Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-03-29
LETTER FROM NEW YORK.

01d8teS-The Madison Square Garden
TO GO-''Liberty'' i'm Search of n Peilcs-
The Eden Nuseum's WaxwOrks EfOr-
FOrs-NeWspaper Gossip.
| Special Correspondence of THE EVENING STAR
NEW YORK. March %.
The appearance of Mr.. Edward Coopers name
| in the field in connection with the democratic
nomination for President, has amazed New
| York. and some pretty severe things are said
about the ill-iudged friendship which can drag
| into publicity man SO utterly unfit for public
life as the only son of the late philanthropist
Edward Cooper is known in politics simply as
| the son of Peter Cooper. AS such he was
! accorded place in local councils. and his large
fortune was an additional reason for making
him welcome in the democratic circles OF New
York. AS Peter Cooper's son he was elected
mayor OF the CITY four years ago. and as Peter
Coopers son he will ALWAYS enioy a certain
measure of popularity. But he cannot be elected
President as Peter Cooper's son. and the sug-
gested nomination has good deal of the lud-
crous about it to those who know the man and
his negative career. AS MAYOR of this CITY he
did nOthing-neither those things which he
ought to have done. those which he ought
not to have done. He was put up by the demo-
Gratis as figure head. whom they could
control, and he disappointed them. for, like
most weak men with no minds of their own, he
was obstinate, and the influence which some of
our best citizens were enabled through social
ties to bring to bear resulted in the discontinue
OF John Kelly, who was deposed from the con-
troliership on the very last day of Cooper's term
Thus Cooper incurred the lasting enrnity of the
present chief Of the democratic party in this
city, and no one would take greater pleasure in
bringing the whole power of Tammany to bear
| against Cooper and voting for a republican
President in return for votes for democratic
mayor than John Kelly.
HEwITT's DYSPEPSIA.
Abram 8. Hewitt is Coopers brother-in-law
and his sponsor in local politics. Hewitt has no
more chance for the nomination than Cooper
but he would cut a less ludcrous figure as a
candidate, for he is not an absolutely colorless
man like his brother-in-law, and would have
been somebody In the world even had he not
been helped along in life by the millions of old
Peter Cooper. But the reasons which even New
York democrats, who think well of Hewitt, give
against the bare notion Of nominating him are
unanswerabe. He Is altogether too much of O
pOhtclan and n0tenOugh Of a statesman. He ia
too willing to consult with some of the bad ee-
ments OF his party here; his lack of tact has been
shown over and over again, most notably in the
ODonneil business and he is too complete q
victim to dyspepsia and insomnia to be person.
ally popular. AS all his friends know, Hewitt
walks the floor OF his bedroom three nights out
of four unable to get proper rest Some allow
1t would not be fair to say that those who know
him best like him least for there are excellent
points about Mr. Hewitt as a man and a citizen,
but ne is not one for whom the rank and file Of
party would bubble over with enthusiasm.
THE SHOWS OF TEN YEARS.
One Of the chief topics Of interest this week
is the announcement that the Madison Square
Garden, ,consecrated by great events without
number, Is to be torn to pieces in May and be
ron hv
and a gigantic apartment building. The garden
dates from 1873, when the New York and New
Haven railroad deserted the premises. In it
have been held shows innumerable-dog shows
horse shows, cat shows, walking mat ches beauty
contests, Moody and Sanky .revivals, masked
and every other kind of balls smuggling matches,
and Barnums moral exhibitions Of the Zulu the
baby elephant and the woman who could ride
ten horses at a time and jump through paper
hoops by way Of filing up the time. There have
been extraordinary scenes in the old garden.
have seen ten thousand men yelling at once over
ROWeiTs achievements or singing salvation
hymns with the same enthusiasm, and there
have been some disreputable scenes, as when,
at the close Of masked balls, the last guests.
male and female. had to be swept up
gress of beauty was also an astonishing
display of female ugliness and brazen
lmpudence which some persons may remember.
hundred young and middle-aged women sat
III u row upon u platform anC eDtreateQ the
spectators to vote them the prize for beauty.
There was prize for beauty, one for modesty,
and one for good taste in dress. | remember
that the girl who got the prize for modesty ex-
changed remarks with the crowd OF gTog-shop
loafers who voted tor her that would have
made stone Image blush. She got the prize
l suppose on the lucus a iucendo principle
The dog shows and horse shows were, of course
extremely fashionable affairs, and of sweeter
memory than the beauty shows and smuggling
fnhn OF yob lTr Cain
prove the efficacy Of Boston culture. The gar
den was pretty profitable investment for Mr..
Vanderbilt and has returned about ten per cent
income on its valuation of a million. The throng
OF people who go to 1t when shows are in pro-
greSS also pay large sums OF money to Wander
tllt g 4th avenue. line Of cars, which passes the
doors, and it Is said to be on account of the
profit to his horsecar line that he refused to sell
the property unless hippOdrOme was to be one
feature of the Improvement. Inconnection with
the hippOdrOme will be theater, hall for lee
lures, and winter garden on the roof, where
concerts will be given in the afternoon.
MIR. EvARTs TIRED OF LIBERTY"
That unfortunate statue of Liberty which
the French nation want to present US with is
again in trouble about its pedestal, and whereas
everyone thought few days ago that the money
was on hand to build the str ucture it now turns
out that every cent collected so far will have to
go toward laying the foundation. The total
cost OF the pedestal and foundation was to
have been $3.50 900. but it is seen now that, as
is usual with architects. the estimate was about
half of what the cost will be. The committee
10y no end Of eXertions appeals fairs and bene-
fits, have raised $40. 600, of which $4,000 have
been spent for cement and the rest appro-
priated Tor work to be done on the foundation
on BedlOe's Island The bids for the pedestal
proper were opened this week, when the lowest
was found to be ?240.0O0, instead of S125. 600,
as the committee had expected. These wearied
gentlemen were so dumbfounded that they have
virtually abandoned all hope of raising the re-
quisite sum. All the means of getting money
have been exhausted and they do not know
where next to turn. In answer to pathetic ap-
peals for help sent to every town in the coun-
try of 10000 inhabitants and over they have
received less than $500. The fact is that
while France presents the statue to the United
States and not to New York, the United States
persists in regarding it as New York's private
affair. The committee on the pedestal Wm
NJ. Evarts, chairman. do not know where to turn
for the money, and have received notice that
the statue will arrive in September and should
be placed at once upon its pedestal in order to
avoid injury by accident. The French commit
tee do not know. perhaps that this great ma
ton, with yearly surplus of a hundred mill
lions, cannot build pedestal. Suggestions for
raising money will.be thankfully received by Mr..
Evarts, but he warns people that he has already
| tried fairs, tabeaux, art loan exhibitions and
personal appeals to millOnaires. Whether he
!