The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-11-30
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
Thousands of Persons Are Anxious to
Serve tho Greater City-The Aw-
full Craze For Betting.
Especial Correspondence

mayor by Il plurality of moro than
so, 600 over Low thousands of tho rank
and file arc busy looking up tho list OF
minor Offices at the disposal of the in
coming administration. Most of these
people proceed ON tho hypothesis that
as there are SO many thousands of jobs
more or less soft that will DO given to
somebody the percentage chance of get
ting ono of them is moro than usually
large. There is something in that, of
course, but it must be remembered that
there are also proportionately greater
number of applicants now that tho city
is about twice as large as before. Nat
urally, therefore, there are bound to be
moro disappointed than appointed per-
SONS after tho 1st day of January next.
Still, although almost every ono of those
who are willing and anxious to serve
tho city-for Is consideration-is aware
OF that fact, ho is apt to incline to tho
opinion that it applies only to tho 10Th
er fellow" and TINT so far as ho is con-
cerned ho has n "cinch" on the place he
is after, to use the vernacular.
The Betting Continues.
Whilo the campaign was i'll progress
VI SONl % ehSAC NSlO ali SOIbS VI MURtTS
made, some of them absolutely inano
and others as sensible as bets ever can
be. But there was scarcely possible
phase of the outcome which did not
have odds offered against it by the pro-
fessional election bcttors, of whom there
are many i'll this city. While this was
all doubtless very rcprehensible it was
nevertheless natural in New York,
where tho opportunity to bet is never
missed.
This spirit was strikingly manifested
tho other day when friend informed
me that he had wagered that before tho
9Th day of January next steps will have
been lnauguratcd in at least one case
for tho purpose of obtaining from tho
courts an Interpretation of some pro-
vision Of the Greater New York char.
ter. Ho did not specify any particular
clause, but he felt certain that some
ono of the many would bo found defect
i've within Il week after tho new charter
will have gone into effect. 1t is not by
any means improbable either, if our
friends tho lawyers are to be believed,
that my friend may win his wager, for
many of these assert that tho instru-
ment under which the big city is to be
governed is VIGOROUSLY defective in in
Vulnerable points. This may simply be
II case where tho wish is father to tho
thought, but thousands of persons will
be greatly surprised if tho time of the
judiciary is not largely occupied after
tho new years beginning i'll telling the
people who drew up the charter what it
is all about
Chief Byrnes Again.
1t is possible that Byrnes may be the
chief of police of tho Greater New
York Ii this should occur, it will servo
to show what funny pranks the whirli-
gig of time plays sometimes. When
Byrncs retired from the head of the po-
lico department, it waSDgenerally under
stood that his action did not cause the
commissioners much loss of sleep in
fact, there vas an impression that
Byrnes understood that his retirement
would be commended by the police COM
missoners moro highly than anything
clso that he might possibly do. Every
body said, THAT is tho end of Byrnos,'
and ii was-for awhile But if the pres
cnt plan goes through tho cx-chief will
be very much i'll evidence once more.
There is only ono thing i'll tho way of
his elevation. and that is the very i'm
portant fact that he is at the present
timo not even member of the police
department. of either Brooklyn or New
York Under the provisions of the new
charter the head of the department must
be selected from one of four men These
are tho chief and deputy chief of New
York and tho superintendent and deputy
superintendent of Brooklyn.
But this is point which can easily
be evaded 1t is now suggested that Po-
lice Commissioner Welles Of tho City
OF Churches appoint Byrncs patrol
man at once and then elevate him at in
tervals of a few days until he shall
have reached position from which he
may be jumped to tho head of the COM
blned forces of tho greater city. Under
ordinary circumstances this would be
an impossibility, but as Superintendent
McKelvey OF Brooklyn retired somo
time ago and his place has not yet been
filled there is no reason why the scheme
will not work, and if those who pretend
to be in the know are to DO believed
it will 10 Inado to work
For Dollar Gas.
1t seems to be pretty generally admit
ted that the legislation at Albany last
year with reference to the price of gas
in this city has not given satisfaction
1t was provided by tho measure then
adopted that there should be All annual
decrease i'll tho price until the 81 per
1000 rate was reached AS a result no
one notices tho difference, and the cry
is now for dollar gas on every hand It