The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1884-01-05
Our New York Letter.
Regular correspondence OF ADVOCATE.
New YORK, jan. 2, 1884

AVE-" LOhh, Odu. q 1oOt
New Years Day was spent much more
quietly this year than for many seasons
past. That system of making calls.
which in former years uted TO be carried
on to an excessive extent in this city
seems to be dying. Gentl9n en- are nc
longer required to be on the go from lO
a. m. to 10 p. m, wandering from house
to house to wish their lady friends o
Happy New Year, and to make their
stomachs receptacles for the most heter.
ogeneous combinations of food and
liquors and thus have to pay the penalty
the next day with an abnormally large
head. The fashion of providing ones
self with oddly shaped and colored
chromos y'clept New Years cards is also
considered bad form, and thus the occas.
ion is fast developing into q perfectly
respectable one.
Gentlemen who wished to observe the
latest decree of fashion attendant upon
making New Years calls were this vel
forced to go deep down into their pocket
books. The latest edict of style rtq uired
a gentleman to send basket OF flowers
to every lady whom he honored with q
call. In consequence of this demand up.
on their resources florists raised their
prices, and the poor fellows who went
about visiting had to pay from FIVE 10
twenty dollars for every call they made.
1t is qnite natural that under these cir.
cumstances. the visiting lists of great
many gentlemen were very short. The
fashion Of wearing full evening dress
was more generally observed this year
than ever before, and in consequence
tle livery stables did rousiDg busi-
ness. AS regards official receptions by
the Board of Aldermen and other bodies.
there was at them notable absence of
the revelry and riotousness which
formerly digraced such gatherings.
The Bartholdi Art Loan Exhibition
promises at last TO help the scheme of
raising funds wherewith to erect the
pedestal for the Statue of Liberty En-
tightening the World. The daily attend
ance averages better than the manage
ment ever aspired to, and now that the
exhibition is open on Sundays, the re.
ceipts are not only materially increased
but working people, who have no time
during the week can enjoy a thorough
aud complete study of the treasures gath
cred here. was at the exhibition last
Sunday, and what struck me most about
the visitors, was the enormous number
OF Frenchmen and Germans gathered.
No wonder cur fine art work shops are
peopled Ly foreigners. 1t is singular
that young Americans as q rule prefer
Lhe drudgery and the poor pay OF stores
and offices to the more interesting, more
elevating and more useful life of an ar
liSan with its accompanying emolu-
ments.
The arrest of the man KohlfahI, who
lnder the pretence cf educating men as
De 'ectives, and providing them with lu-
'rative employment swindled score or
more gullible persons out of sums rang
ng from twenty to two hundred dollars,
'hows to what an extent the private de-
ective business prevails, and when one
considers Its many rami6cations. one is
'lmost horrified. Said prominent
sergeant Detective of the police force to
ne the-other day; This business is the
'urse OF the age, and is the cause Of
more rascality and crime than you have
ny idea Of. A lot of unprincipled mer,
vho are too idle to devote themselves to |
my regular honest labor take to it, and |
Z their hands the work is nothing else
han organized blackmail. The way |
hey operate is damnahle. They man.
ge to learn the history, antecedents and
labits, as we'll as quarrels of people OF
tote. You know there is a skeleton In
very closet. Man and wife may have
pat, which may for some reason or 9th
r grow in intensity aud duration.
these fellows manage to learn of it
hrough servants. Tie first step is 10
nform either or both parties Of some
LEGGED wrong doing. They poison the
round thus created with additional
ales. From curiosity the victim grows
nterested, and then step by step the de-
non Of distrust gains in strength. The
divorce courts show frequently that the
rigin of matrimonial troubles may be
raced directly to the hellish practices OF
lese fellows.
"or again, they make a good deal of
loney in the shape of rewards for the
-e0Ysry Of lat OT stolen yAIuablss. !