The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-28

trains any day about Ii o'clock and pick
out the habitual turf gamblers at glance.
They usually have their eyes intently
on the sporting page of some newspaper.
ana the processes of concentrated thought
are lined on their faces. | saw on the
porch at the West End hotel, Long Branch,
last Sunday that typical piunger of the
race course known as "PittsOurg Phil. |"
The fact that Phil is not his name and
that he never lived in Pittsburg is some
what remarkable. This young gambler,
with smooth face and fish-like eye, is
said 70 be the most daring foe of the book
makers that this country has produced,
not excepting even the immortal Walton.
He does not look to be over 35 years of
age. and yet, presume, ne has lived some
thing like 100. l was told that on the day
before he had won something like $35, 900
at Monmouth Park, and would have done
much better but for the difficulty of get
ting his money con" in the time allotted.
At some stages of the game he is re-
ported to be $4,000 behind and at other
times $100, 900 ahead, but from my cursory
inspection of the young man | doubt
whether he cares very much where he
stands financially, so that he has the fun
of gambling. With him, of course, bet
ting on the races IS now mania. Like all
men of his kind he is absolutely certain to
wind up in poverty, for it is a well-estab-
lished axiom in the gambling fraternity
that only the man who keeps the game
can even hope for permanent financial
success.
One thing testifies very clearly to the
prominence of New York city AS an intel
lectual and financial center, and that is
the common consent by which both the
great political organizations ofthis country
make their campaign headquarters here.
II wOUiH naturally seem that Waship gtpu
City, being the capital of the republic,
would be the center of our political ma
chinery. The time was, I know, when
everything in the way of political inspira-
ton came from Washington City, but of
late years the political managers, like
everybody else, have found that a tinan-
clal center is more important to them in a
campaign than purely political one. Be-
sides, pretty much everybody who travels
at all or amounts to anything finds it con-
venient to visit New York at some period
during the year. Both the great political
parties have set up here on Fifth avenue
handsome and commodious quarters for
the transaction Of their campaign bust.
ness.
The Democrats have surrounded them
selves with considerable elegance, so much.
indeed, that they have been gently criti-
cised for their extravaganza. They have
to some extent violated the principles of
the old-fashioned simplicity which is sup
posed to surround the organization, but
which, in fact, never did exist except in
the minds ofa few fervid orators. The Re-
publican headquarters are supplied with
everything requisite and are in very swell
section of Fifth avenue uptown. For the
next ten weeks pretty much every work.
ing politician in the country will be seen
at some time around one or the other of
these headquarters. Every man from the
country who shows up and who is dis
posed to exploit himself and his section
little bit will lind reporter ready to lend
him willing ear, and all these potential
gentlemen will be freely advertised In the
New York newspapers. The principal in
dustry at these headquarters, aside from
sending out documents and arranging for
speaking, is collecting the money and fight.
ing Oft the gentlemen from the remote dis
tricts who need a few thousand dollars to
make doubtful state quite certain.
l am given to understand that both par
ties will be pretty well supplied with the
sinews Of war this year, and this, of course,
guarantees a lively contest.
If speculation is stagnant in New York
it is still more 80 in London and other
foreign centers. Even the mercurial
Frenchman, who would rather bet and
Ego broke" than not bet at ali, has taken
to hunting for sure things. There is not
now one big French speculative bubble
uodtiUS WueTo tueEe were dozen ten
years ago. London was hit such terrific
blow in its Argentine specuiations that it
will be many days before 1t RECEIVERS.
There appears to be but one form of specu-
Iation these days that has any claim for
an Englishman, and that is horse racing.
He is still blowing" himself against the
''bloody bookmakers." and, of course,
will lose the coat off his back. As plenti-
full as money is in England. it is not TAX
ing any chances except among the turf
patrons. Not so much of it is coming to
America in the shape of syndicate capital
as formerly. The small rate of interest
which the English capitalist is obliged to
accept almost brings tears to eyes unused
to weeping.
A friend recently returned from a bust
ness trip abroad tells me that money in
London is almost unlendable at any inter-
est. Bankers with difficulty restrain
themselves from kicking customers into
the street who want any interest, even on
longtime deposits. My friend cites a case
where bank has loaned money at the rate
of one-quarter of 1 per cent. Those OF my
readers who were skeptical regarding a
statement in this correspondence that
$lO0, OOO, 900 could be raised IN New York
in twenty-four hours on any scheme that
promised per cent. per annum are invited
to give some thought to this London loan.
l.
nifty referred to were offered to London 1T
would produce the money in about fifteen
minutes.
People from the West coming to New
York are amazed to find the metropolis SO
far behind in the matter of surface railway
transportation. While the pushing cities
of the West are nearly all supplied with
cable-car system, we are just beginning to
discard the poor old car horses for the
cable We nave one cross town line in
the upper end of the city in operation,
and for more than year our streets have
been torn up undergoing the painful pro-
cess incident to putting down the cable
plant. We are promised cable cars on
Broadway on New Years day. After see
ing the massacre of street car horses here
during the hot term. l am sure there is
not a New Yorker who will not gladly
welcome the cable car
Despite the fact that We have spent
nearly four years declaring war on over
head wires, a lot of scheming spectators
are trying to Introduce the trolley system.
a most excellent one for suburban use, but
entirely unfit for such an urban commun-
ity as ours. The true solution of the cleo
trio surface railway is an electric under
ground wire. All experiments so far have
proven unsatisfactory, but / believe that
finally some process will be found by
which an electric cable for motor purposes
can be laid IN the ground without the
usual induction loss of current When
this is accomplished we shall have the
ideal surface railway.
SeA.~~N6.Je.-Sx
THE WANDERING FOOT.
All hora NJ rest rrtt