The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-01-08
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
MUCH TO Be SEEN IN THE BIC TOWN
or NEW YORK.
Jake Sharp a Real Bona Eide Bcnefnctor
short-sighted Gothamites-The Under
Ground RaiIwav-Judge Charles A.. Ra-
Delio-&r
Especial Correspor dcnce.J

Delio-&c
Especial CorreSpo dcnce.]
NEW YORK. January 5.-The holidays
have come and gone, and the New Year
l. already a week old. How tempu'
does fuqit The past we know all about,
the time to come | hope sincerely may
bring to THE DAILY TIMES and its
readers al they want and a gregt de1l
D0Je-" Nous UeTToHs. as Father
Richie" was wont 10 say-There's so
mich 10 be seen in this great big town Of
New York. and so much 10 taiS and
write about. that one scarcely knows
what. to say first, or what TO srribbe.
Jake Sharp, do you know. is fast be-
coming q highly appreciated individual
by a good many sensible citizen, % this
metropolis and Is looked upon as a real
j0ua fde henefactor 80 10 u, an Mr. viii
liam Ward. of this city mo kin 30 Ferdi.
nand, the fnancier. bv the way. but a
descendant OF the Ward's Island Wards
of the good old time obtained from the
Legislature of this State q charter for "A
surface Broadway railroad more than
thirty wears ago. Air. y ard had great IN
hucnce al Albany. and unaided bv nor
nous capital, and without the Use of
" doodle bee succeeded In Obtaining the
charter / speak of. %li0ratiO Seymour.
who was Governor M The time. vetoed
the bin. The AstOrs and the late uu-
lamrnted \. i. Stewart Whose charities
were much like that gentlemen. who
said. WOt gives is nOthin' tO nO
oue.') bitterly opposed the measure. and
to such influences New NOrkeis owe The
long delay of decent travel Though orr
main ~ihoroughfare. Had not tine level
headed "Old Jake sharp or some
" friend of his made IL % matter of pccu-
MARY interest 90 our city Fathers I'm
the way of p small "commish" thirty
years more would have gone by ere our
people would have enjoyed p ride I'm %
Broadway car.
Say what you will. we Gothamitcs are
a very short-,ighted iot The old Knickcr-
bockers and their progeny have all the
/ |phlegmatic characteristics Of the d" Van
/ Twiilers, the "Vandcnhuvvels." und
der Nonderlyens.' their Holland ances.
tors. suppose they can't help IL. they
were horn SO. That, the main reason
why New York. in many respects, is SO
far behind other cities. even the baby
ones, of our great and glorious coun-
try IL takes the " Yankee. the real
Downeaster, TO originate and push need.
ed Improvement, in this town. yet even
he often ha, a very slow time of it.
| have in my minds eve. HoraiiO. at
the present writing. ID man of wonderful
energy and grit, who has devoted the last
twenty years of his life 20 the carrying
out Of q gran0 project. He isn't by
chance a lankee, although 10 tell you
the truth. | thought he was, until a few
days ago, a product of New England. I
refer 90 Melville c. Smith, the father of
the New York arcade railroad project
He was born i'm Western New YORK,
served term in the senate of Minnesota.
and has made this city his home for the
last twenty years. 4. last, like Column
hus, be has overcome his enemies. and
land il in sight" Many OF our leading
capitalists have taken hold Of the project
with Mr Smith, not a moment too soon,
either, and We shall have an under
ground Broadway railroad commenced,
d. ', ere many moo have waned
The Old Commodore" William II
father, had a great idea of the importance
Of the arcade road, and said. " III were
only twenty years younger Melville. ia
back you Being slightly impossible To-
DO the Faust business for the old man. as
far As making him a boy again. nothing
was done with him Bin Vanderbilt
hadn't the head to appreciate the matter
Leland Stanford. the California million
aire, bad the opportunity ! know OF ian
mOrtaliZing himself year, ago by taking
a leading part in tle arcade project
He couldn't, or woulint. see los impor,
ance. "Sich is life Perhaps he will
get his eye, open yet
on the last iay of she dead and gone
year ! attended the funeral obscquit, of
A lifelong 'rieud-Judge Charles A
Rapel,o. only "a short time before / met
The Judge one evening al the Grand lIo
TEL He had come from his Ountrv home
10 attend the last SO: rites paid 10 The r.
mains of 'he late Judge NanderpOel.
How li'tic dbl ! think then that so soon
after | should be called upon 10 follow
him 90 the grave. Years ago. way back
in the %t'tic-. Judge Rapello amt myself
we're i'm Richmond together His re
markaule memory enabled him 10 recall
e;en's which ! had forgotten-au intro
duction | gave him % John Minor Bott-
how many splendid specimens" he mad
met IN Nirginia's capital. how hospita
bly he was received al "the CLUB" then in
its infancy
We stopped at The American. \ well
kept house il was, too. Zeielle was the
chef ne c%Disiae, | remember, and the pro
prietor, Mildeberger Smith, was By no
means "a stingy cuss." Thackery, VII
liam Makepeace Thackery, was there at
that time on a iecturing tour. | remem-
Der his telling John r. Thompson that
the American was by far the best hotel
he had found south OF Mason & Dixon's
Line. That wasn't saying very much,
though, for all the "taryerns" in those
days were pretty bad. Occasionally |
meet Mr.. Saith. He never tires talking
Of dear old Richmond" and Of his
friends OF wore.