Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-10-25
of TIE EVENING sr.r.

lS vailed against it, and perhaps the ladies
AYof st. George will down" the tiger as
fS kwell; at any rate. some of the active
Hes~S and prominent ladies OF this very
energetic parish have taken the lead in the
ladies movement against Tammany. A call
for an Amazonian march against the foe has
enlisted thousand lady recruits. comprising
many of the most aristocratic and powerful
members Of 1.-The 400" Mayor Grant has
ached to shine in these select circles and he
will be much greved to find these cultured
DANES and maidens turning against him and
declaring with woman's well-known energy
that he Is the incarnation of all that is corrupt
and incompetent in city administration. The
general campaign is waxing fierce. On the
surface the league shows great strength, and
that 1t Is not all froth is guaranteed by the
TACT that some OF the shrewdest politicians in
the city are pulling the strings. Among the
real Leaders OF the movement are such men
Boss Platt and eX-Mayor Grace But it il bv
no means n manufactured or artificial revolt.
lts strength lies IN the deep feeling among
most respectable people that the time is ripe for
d radlcaI Change IN the city administration. In
the neat OF the argument of course we hear
much OF the intolerable misuse of the city's
funds by Iammany. These outcries are cam
paigh exaEgeratIons. for as a matter of fact the
cltE government during the past few years has
been unusually honest and good. At the same
time the rule of Tammany ia always suspicious.
IL only .'panders little to the moral element
when IL mas 10, and an occasional defeat is an
excellent tonic TOR its conscience.
POVERTY ON FIFTH AVENUE
Until the Fassett investigating committee be-
gan its work of looking into the tax methods
and receipts of the city it was not generally
known what a large class of thrifty poor there
was In New York. 1t takes good deal of
money every year to supply this big town with
sewers, lights, water, government, &C., and the
only way 10 get the money is from the taxes of
the residents. But, strange it may seem.
some OF the residents are not Mt all fond of paw
ing taxes. In fact they resort to a good MANY
ingenious little devices In order to minimize
that junction. or course many OF them nave
pretty hard scrubbIng to get along and they
reel they must economic somewhere. Corne-
llus Vanderbilt. for instance. He has always
been supposed to be pretty well-to-do. the per
sonal property alone of the Vanderbilt estate
being estimated at $4,000 000 of which he is
the largest owner. Yet though wealthy in this
connection he shows himself to be singularly
modest and unostentatious. for he protests
against paying taxes on personal property val
ued at 5000 900 as a glazing injustice The
Gouds, too. though an industrious family,
have never been classed among the worthy
poor. But 1T seems their height have mis-
judged them in saying they we're worth
5U,OO0,OOO for If this were the case George
Gould would certainly have amassed more
personal property than $4,000 worth 1t all
goes to prove once more the truth of the old
adage that appearances are deceitful. for while
the assessors estimated the city's taxable per
sonal property at Sl.650, 900, 900 the owners re-
duce this amount In their estimate TO- S249-
600. 900.
PLAYING DOLL FOR CHARITY.
1t seems as if every device for raising money
for charitable purposes was long ago ex-
hausted but another one has been discovered
which. if not entirely new. is at least so in
many OF Its features. An illustrated newspaper
has bought thousands of dolls, which will be
distributed to any charitably disposed women
who will agree to dress one or more before the
LIST OF December. Prizes will be given for the
most original toilette, the most complete, the
most artistic DC, and there will be doll
show to attract and fasciDate all the little girls
IN town. Many of the little ladies will be sold
and these will be attired in artistic or historic
costumes. The rest will be neatly and taste
fully dressed and will be used to gladden. the
hearts of hundreds OF little tenement-house
girls whose only doll babies hitherto have
been very substantial and often troublesome
little brothers and sisters to carry was talk
ing with a toy proprietor the other day and he
said:
Il never can get too many dolls The pop
ularlty OF any other toy is uncertain and can
not be calculated upon. but We never have any
dolls left. In the poorest parts of the city
where the people count their pennies for bread
they will always buy dolls and not little cheap
ones only, but ell sorts. The doll Is perennial
and Will always be popular as long as there is
the latent spark OF motherhood in every little
girl"
THE oBsTREPERoUs MAYOR.
Florida may have supposed she enjoyed q
monopoly OF rampant and obstreperous
mayors who did not allow the holding of
municipal honors to stand in the way of their
uproariously enjoying themselves But this
sectional pride must be little discourage ed at
ments Long Island City points with
pride. This gentleman, Mr. Patrick !.
Gleason, has carried matters across the ferry
for some years with a high hand. 1t is true he
has not carried his fun 30 far as to shoot any
one but perhaps that Is only because shooting
citizens is not SO popular pastime for officials
at the north rs 1t appeared to be in Florida.
But Mr. Gleason and a number of congenial
spirits have caused a residence in Long Island
City to be fraught with much pleasing excite
ment, and as his power was almost absolute he
has calmly compelled the citizens to re-elect
him year after year. But at last he has met
his conqueror and his proud spirit will doubt
less be considerably chastened by a short So
journ in Jail. The reporter whom he punished
for some Emphasizing newspaper utterances by
beating him into helplessness took prompt and
decisive revenge. The frolicsome official was
this week sentenced by the grand jury not only
to pay a fine but to ignominiously go to Jail.
where he will have fine opportunity to medi-
tate upon the example he has set as peaceful
and orderly citizen.
QUEEN IN EXILE.
Silk seems to be the Cinderella of the tariff.
1t has been called the queen Of the textiles but
it is very much neglected Just now Fashion
more powerful even than the statutes, has
turned to other favOrites for the moment and
in consequence there is anxiety and even dis
may at Paterson and in the silk market Last
week one OF the largest silk manufacturers
dumped LOO pieces of dress goods on the
market, through the auction room, and by the
help Of some good friends in the trade man
aged to get fair prices. But the test will come
next week, when there is to be the largest suc-
ton sale of silk goods in the history Of the
country. Perhaps the largest mill in the United
States will then offer $3.50 pieces of dress
goods in a peremptory sale under the hammer
This means that even the leading mandatory
cannot dispose Of its goods through the ordi-
nary channel, and decides to cut the Gordian
knot with the blunt but effective weapon, the
auctioneer's mallet The outcome of this sale
will be watched with keen interest all over the
country, as it will be q proof of the hard-pan
value Of silk in this its day Of neglect
HENRY R ELLIOT.
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