New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-12-26

=, the new eouipment Is the only argument that
railroad companies can make against IT, ana 1he
advantages of the new system are so numerous ana
that the matter OF expense ouen' no
10 weigh heavily in favor OF the dangerous s'o'e'
II q green Christmas makes tat graVeyalu'
what does a Christmas that is not only green out
clear. calm, sweet and balmy, maker we nope 1t
made little Heaven below for saveral miihons
of people in this immediate neighborhood.
This is ALLEGED to be a degenerate age, but the
company that has provided every seat IN the
Casino with an opera glass, which only quarter
will release. but which dishonesty might retain, IS
evidently possessed OF an optimistic as well as n
acouisitive spirit How far this faith VIII be
justified remains to be seen, but there are theates
in this city whose frequenters would cheeriuhy
drop quarter in the slot in exchange Ior space
in which to stretch their legs, and give bonds 10
leave the space behind them when they went home.
perbaps the most inherently cheerful man in this
ci+v is the man who was yesterday heard singing
blthely TO himself:
a,Twas the night before Christmas, and all thro' the
Not creature was stirring, not even rat"
NIavor Hewitt took the right ground when he
applied the proverb, " Sauce for the goose is
sauce for the gandcr," TO the case OF the grocers
who desired him 10 approve the ordinance of the
Common Council requiring vegetables and frult
to he sold in the markets hereafter by weight
and NOT by measure. The Mayor talked, as he
usually does, with great force and dlrectness.
He failed TO see why the marketmen should De
compelled TO sell to the grocers upon dehmte
basis while the groccrs could sell at retail upon
an indefinite one. The Aldermen's ordinance
nf 4hn 1
enables the qrocers who buy from the market
wagons to obtain their supplies upon an exact
scale They buy by weight. But all that por-
ton of the public which purchases its produce
not from the public places but from grocery
stores must buy upon the old scale. The doctrine
Of equal rights is clearly invaded here, and the
| Mayor WAS justified in the stern rebuke he ad-
mtnistered to those who asked him to assist SUCH
! a scheme.
Whatever credit accrues to a ten-foot giant
for trouncing ten-inch dwarf belongs TO ohe
United States for its glorious victory over ltaytl
A auestion has been raised against the Army
| Ordnance Board relative to the awarding OF
the contract for 81 800 900 Of forgings for heavy
steel guns under the terms Of the Act Of Congress
! approved September %, 1888. The bill intro
duced in the House provided for rough-inished
oil-tempered and annealed steel forgings.' The
| Senate bill provided for rough-bored, rough
turned and tempered Steel" and the two houses
compromised on the provision that 1t should be
| rough-fnished, oil-tempered and annealed steel
for high-powcr coast defence guns" The intention
| Of Congress was to open the door wide 10 all
| steel manufacturers with the purpose of securing
the best guns without regard to theories. The
Ordnance Board, probably through oversight,
! added in the advertisement for bids the word
foreings," but the instruction" to bidders ac-
| companying the advertisements specified that
proposals are invited under the terms Of the
Act of Congress, approved September %, 1888"
The bids were opened December 20, and 1t
WIS found that there were only two bidders, the
Bethlehem Iron Company and the blidvale Steel
Company. The former was the lowest bidder,
but the contract has not yet been awarded
The kind of motor that the New-YorS Board
! Of Aldermen believes in is not the kind that
makes the car co. but the kind that makes the
mare 60
Are we wrong or isn't it fact that we have had
nothing but most welcome silence from the
| Chesapeake Bay oyster pirates ever since one OF
their craft was run down with grim results by a
determined and practical cruiser in the service Of
the law?
The United States is about to enter upon one
of the happiest years of its existence, politically
speaking Republicans are happy as matter of
course; the only Democrats who have been seen
in tears since the election are those who bet on
Colonel Briccs rainbows and now the members Of
the Administration, beginning with the President
and his charming wife, are all declaring that they
look forward with delight to the day when they
can Law off the cares of state It's great thing
TO be alive and not kicking in such an era as this.
1t was an interesting coincidence that the news
OF Admiral Luce's success in bulldozing Hayti
arrived at the same time the news from Samoa
announcing Germanys continued interference in
behalf of Tamasese despite the long and solemn
protests of Mr. Bayard There is some difference
in the tone and manner of our Secretary Of
State when he talks with the gentleman named
Legitime and the gentleman named Bismarck
!,
When spoken TO in regard 20 the numerous COM
plants of overcrowding in the Broadway cars the
president Of the company CURLY remarked that he
considered tre present accommodations amply
sufficient, and added that II is not our intention
10 take any immediate step toward putting extrt
cars" This is q fla grant disregard of the peoples
rights Is the company to be sole judge of what
travellers need? These corporations have had
their own way so long that they resent any inter
ference and anything in the way Of suggestion, and
as a rule the people on whose patronage they de-
pend arc willing to submit in silence. The time
will come, though when the people will assert theil
rights Such remarks as that we have quoted
: will make il come all the sooner.
Grave injustice is done TO the women of Bostor
by the intmation that they were responsible TO
the casting of illegal ballots for Mayor. Perish
the thought that they took advantage Of thei
privilege of voting for school officers to deposi
ballots which they had no right TO cast Tn
stories to this effect must have their origin in tn