The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1886-10-16
BrOadbrin'S New York Letter.

passenger OF one OF JEC lnOSJ prominent
politicians in the State-a man who has
held exalted Office and who is to-day one
of the most trusted leaders in one of the
strongest factions into which the Demo
cracy of New York is divided. The
conversation turned on the expense of
elections, and he made the remark that
we were fast drifting toward the time
when money. and money only, would
decide every election in the United
States; when we would become pluto
cracy. and poor man could never sue
cessfully run for office. He had been
Congressman and knew that he was
not in any sense wealthy man. Iasked
him what his expenses were in his Con-
gressional canvass, and he informed me
that it cost him sixteen thousand dollars,
of which nearly two thousand was paid
for the printing of tickets alone. He
was elected for two years: his salary
duriug that time was ten thousand dol
lars, so that there was dead loss of six
thousand dollars cash before his term
commenced, the interest on that sum
and the cost of living in the city of
" ashington after. He lived literally,
entertained handsomely, had fine house,
horses, carriages and servants, and at
the end of his two years service came
back to New York forty thousand dol
lars worse off than when he entered his
canvass for Congress. This crying evil
attaches TO all of our city offices from
mayor to constable; if they wish to be
elected they must buy their way in. /
know two candidates for the office of
sheritf-one in New York and the other
in Brooklyn; both were beaten in the
election and both were financially ruin
ed. The offices in both cases were worth
from 500, 900 TO S20O,0OO The last two
sheriffs of Brooklyn are bankrupts, and
the last sheriff of New York not only a
bankrupt, but fugitive from Justice.
Hubert o. Thompson who had control
of one of the richest department of our
city government for years, died bank
rupt. John Kelly was one of the few
politicians who followed politics steadi
ly as business and who died leaving a
fortune. But Mr.. Kelly was an excep-
tional man. He had no bad habits.
Associated with, and controlling some
of the vilest elements in this city, he
was always their master and never their
servant. Whiskey was always the con-
trolling element in Tammany, but John
Kelly was strictly temperate man and
openly denounced the liquor traffic. He
made money in politics and kept it, be-
cause in his dealings and in his private
life he was correct and honest, but there
are not many like him among the poll
ticians of New York.
We have always locked upon Barnum
as the advertising Snowman par excel.
lence OF the world, but we haye show.
man now in New York who could
double discount Barnum and then beat
him at the game. The person spoken
OF is an English Roblemdn OF unsavory
reputation who comes as the manager
of an English variety actress who styles
herself Violet Cameron, which of course
is not her name. Our New York news
papers are supposed to be uncemmonly
shrewd and sharp, and to get quid pro
quo for whatever they give, and yet fol
the last month they have devoted from
a column to two columns a day adver,
tising a scandal of the most unSayory
character, and the very mention OF
which is rank offence. Before they
reached our shores at all the minutest
details were given: How the noble lord
kicked the wOman's husband down
stairs when he became too inquisilive
how he knocked down anolhernObleman
in Hyde Park, all the story of not only
his life, but of'his disreputable relations,
was part of our daily newspaper feast.
An army of reporters have followed
him and the woman ever since their ar
rival, and New York knows exactly to a
minute what time they rose, how they
dressed, what they ate, drank and wore,
what they said and who they said it to
his Lordship calculating that every
scandalous line was worth its weight in
gold. The noble manager of the woman
had the husband arrested and shut mp
in prison, and to the disgrace OF New
York be it known, that a Judge was
found TO entertain the complaint. This
English Lord, who is disgrace to his
class, declared that the husband of the
woman attempted to blackmail him; on
the other hand the husband swears to a
statement much more likely to be true
that his Lordship offered $3.50 to
leave the country, but he had refused
to sell his honor. Then comes a volun-
teer witness for his lordship who swears
that he knew the husband as a card
swindler and police spy in Egypt, and
the husband swears that he never was
in Egypt in his life. The wife swears
that she had to support him, and he
swears that he has plenty Of money and
that his income is $4,000 a year. There
is evidently rank perjury and lying
somewhere, which ought to lodge the
parties practieing it in the penitentiary
or States prison. 1t really would be
quite refreshing TO cage a fellow and
walk him of with handouts whose an