Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-07-13
MURRAY'S MUSINGS.
The Talk Abeur sabways and Elevated
sidewalks In New York-Food Actually
Destroyed In the Presence Of starvarion


sidewalks In New York-Food Actually
Destroyed 10 the Prsssses Of sfarvaIisn
Fakes About Actors and Actresses.
lyRoM 4 srAyy coRREsPoSpRNr.l
THn crowded condition Of this great city was
somewhat relieved by the elevated roads.
but its rapid growth In the last 10 years has re-
duced Its original rapid transit idea TO the level
of mere makeshift unequal TO the present
necessity. The elevated roads claim TO carry
over half 0 million people daily. These people
climb up ana down 6U to 70 feet Of stairway
each. or total Of some 30 900 900 feet, to enjoy
the privilege Of transportation. Yet the horse
cars are taxed to their utmost, and notwith-
standing these means Of local travel the streets
In the lower city are fairly choked with pedes-
trians.
The trucks ears and carriages In the streets,
and skids and boxes that cucumber the side
walks make life burdensome to the latter
class. They also make life and whole limbs
uncertain. To the visitor the situation Is one
Of constant terror. He accepts no chances.
The consequence Is he rarely gets hurt. It Is
the New Yorker born and bred who gets
knocked down, run over and dragged OF to
the hospital. Such accidents happen every
day, and average three deaths or cripples per
day from those causes alone. doubt whether
the great city OF London, where pedestrians
have no rights in the streets, and do not ex-
pect any consideration from drivers, can show
such an alarming ratio OF accidents Of this
character. Perhaps the proverb;al careless
ness OF Americans when 1t is question OF life
Wd.tha a1d limb has something to do with it
means must soon be provided to escape the
slaughter and manning Of 900 victims annu-
ally or more than are sacrificed In the same
time by all the railroads In the country put to-
gether.
This little matter of stair-climbing has more
to do with the subject than any other one
thing. Most people in active life would prefer
to take numberless chances of being knocked
down and run over to climbing up one pair Of
stairs. There are many reasons in favor Of
elevated sidewalks. and but this single forcible
reason of stairs against 1t. With an under
ground railway system Combined with which
would be the general subway for steam pipes,
gas. wires, etc. y and the elevated sidewalks in
the more crowded section, New York would
probably add another SOC, 900 souls to her popu-
iation In the next decade and never feel the
pressure. The proposed sidewalks are de-
signed to run along the level Of secong floors
and to be constructed lightly of wrought iron
tween the elevated trains and ferries would be
spared going up anc down stairs this momen-
tary leaping Of skids and boxes and the immi-
nent danger Of being run over at street cross.
iDgs. As to shopkeepers and wholesalers, it
would be just as easy and much more convent
ent for them to have their main retail door, or
counting rooms, on the second floor, leaving
the lower story for heavy goods, packing and
shipping.
Ladies' and the Street Cars.
ERoH every day metropolitan life: Two ladies
on Broadway curb beckoning frantically to
street car driver.
Driver: well, come on, nowi Wot are yees
doin theref Expect me TO bring de care oyerr'
Waste Hand In Hand with Starvation.
FIVE thousand pounds Of bluensh per day
have been carried out and dumped In the
bay during the past week, owing to . glutted
market On one Of these days o riot Of starv-
ing workingmen was In progress, and every day
men and women jumped into the river.o or ended
their lives In some other way, because they had
nothing TO eat. A month or two ago two ship
loads OF carly vegetables were thus carried out
to sea and thrown away. At the same time
there were at least $50 peeple IN this city who
had not tasted an carly vegetable except as they
extracted IL from 0 curbstone slopbarrel and
could not afford TO buy vegetables at the
market rates. These vegetables had been ship
ped from the South and arrived here 70 ind
the conditions OF tho New York market tho
same as fishermen found them.
This wholesale destruction Of food, under all
the circumstances, marks US for sayages rather
than q civilized community. ! doubt whether
even sayages ever were guilty OF such inhu-
manity. When the ship.loads Of vegetables
bar we householders were paying the highest
prices for everything In that line. While these
fish are being destroyed by the thousands we
have have b, been unable ma 70 buy blue nsh for less
Whyf III tell you. II is because the New
York markets are controlled by the worst ring
OF human sharks that ever went about on
earth without fear Of the halter. This combine
beyond compare: Every member Of 1t ought to
be indicted for the murder Of those who have
died here from starvation.
In Opposition TO the Resorts.
ON the big front door Of an unfashionable
church uptown: This Church Open All
Summer"
Made Out Of Whole Cloth.
IT Is popular supposition. based on the yarns
of New York correspondents that certain
handsome and popular actors are besieged
with love letters and other attentions from
stage-struck society women. Never was .
greater mistake. The masher actor nsver
mashes anything above the social grade of serv-
ant girls and abandoned women. OF these he
numbers scores Of captives. The society
woman of New York has no higher opinion Of
an actor than she has Of negro minstrel.
Relegate all future stories of this sort to the
limbo Of ''unimportant, II true" along with the
absurd yarns about actresses having diamonds
set into their front teeth, and the others,
equally ridiculous, about fashionable women
carrying gin cocktails or pony brandies con-
cesled about their persons. etc. 1 presume
there are people who believe everything they
see in print, but 1t would seem polite not to
press this small and decreasing minority too
hard.
Honesty of the Short Haired People.
A ccoRDING to all accounts, Messrs. John L.
Sullivan, Billy Mu1doon, Jake Kilrain,
Mike Donovan, Mike Cleary, ct al, leading
lights of the fistic world, present a curious
mixture of treachery, cowardice and brutality.
They dare not trust each other except where
honesty comedies with present personal inter-
est. In my opinion. the law ought to be very
lax when one of these fellows is fought to an
earthly finish IN the ring.
$50
The Fourth In Gotham.
THE loveliest view Of the Glorious Fourth
was from the dock Of Hudson river
steamer from till 10 o'clock at night. The
lay Goulds Who line the eastern shore for 25 or
30 miles out Of town gave the most elaborate
private exhibitions at their country seats in
the evening. As far as the eye could reach an
almost unbroken line Of sky rockets
rose from either shore, and the rwinkling Of
200 Roman candles, the roaring of fire
balloons. and the glare and fash of countless
,olored lights were reflected on the broad
BOSOM Oh Iue American Rhine. Ine Q1SaSree-
able features of noise and malodorous powder
we're eliminated. By-the-by. the little common
sells now for a nickel q package.
When was boy, "befo' de wah." we used to
pay 10 cents package for that variety. But
they were better crackers, rarely missed fire,
and made more noise to the cubic inch. The
New York boy who invested big money In the
new 50-cent crackers, which are as big as an
rolling pin, was terror to out
ying villages where he had to 60 to fire them
81.
Beer With Your Music.
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN reminds me tina
this is the only country know Of wherein
Z is considered sin to have beer with your
music. It IL q fact worth mentioning now and
hen Just TO show ourselves how good we are.
n the hot pursuit Of virtue and morality we
manage 70 get good deal Of law on the statute
books designed to suppress or regulate class,
out which seriously and unnecessarily inter-
eres with the most ordinary exercise of per-
Ional judgment and liberty remember when
ne Common Council Of my native town was