The Saint Paul globe., 1897-05-30

equal to $40 900, 900 an acre. A lGt was
sold within stones throw OF the city
hall only a year or SO ago for a pr,ce
amounting to $5,000000 an acre. This
lot was on the corner of Nassau and
Liberty streets 1t contained consider
ably less than a quarter of an acre OF
ground, and it brought $1,250,O0O. There
is scarcely any property on the Island
of Manhattan which can be bought
cheaply today. There are lots along
lower Broadway which are worth
price equal to carpet Of silver dol
lars over their entire surface, and
there are some l venture, which you
could not buy by offering to stand sill
yer dollars on edge, side by side and
end to end. making tWo-lnch plating
over the whole lot The tendency OF
prices here is ever upward. One
twelfth of the total assessed value OF
the United States exists in New YORK,
the real estate assessment alone
amounting to more than $4,000 0O0, ,00O.
Still, when the Dutch bought the island
of Manhattan of the Indians they paid
for it only $24 worth of glass beads
and buttons. 1t was the biggest real
estate deal on record. Twenty-four dol
lars then-worth billions now. 'Ihlnk
what the Indians lost.
BIZ THING TO BE MAYOR.
It is a big thing to be mayor of
city like this. The office carries almost
as much responsibility as that of the
president of the United States. There
are, 1 believe, about 1000 policemen now
in this city, and there will be 1000 in
the new New York. There will be, all
told, an army of city officials greater by
that which Xenophon led on his retreat
to the sea than the army Of the United
States, and the salary list will amount
to more than 33,0000 900 a year. The
anrvfEv ir,fa nf
enormous The business carried on is
of every kind. There is more manufac-
turing dome here than in any other
town in the United States. The ship
ping interests are so great that 1900
ships come from foreign countries to
these wharves every year. and two
fifths of all the products we ship to
foreign countries are sent here to be
loaded. The banking interests are the
greatest on this hemisphere. The New
York clearing house does a business OF
twenty-five billions annually, while the
stocks representa- in Wall street AFFECT
every country bo|n in the Unit S ates.
There are in the greater New YORK l6o-
900 dwelling houSe and bus ness house s,
which the mayor must see are in SAM
tary condition. The streets which nave
to be looked after would make line
longer than the distance between New
York and Chicago, and the mileage OF
the surface railways would make hVe
tracks from New York to Washington.
l don't know the extent of the sewer
age of the greater New York, but four
years ago New York proper had more
than 400 miles of such works, and the
bill signed by Gov Black will largely
increase this number All of these
things have to be looked after. In
every part Of the vast city there are
men scheming to get money out OF its
L. 1nxr &c
of axes are brought to the city hall to
be ground, and the mayor has to be a
very smart man If he keeps the wheel
turning in the right direction and uses
1t solely for the good of the people.
MORNING WITH STRONG.
I believe that Mayor Strong does this.
He has no ak of his own to grind, and
he is the mayor of all the citizens. He
has brought civil service rules into
what was one Of the most corrupt
spoils cities Of the world, and he has
really worked wonders in reforming the
government and the police. spent this
morning in his office and I was struck
with the free American way in which
he does things. Whatever there may
be about the other departments of New
York there is no red tape about the
city hail. The mayors office is open to
all. You walk in and take your seat
and when your turn comes you step up
to the mayors desk and state your
case When I arrived at the office
this morning it was $50. Mr.. Strong
had already been there g. half-hour,
and he was still engaged in answering
his mall He had received at this de-
livery one hundred letters, and more
than half of these were already dis
posed of. He went over the letters
rapidly directing his secretary how they
should be answered, and later on the
secretary took the mail and dictated
the proper answers to stenographer.
After this delegations began to come
In. The mayor heard the spokesman of
each party and in many cases decided
the disputes without leaving his seat.
A LOOK AT MAYOR STRONG.
It was between two such delegations
that I was introduced by John Sleicher,
formerly the editor Of Frank Leslie,
and now one Of the city officials. Said
Mr.. Sleicher: "Mr. Mayor, here is a
newspaper man who wants to look you
in the eye"
"That is an easy th.1g to do" replied
the mayor as he turns bis face to me
and pair Of shrewd honest eyes look
into mine. I study his face as we chat
and am more and more surprised al
his vigor and strength as he goes on
The mayor Of New York Is by no means
an old man, and still he Is more than
three score years and ten. His eyes
fsyfi2TEs