Mr.. Vii
lard is rich man, but while many
blame him for errors of Judgment there
is not a word of censure as against his
: perfect uprightness and manly deter
minatiOn to give up every cent and
not protect himself ut the expense of
fore he struck the iron tracks.
Scarcely less tangible than sudden
fortunes by modern speculation are
the schemes of treasure hunters. To
' this day there are people who not only
believe in the existence of the buried
y plumber of the famous Captain Kidd,
but at frequent intervals indulge i'll
Il the vigorous pursuit of it. When one
enthusiast has exhausted his funds
= another will soon spring up to take his
i place. Another tradition is of the loss
, Of the British sleop Hussar at Hell
- Gate during the Revolution, with the
pay of the Hessians aboard. 1t is said
=, now that the treasure has been actually
recovered. 1t is certain that partie.
7 have been working there under au,
- thOrity from congress and an agree
ment to give up portion of the find
: the work has ceased and the suppose.
:, ton is that the find has been made
- and the finders have skipped to avOiI
# me printers are stIlI IN a very IN
q settled state. They have now Il TEN
+ pOrary victory on the newspapers, bu
y i'll the job offices, some of which EN-
y ploy very large numbers, the resistance
), to the higher wages now demanded i,
!, taking practical and disagreeabl,
turn. Work is being contracted for "A
Hartford and other neighboring cite,
where wages are lower, and severa
, master printers declare that they must
in self-defence, remove their establish
ments ont of New York, having merely
, an office here to take orders at. This
is the most formidable measure that
>, has so far threatened the autocratiC
Trade Unions, and if carried out will
no doubt so far to break up the most
successful of all of them. The print
ers as yet, have generally got the best
in all rows with the bosses.
New York is following after Brook
Ign in the matter of Civil service re-
form for the municipal service, and as
soon as examiners are appointed the
new rule will go into force 1t will
knock patronage higher than kite if
honestly administered, and this fact
has very much annoyed at least one
high official. The comptroller of
Brooklyn had his eye on vacancy
Just made in his office by clerk pro-
NOTED to be an Assemblyman. 1t was
IA good position, and filling it iudicious-
ly would no doubt make him "solid"
with influential supporters. TO his
disgust he finds he must take some
perfect stranger who has passed a good
examination and who may he diametri-
cally opposed to him in politics. He
therefore "kicks" and swears he will
appoint no one. He thus lays himself
open for the enquiry rs to why he
suffered the presence of the Assembly
man ut a large salary if the Office was
so unnecessary that he can get along
without it. Mayor Low is a gentle
man of considerable firmness. and
probably such symptoms of disgruntle-
ment will subside after while The
first examinations have been held.
! The candidates We're notified Oh
/ Christmas eve to file their certificates
five from reputable citizens, one
| from doctor, and an affidavit from
/ themselves-and on the 25th were
brought up to face the music, the ex-
{ animation for tba hi,,bar ,,ro.lo. -;.I