New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-11-20
uHAT BROOKLYN TALKS OF.
cossIP ABOUT CURRENT AFFAIRS IN THE
CITY OF CHURCHES.

l Tho week ending October 90. Mr.. Chaplin
,rylewed on the subject Of his resignation and at
90, tine he said that lie did not intend resign, %,
w. ground that the election OF his successor for
" months only would cost several thousand dollars.
| chen came out too that he had contemplated
| oipc and as nearly as could be ascertaincd. had
susIly written. II not fled his resignation. What
- said on thatpoint was that he had not completed
i - Whether that meant that he had filed II with
i ~. secretary of State and had been permitted to
! ",bdraw il could only be surmised; such pro
.dlng would be irregular, at all events. The strong
,es sion left upon the mind by reading Mr.. Chapns
l .sement that he would hold on 10 the Office OF
rngressman until the end Of his term. suddenly
:, resigns and At the same time currency T. given to
l r,nort that he Is Eoss McIaughlns candidate for
4 As senaiOrshp. In spite of the halfdcnlas that
lave been made. there is nothing improbable In this
l :, 4 well known that Boss Mclaughlin will control
IN the next LEGISLATURE nineteen vocS-thsse Of two
\ s,nators and seventeen Assemblymen. 1t is also
/ ,e1 known that he NOS satisfied when Chapins
sms 70 the nomination for Governor were set aside
year sgo last september. why should he not
ses 10 secure this prize for man In whom he has
deep interest, and who, during the time he served
a. Mayor, as Obedient servant as the most
rscirg boss could demands To be sure, Mclaughlin
ren.ed to let Chaplin a third time for Mayor,
mt everybody knows that the boss was right and
ast Chaplin would have stood no chance of getting
sufha VlnOlCa1OnH as ne WAS uHAlous loT StuI
sgO.
When II comes to claims, however, why should not
those Of william c. De Witt be considered IN connec-
uon with the senatorshlp' De Witt was talked Of
IN 4 wsy-as u possible candidate for Chief Judge OF
the Court OF Appeals. but. OF course that came 10
,otsnc That ho IS entitled 10 consideration is plain
N all the world. Did he not nominate Chaplin tor
Governor at Saratoga In 1891 only TO see him beaten
uhen the vote was taken? Did he not nominate
WI for President at Chicago, In 1892. only to see
him suffer the same iate' De witt is entitled to a
consolation prize OF some sort. We W0nld not de-
cline the Senatorship.
The decision Of the Board of Engineers regarding
ihe height Of the new East River bridges is dsap-
poin,ment. Why ten feet should be added TO the
height o. the central span is hard to understand The
natter Is now before the Secretary Of War, and an
effort will be made 10 induce him TO reject this re-
port and accept the plans Of the company as they
have been drawn. They provide for bridge OF the
came height as the existing one, namely. 1876 feet
above high water mark. II may readily be granted
that this Is not high enough, and IL Is certain hht
few vessels in the of every year are forced 10
lower their topmasts In order TO pass underneath
But II is too late TO make any change there, and ao-
rordIng TO the laws OF common sense 1875 feet ouSht
10 be accepted as standard OF height for all bridges
that may hereafter be built across the East river
II a greater height is insisted on, it will cause
serious change in tho plans Of the company, and ac-
cording 10 the statement OF President Uhlmann, IL
vii be necessary abandon the idea Of through travel
~ locomotives and adopt the cable system. Needless
10 soy that this would seriously impair the useful
ness Of the new bridges though IT would not destroy
It.
The appointment OF lawyer of the standing OF
Edward N. Shepard as a member Of the commission
TO condemn the property OF the Long Island Water
SUNNY Company Is a decided gain for the commission
and for the public. This appointment was made by
Judge Cullen, not by Judge Pratt, by whom all the
other members Of the commission We're named ann
II appears that eX-Judge Reynolds and ex-Supervisor
Mcdonald, the counsel for the city, objected TO any
further action in the matter by Judge Pratt In fact
thev went so far as TO say that II any more appoint
ments were made by him they would withdraw from
the case and publish statement giving Their reasons
for so doing What does this mean And why 90
,sev stop here? Having gone so far, they should
feel in honor bound TO go further. The pubic has
r,pbt to know the fun extent and significance OF
ma, dark saying What is there to distrust
Judge pratt's appontees 1t Is true that the people
have begun to look on the work OF the commission
with susp,clon and their feeling will be Increased by
INK occurrence. All the facts ought 10 be made
known. Is there never 10 be an end tofcanda III
connection With the purchase OF the property OF is
company BY the city
How MANY people in Brooklyn will remember that
is the urSt VI III nv
conduit which brought the city face to face with the
most serious calamity with which II was ever
threat ened and how many will care when they are
reminded OF the fact! The threatened calamity vas
one Of large proportions. 1t happened on ssc"
dev and Il is safe say that never were the hrooMyh
ppers more eagerly looked for and read thah on inc
following Monday In the interval the water supply
had been reduced 10 the smallest proportions III
msIv houses sufficient water had been saved IN veg
se and in the bahtub to permit Of the usual progress
NJ things in the household In others small supply
was available In the basement while In others mere
Was no water Obtanable save IA The cehafs Inc
ta,e Of good many Thanksgiving dinners hung IN "ir
balance on that fat"ful Monday. The announcements
In The evening papers were, on the "ho4e' l"For
sfle and q day or two later the usual supply OF
xa,er was provided But 1t was narrow escape
The ueople OF brooklyn never had narrower. 1he
cause Of the n!shap plainly the negligence oi 'he
Contractors who were engaged In laying piS ne"
main alongside Of the old brick conduit. lt tney
were not called 10 account, either by inc coroner
fury which Inquired INFO the deaths oil 'he I"h'n'
who wee Killed By the cay!ng In Of the embanhment
Where the excavation iD progress, or by me 90
Der, engineers who we're summoned by Tue depart
pent OF CITY Works 20 make investigation. AS d
matter Of fact no one was held responsive lof ,ne
uishan which impcriliad the city 10 such an aIF'"ns
extent A recurrence Of the c0ndiuooS "nioH c'"'e"
The accident is no; likely, but ii Is not reassuri"s 70
ae people OF Brooklyn that such thing cod happen
ana no blame for II be attached 10 any one
Thgre VIII be 30 sympathy wasted upon tne euIo"se
eon,roe,,r hoc,use The Comm ,sioner Of City WorHs
has decided 10 deduct nearly 900 from his D's iOf
settember and Ort0hcr. This part Of the Guy
sussness is badly managed. The law requires t,"'
the contractor shah take household refuse rom III
ode Of the houses, but the general piaclce h's Des'
u plsce the vessels containing the SIM upon 'n'
euIbstone and only when this Is done Is 'es""''P
gathered up. Owing 10 special or"ers 'eo''''1 ,,,
A puotor - naomi. hive endeav0rcd u comply Win
the law and have refused TO follow the gencal Gus
TOM The result Is that they have simply been p"s''"
By. The only relief for them was U SEM ooi',
PLANT 10 the CITY Works Department. wien spo'"
collection was made for their benefit, the cost ei'oi
being charged against the contractor III one ''