Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1897-12-04
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
ESPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS.

The CAVERN of the dyna mite tunnel
under that se,tioa of the Palisades
known as "Washingto is Head" is a
blessing-albeit tie Aporary One--fOr
which We should be thankful. But for
this cave-in, some 1000 pounds of dy-
Mantle would have been explo 1e l the
other day, utterly destroying land
mark which is the most ia nililr and
picturesque feature of this magniti-
cent natural wall in the neighborhood
of Fort Lee. 1t is announ ,ed that a
delay of ,out six weeks will result
from this accident. But Washingto IS
Head will vanish with the old year,
and the Palisa les vandalism will score
one of its greatest triunphs. The
pity of it is that this crime will have
been consummated on the very eve of
the mesting OF the We" Jrr,5y Lesi,
lature, to which the patriotic WON an
of that state will appeal for help, aud
in which 23 newly elected assembly
men are pledged to the support of
some effective mea sure of relief from
the icOnoclastic trap-rock industry.
The peculiarly outrageous character of
this particular blast, and the misfor-
tune of inability to prevent it, will be
appreciated when it is known that the
quarry proposing it is the only on
that is actually taking rock iro n the
vertical wall. This is the quarry Of
the only firm operating on the Pail
sades that owns back into the escarp-
ment, the others owning the right of
quarry only for the rock lying between
the base of the cliff and the river. The
destruction of this base rock is sufli-
ciently criminal, inasmuch as it carries
away not only the rock itself but the
ich growth of wood which gives so
beautiful and softening touch to tn
stern precipice which for cent ,ries has
been a cons; ;,iruols feature of the most
beautiful river in the world. But the
destruction carried forward by the finn
which is about to shatter Washington's
Head is doubly lamentable, because no
time or labor can heal the wounds it
makes.
The oft-reiterated assertion that the
penal laws of the state of New York
are mo e for the protection of its crimi-
nails than for the protection of society
is tolerably we'll borne out in the case
of Fritz Meyer, rece lty on trial and
convicted of the murder of Policeman
Smith in the Church OF the Holy Re
deemer on October 26 last. Meyer
was captured red-handed. There was
so little doubt of his guilt that it was
with difficulty that he was saved from
summary punishm ant at the hanl$ of
an indignant body OF citizens. He
afterward confessed his crime. His
wife and one of his children came for
ward and identified him as husband
and ia her whose brutality and cruelty
had caused them to live in su uff,ering
and terror for years. He was shown
10 10 a.. ~""vi"t. and evide Ace was
offered to prove that, besides being
the murderer of Policeman Smith, he
was the assassin of the old bell-ringer
in Williamsburg church few
weeks ago. 1t is true that, when ar
raigned for trial, the prisoner was not
called upon to answer for the inhuman
treatment of his wife and chill lrer,
nor for his past record as law breaker,
nor for the Williamsburg murde?. He
came before the bar of justice to be
triad for the crime for which he had
been ind cite |, and so we'll intreuched
was he by the protecting wall whi.h
the law throws about such criminals
that it required full week to secure
jury to try him. Our criminal llws,
so far as they relate to willfuI and pre-
meditated murder, appear to the lay
mind to he execute to sltisfy ta"dy
vengeance, rather than as timely warn.
ings to the enemies of society.