Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-10-06
NEW YORK AND NEW WORKERS.
Peculiarisies OF the Born and Bred
Re sideng OF Gotham.

Peculiarisies Of the Born and Bred
Re sidemt OF Gotham.
THE sEpKIL AND FOSTER pEFsIcAuoSs-rH ONLY
REMEDY FoR SUCH LossKs-rHk PROBLEM on
DECENT LIVING IN NEW YORK, WITH An uLusTRA-
roS-ABsEscs OF HOME LIFE
Correspondents Of TEE EvKSrSs STAR
INV YORK. october X
New York is talking OF little except the recent
financial depravity OF those two trusted rascsls.
Bedell and Foster. The holders or mortgages and
the banks are naturally deeper interested than
anybody else. but every man who has money has
studied the cases as they have developed with an
interest born OF the fact that he, too, may some
time have 70 lose by trusting somebody too impho-
lily. IL Is gnevous bother TO Be possessed OF
money, and only an impecunious newspaper cor
respondent can nowadays enjoy his daily meals
and his nightly sleep without worriment for fear
ne may 50 TO coniounded smash before he eats or
sleeps again. There has been this and last week
the most thorough overhauling OF accounts and
examinations OF titles that ike period ever wit
messed In New York, and it will be strange n the
some new and better safeguards for investors
Ia mortgages IL Is admitted, even among
real.estate lawyers themselves that such losses
as Tue recent ones are liable TO occur In any law
once doing large real-estate business where the
transactions must OF necessity be intrusted sub
ordlnates- In the case OF Bedell II was the Gus
TOM OF shipman, Barlow, LarocQue and Choate TO
relesate The drudgery OF making up abstracts OF
title and reading the records 10 their trusted clerk
ana their connection with this portion OF tue work
was merely 10 examine IL after their clerk, and
revise II II necessary. As Beden was presumed
oy MS long experience 10 be almost absolutely
accurate IN this ned, Il is fair presume that the
mem oers OF the law 1rm rarely had occasion 20
believe any reyi lon or detailed Inspection OF his
work necessary. Inc custom OF Bedell's employers
must DE that OF ali large firms; therefore, such
rascanty as his must be always possible. In
the case OF Foster, the Produce Exchange had OF
necessity 10 trust somebody, ana there really
seemed no good reason why Foster a man OF ap-
parently excellent habits and quiet lire, and a
trusted.
The only method as yet suggested for avoiding
sucn LOSSES as these recent ones Is an old method
winch has been followed TO a considerable extent
Ior years This method Is the dependence upon
.ne llue Guarantee Trust Companies" Tor pro
oectioh against fraudulent mortgages Instead OF
reylng solely upon the opinion OF attorneys
These Insurance concerns. generally equipped with
large capital ana the best OF facilities issue title
guarantee policy for every mortgage for a small
iee ano are Then absolutely responsible for losses
One of the greatest problems confronting the
New YORK family man OF moderate income Is how
to live decently. II is little wonder that there are
so many bachelors In New York The Income
Qulred 10 support wife IN only respectable style
IN this queer town Is a much larger one than most
CLERKS oookkeepers and young professional men
family, man has TO be a big wage-earner II he
wishes 10 get along and be anyoody. l nave
, Iena, an educated, well-ored young Chap OF
twenty-four, who earns 800 month. he recently
mar ied a most charming young woman OF
ceptional culture and refinement and they were
stralghtway confronted with this problem. Board
ing was a state OF existence dlslasteul 20 botn OF
them, so they determined 10 attempt houseAeep-
ing. Inc young husband Inquired that his salary
would scarcely warrant a monthly eNpendi, ure
for rent OF more than $50, and they out 10 md
domlcile at that price or less They tackled
nats. In ali the region OF ''inidde downtown" say
from Washington square TO Mad son Square, they
found nothing, even the smallest APARTMENT In a
Respectable nelghborhood, renting Tor less than
"A aiN aatr
In Harlem and the elevated roads convenient so
they Tried Harlem. There they found whole acres
yes, whole square miles-of new nats, apparently
just begging for tenants, but prices were sIiil
away up, and they could not AFFORD the S35 10 S15
demanded They saw several SIN all naUs In Har-
lem containing improvements which rented for
SO TO $50, but these We're invariably occupied by
class OF people, generally foreigners, with whom
they did not wish ~ DE associated under one roof
IL is the usual custom In New York for the cab
driver the hostler, the bartender and the laborer
who makes $50 a month TO pay out SIS OF IL Tor
Others for from $40 TO SIS month, is able 10 re-
duce this Item TO a small n.,ure. As my young
couple were naturally opposed 10 taxing In any
body 10 snare their honeymoon this uugal course
was denied them AT last the Uflde found "just
tue tning" In Brooklyn. neat little nat OF i've
rooms, all OF them light, up one hight OF stairs,
near horse-cars and ferries, and IN a building az.
