The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-25
THE GOSSIP OF GOTHAM.
HOW SCHOOLS OF CRIME FOR chill.
DREN ARE MANAGED IN NEW
YORK.

Mayor some Day.
New York. Aug. 2i-The training Of
children as criminals is an industry which
has now attained such formidable proper
tons in New York that an organized at
tempt Is at last 10 be made to put an end
20 IT, There are now according 20 the in
vestlgations made into the evn by An
thony comstock, fully dozen such schools
in the metropolis. All are well man
aged and seem 10 be conducted with a
perfect system. The little ones are taken
usually from the rural districts and
brought to New York with tho ostensi-
BILE object of finding them honest employ
ment They are converted into sneak
thieves and pickpockets. by trainers en-
ployed for this special purpose. There
must be, according to the computations Of
the Society for the Prevention of Crime,
about thousand boys and girls of from
ten to thirteen now under this shameful
tntelage. As soon as one Of these youth
ful criminals falls into the hands Of the
police he Is abandoned, and care is taken
TO see that he is not in a position to i'm
part any compromising information. The
children are powerless to escape from
article, they cannot dispose Of it except
through their teachers. They have no
place to 90 TO. They are encouraged in
crime by series of rewards for good
"hauls" and II they are found to possess
no aptitudes for thieving. they are aban-
doned. Bright pupils who become too
well known to the police are shipped to
Chicago.
In all cases these children are among
the most dangerous of the criminals now
infestlng the metropolis. They ply their
vocation everywhere. Their employers are
very successful in battling police investiga-
ton, and change their haunts from time
to time for that purpose. The enormous
profits from this line of work are princi-
pal source Of its growth Hence the exis-
tence Of an elaborate system protected by
confederates in touch even with the police.
The campaign now begun against the evil.
seems destined to result In very sensa-
tional disclosures, and the BLACK swans
(Which is the professional metaphor APP
piled TO children in training for crime) are
hiding in their pools" to use another
technical expression. The man now com
handing the black swans was himself once
pupil in the schools. The sign by which
the initiates know each other is a small
badge representing black swan flying
over a pool.
Notwithstanding the glories of her New
port season, Mrs. Alva L. Vanderbilt, or
as she prefers to style herself, Mrs w. X
Vanderbilt. will eclipse all society records
this autumn when she settle herself in the
remodelled Madison avenue home purchas-
ed by her last spring. Il is the deliberate
intention Of this lady to humiliate the So
eial pretensions Of her husband family by
becoming. herself. the leader Of the most
brilliant set in New York society. She
means TO make IT essential TO all who hope
for fForafffan raeogpffTon IN he har
circles, TO have her endorsement. This she
is in a position to do. Already she has
announced a series Of autumn affairs
balls and dinners-which reveal a bound
less ambition In her 10 be leader. She
has 100000 a year 10 spend on these pro-
jects and to all appearances. she viii
spend the full amount. That her ambftion
in matters social is almost final is evident
from the general cutting of a wealthy
young man who amused himself at the
shore by floating about I'm bathing suit
deluging all other bathers with sea water
elected from his mouth. Mrs. Vanderbilt
cut him dead the next day, and although
he is worth millions everybody Is afraid 70
ask him anywhere for fear Of the displeas-
ure Of Mrs. Vanderbilt The coming sea-
son will be very interesting.
Theodore Roosevelt is now credited with
an ambition to make himself mayor Of the
city of New York, and he is certain that
his own prediction, made In 1856, that he
would yet be chief magistrate OF the me-
tropolis is, before many years, to be full
filed. Mr.. Roosevelt has been convinced
ever since his memorable defeat of nine
years ago, that II he had had all the sup
port pledged TO him he would have won.
However, he looks upon that episode as a
blessing in disguise and, according to
those in his confidence, his determination
Is to prove himself a capable man at en-
forcing all laws, good, bad and indifferent,
and the wind will therefore. blow in his
direction. Notwithstanding Mayor Strongs
denial Of ambition In that direction. II is
pretty well understood that he would ac-
cept the gubernatorial nomination. and he
may get one. In that case, Mr.. Roosevelts
opportunity would come. He would have
the support OF tho very same elements
which secured the election Of Strong In the
memorable campaign of last year. More
over, Mr.. Re osevelt is one OF the most
ambitious men, politically, who have ever
held Office in the city of New York An
other thing he feels sure Of strange as e
may seem. is the support of the liquor ele-
ment in New York. for he has very adroit-
~ declined to commit himself upon the
ethics Of the Sunday closing question. He
simply says that since the law is on the
statue books it must be enforced Hence.
his title of the beer mug tight rope dancer
OF politics. But his chances just now of
attaining the mayoralty are rather bright,
and at any rate he will try for IT,
II now appears that decided difference
of opinion exists between Senator MUIR
ply and son-in-law, ex-Mayor Grant, on
a matter Of politics. According to the de-
velopments, Senator Hill represented TO
Senator Murphy that the course of Mr..
Grant in defying the wishes of the ma
jority of the Tammany magnates was in
furious to the prospects Of harmony In
the party at large. Mr.. Grant was duly
informed of this opinion, but he main
tained that his own policy was the best
and that ne could not conscientiously pur-
sue any other Senator Murphy did not
come over to his son-in-law's side of the
situation, and the spectacle is now pre-
sented of these two nearly related men
at odds over a party matter, although
their personal relations are as close as
ever 1t was through Senator Murphy
that ex-Gov. Flower endorsed the candl-
dacy Of Whitney for the presidency, an
other proof of the doubted assertion that
Hin Is no longer a presidential aspirant
and has no desire whatever to be presented
to the national convention even as a DOS
sibility. 1t is somewhat singular that
there should be such general unwilling
ness to believe. that Hin is not anxious to
be the presidential candidate. Yet It is a
very natural thing that he should feel this
reluctance He does not believe that ha