The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-12-20
G1OVy G][5VY YORK
STRUCK EAGS2[5[1LD[5[lIs
iStaff Correspondence
h-@stiAa 80 = - -
New York, Dec. 20

New York is composed of Central Park
and its surroundings, consisting of Madl-
son Square Garden. the Bowery, Hogan's
Alley. Roster and Balls, Castle Garden,
Tammany Eall, the Stock Exchange, the
statue of Liberty, Wall street, DR.. Park
hurst, Pierpont Morgan, Tom Dixon and
q good many other men and things OF
minor Importance. The city has two prin-
cipal streets, Broadway and Wall.
Broadway is used mainly for the pur-
pose of getting to Wall and Wall is used
for the purpose of gobbling up the bal
ance of the earth. They are both very
independent thoroughfares. Broadway
starts at the Battery and runs just as 1t
pleases until it gets to Central Park,
distance of about six miles. Ii cuts Oft
corners of blocks tramples over Fifth
Ayenue. makes curves where it pleases
and splits the city wide open IN the MD
die. Somehow it gets past Central Park,
runs over il or gets around 1t or runs
under it. and strikes out on the other
side. for another six miles or so.
Wall is exceedingly coquettish. 1t starts
Mt Old. Trinity church, kisses It's hand az
the sulNIreasury. sends its uil-
pious regards to Uncle sam,
touches the wires at the
stock exchange, setting in motion tickers
from one end of the world to the other,
casts shy chances at old Uncle Russell
Sage. stops at the corner of Broad long
enough 10 caress Pierpont Morgan fiirts
with a thousand and one busted brokers,
oil
the river defying everybody and every
thing. New York has, of course, thou
sand or so other streets, avenues and al
leys, but they are all merely nigh cuts TO
broadway and Wall Fifth Avenue makes
a bold dash for prominence, but 1t don
cut much ice until it gets out or bearing
OF Wall, and crosses Broadway at 2od
street. Then it puts on lngs TO Kill, and
mashes everything in sight before it gets
to Central Park and just before 1t reach
es the Park it dashes through perfect
blaze of financial and social glory.
A block South of the Park is the home
of friend yanderbilt-Neill. brother OF
George who lives up at Asheville-l
went up to see Neilfs place and must
say that / was much pleased with the
location and with the neighborhood. The
house looks very comfortable outside.
did not go in, being pressed for time and
besides the footmen, several OF them told
me- that Mr. Vanderbilt was already sub
scribing for more papers than he could
read. that he was not dealing In anything
now except railroads, and that he only
had few dozen of these left, hardly
enough to Justify any new advertising
contracts. at the present. j stepped across
the street to take a look ait Billy Whit
news House or rather the house Billie
built and recently gave to Harry. 1t seems
70 he a very comfortable and roomy
house. Tor small family.
Harry married Neil Vanderbilts daugh-
ter and she wanted to be near her ma
and pa; so Harry's pa gave him this
house.
Near these two houses are those three
sky scraping, eye dazzling, purse demol-
ishing hotels, the Plaza or Plaza, / have
forgotten which, the Savoy and the
Netherlands or netherlands, perhaps its
the latter. for it belongs to a fellow by
the name of Astor, who lives in Nuther-
land. / stopped at all three Of these
hotels-for a few minutes, and found the
accommodations all that could be asked
for and good deal more than the ordin-
ary mortal could pay for. l think there is
a good deal of deception practiced at the
Hoffman, I stayed there, also for about
ten minutes, and as | was promenading
about the corridors, in a perfectly at
home sort of way, / glanced across the
hall and saw a fellow whom l thought l
had seen before, Istarted up to speak to
him and simultaneously he started to-
wards me. Excuse me, ! said, just before
we collided and he seemed to mutter the
same. / gazed at him just moment. 1t
was but moment, then / turned to see
if anybody was gazing at me and fel-
low with a broad smile on his face said:
sWhat did you think OF him?"
81 thought he was a chump," ] replied,
"and | am inclined to think so yet"
But at the Netherlands there is not
SO much deception, the walls, stairways,
wainscoting. pillars and so on at the
Netherlands are not made from plate
glass mirrors, they are constructed OF
onyx, emeralds, sapphire, fourteen kar
rat diamonds and other ordinary build
ing material that anybody can tell is
there, why if / had had tackhammer
along and nobody had been looking
could have knocked off enough little sharp
edges 10 nave stocked a U0Zcn JGWElIy
stores and | don't think they would have
missed it,
Feeling jaded and somewhat hungry ]
stepped into the cafe and took seat
at table just big enough for two. A
fine looking fellow with his hair split
open in the middle with a claw-hammer
coat on and patent leather shoes. came
up and handed me bill of fare about the
size of daily News and Observer,
read it all over except the French, Latin
and other foreign news, and the cheapest
thing ] could find on it was eggs and
they were priced from twenty to forty
cents a piece.
! knew that it would break me to- try
to fill up on eggs at these prices.
/ looked up at the waiter and saw that
he wore diamond almost as big as a
filbert That settled it. 1t was all too
rich for my blood. so / feigned tenn
porary sickness and told the waiter |
would see him again.
New York seems TO be doing a good
deal of building at the present, not on