parently occupied by no hostlers. bariendyrs, or
other disag eeables. And the rent marvelously
cheap, oniy SO month The groom In
spected, was pleased, and engaged the
apartment. On Wednesday OF last week the
the oriue went 20 their home TO s'seJtle" The
groom repaired 10 his new-found paradise for S25
thursday after ONCE hours He almost ran from
the ferry TO the house, and hummed a jolly air
he entered the attractive veslibule. lie pressed
the electric button which rang tue bell in his own
nat with tnrlu OF satisfied proprietorship. and
manipulated by his wife, opened the front hall
door for him, he entered and stalked up the thick
carpeted staircase IKE sovereign ascending his
throne. Opening The door 10 his ''private hall"
he heard a strange choking nose, which made
him hastily slam the door shut anG rush 70 his
BRIDE, who was standing In the middle OF the din
ing-room noor sobbing In an ecstacy OF grief
"MatildaI" he cried. what has happened?-
sOa,h, Charley soobed the young wife, ''this
"But we have both been here twice before ana
have looked everywhere without seeing any, my
love-"
"Y-yes, I know, Charley, we were here In the
d,day time The b-bugs only come out at Knight
on, dear, don't want 10 1--we"
After soothing Matilda, all young husbands
know how, an Inspection 10y gasllghI was made.
The brides assertions were only Too true There
were millions OF Insects, OF all sizes and many
crach In the beautiful "cherry finish" OF the wood
work student OF entomology would have rev.
famed There were croton bugs ant, house f1les
aud horse-nIes, bed-bugs doodle-Dugs, cockroaches
aud hen-roaches- They galnbolr d merrliy on the
dlnlng-taole; they frUllcked among the bed hang
in,s, and they paraded up ana down the private
hall Ia platoons and Dattallons To open a drawer
In the buffet was ~ Interrupt score or them In a
regular bug jamooree among the table linen and
silver, anu 10 look IN The ice-Dox was 10 witness
hundred or them al a collation. OF watermelon
and mushrooms
Tue bride nearly tainted, and Charley swore.
The 'snrsI meal" prepared by her own fair hands
was left untasted, and. as Matilda empuatically
refused 10 sleep In the infested place, they went 10
a hotel for the night. On the morrow they bought
corrosive subnmate, Persian powder, fatal food"
s'roachiue" ana o0raA, ana Chariey TOOK a day on.
They nlled every Granny and crack Win the prepa-
raIions saw bugs scurryiDg away In dlsnay, and
then they awaited the evening with hopeIulness-
A 4 u.k
numbers no less than before and gamboled
ami Toasted and paraded as merrily as ever, and
Charley and Matilda slept again at the hotel The
next day Charley took a second day on, went away
out I'm Jersey 20 miles aud rented plain frame
cottage with an acre Of ground for $50 q month
He tried 70 induce the agent OF the Brooklyn nat
to return part OF the rent he mad paid, but the
Charley that the fat structure was made OF bricks
that mad once been part OF the walls or a sugar
storeaouse, and that the bugs could never be
eyicted; hence the cheap rent
Well Charley anu Matilda are now living In their
Jersey cottage. Charley has TO leave home at 8 In
the morning and DOESN'T return I'LL at night, aud
he PAYS Sl2 month Tor car Iare. Matilda is a biI
among strangers, but they have home ana there
are no bugs
the definition OF the word "home" He has no
home; he simply has ''residence" Pent up In q
half dozen small rooms four OF which are as dark
as a dungeon, ne has place TO sleep and TO i'm
mure his wife az she will be immuredD, and that's
all In many cases OF nat-life the occupants DO
not even eat any meal save breakfast at home: