Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1885-07-09
MATTERS
THE REAL QUESTION ALMOST
LOST SIGHT OF.

THE REAL QUESTION ALMOST
LOST SIGHT OF.
Hut the Merchants Satisfied That
tine Business of n Collector ss to
CoiIect-Some Features OF Hotel
Life.
81 ecial Correspondence Of Gazette and Journal.
| NEW YORK, July 1.-0f course the chief
topic of conversation in political circles
all this week has been the Presidents
4 custom house appointments. There
appears to be no doubt that the
| appointments of Mr.. Edward L.
! Hedden as collector and of Mr.. II. s.
Beattie as surveyor were made on the
recommendation of Mr.. Hubert O. .Thomp
| son, the leader of the county Democracy.
| l have already set forth in this CORE
| spondence the reasons which the county
democracy people felt ought to have been
sufficient to assure the appointment of
Mr. Thompson himself as collector.
When it became entirely manifest that
MIR. Cleveland was determined to appoint
practical business man to the place Mr..
Thompson waived his own claims and
presented the name of Mr.. Hedden, an9
the result was the latter's appoint
ment. So far as the merchants
are concerned there is no question that
the appointment gives satisfaction. Their
complaint has always been that no care
was exercised to secure as collector man
who really understood the actual business
| of the office and that the result was that
| they have been subjected to all sorts of
exaction and injustice by subordinates
over whom there was no really competent
supervision. Again it ia complained that
dishonest importers have enjoyed oppor-
tunities which placed honest merchants at
disadvantage and they now hope for
| just, intelligent and uniform application
Of the law that will guard against fraud
and put stop to favoritism. Amongst
the politicians and the great mass of
Democrats the feeling is different. The
county Democrats rejoice because their
leader has secured the appointment of his
man, but they do not rejoice with the
enthusiasm they would have shown had
Thompson himself been appointed. On
the other hand the Tammany men are
probably just as angry as they would have
been over the appointment of Thompson
himself. The misfortune is that the whole
matter has been discussed in the press of
the city on this basis entirely, and that
few If any, articles have appeared defend
ing the appointment on the ground that
the primary business of collector is TO
collect, and that the selection of Mr..
Hedden from amongst numerous other
Democrats is justified on the ground that
he is by reason of practical business ex-
perience, which brought him into close
and constant contact with custom house
business, prominently fit for the place
and more likely than most men to dis
cover the abuses and fraudulent practices
which are believed TO have been 80 long
common in the management of this great
institution, through which the Federal
government derives 80 large proportion
of its regular income. Il is said that
Tammany will be conciliated by the re-
naming Federal appointments. So far
as can judge from the talk of individual
Tammany men there is no likelihood that
that organization will be conciliated by
anything and if the Democrats win this
fall they must win without its help.
On Wednesday of last week the guests
of Hotel Brunswick were formally noti-
fed that the house would close on to. day,
(July 1st.) There is, of course, talk of
reopening, but the general conviction is
that this action indicates the final col
lapse of venture which at one time was
regarded as remarkably successful, but
which has apparently swallowed up half
n million of dollars. The hotel was
opened in 1872 as place for rich people,
and was extended over the whole block
between Twenty-sixth and Twenty
seventh streets, and Fifth and Madison
| avenues. II was fitted up in the most
elegant style, regardless of cost, that is
| internally, for the structure was never
very handsome architecturally. Il was
| the design of the proprietors to eclipse
Delmonico's as place of resort
| for rich and fashionable people, and as a
means to this end quite squad
| of English lords were in some way in
| duced to make it their headquarters
shortly after its opening-for your New
York fashionable dearly loves lord"-
especially one who sis English, you
know" The prices for food and wine
were very high and none but the very
rich or those who were willing to pay for
the privilege of being thought rich could
/ despite this or probably because of this
to do good business, and yet despite all
it has proven disastrous financial
failure. The reason seems to be that
since the present hard times set in many
of the rich have less money to spend
than formerly and that the pretended
rich had to partly drop the pretence.
/ Yet despite this collapse the hotel bust
ness is great and profitable one in this
| city and must ever continue 80 on account
/ of the enormous number of people
always coming and going. The old
steady-going houses enjoy perma-
nent good fortune, but many of
them have assured this by recog-
nizing long ago that the era
for war prices has gone by and dropping
their price from $5, the war price, to
$3.50 day. There has also been mani
fest tendency toward what is called the
European plan" of late, and there are
now scores of houses where one can hire
a room for 81 and eat where one pleases,
i OF course the room is small and high up
in good hotel at that price.
happened into the New York Hotel
the other day and was quite surprised to
find that preparations were making there
for running the house both ways. The
New York Hotel is one of the Oldest and
best in the city and occupies the whole
block between Broadway and Mercer
streets and Washington and Waverly
places. 1t is substantial and home-like,
is built of red brick and has the old
fashioned green Venetian shutters. Il
has for many years been favorite stop
ping place for southerners, and q glance
through its register will show frequent
entries of such names as those of Sena-
tors Hampton, Jonas, Jones, Walthall and
Ransom, Representatives Beverly Tucker
and Sam Randall, Generals Joe Johnston
and P. I. Beauregard and many others
identified with southern public affairs.
Quite number of Delawareans
usually stop there, amongst them Sena-
tors Bayard and Salisbury, l. O. Grubb,
George H. Bates and many others. Mr..
S. II. Edgar, formerly of Wilmington,
lived there during his many years of resi-
dence in New York. Delawareans then
will doubtless feel some interest in its
affairs. Mr.. H. Cranston, the proprietor,
who also runs" "Crenston's on the Hudson"
formerly "Cozzen's," at West Point, is a
very busy man, but he took time the other
day to point out to me his improvements.
The old ground floor parlors and rooms
along the University Place front have all
been thrown together and handsomely
fitted up as restaurant for the
use of guests merely having rooms,
the handsome old dining room of course
being still used for those taking the
regular meals prepared for guests, and
from considerable experience in the past
can safely say no better meals can be
had anywhere. In addition TO these
changes, Mr.. Cranston some time ago
took large house containing 40 rooms,
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