The times., 1898-03-05
GOSSIP FROM GOTHAM.
Some Interesting Facts About our
Coast DefenSeS.

! Since the war scare began there has
been considerable speculation INDUCED iu
| concerning the condition of our coast and
harbor defenses. particularly those of
| New York and several metropolitan jour
| nails have seemed to take pleasure in lead
| ing us to believe that it would he an easv
matter for any third or feurth-rate power
to anchor its warships at a safe point
outside the Narrews and amuse them
| selves by knocking three or four of the
| top stories off of all our sl<y-scraping
buildings. Now it is pleasant. indeed. to
be assured by no less distinguished per
| son that Col. Robert, president of the
| Board of United States Engineers. thar
| this is all ''poppycock. In an interview
| the colonel says:
There is absolutely no necessity for
alarm no matter what happens. | will
| go even further and say that il ! had any
| property in this city and hostilities should
| actually be declared | would rest perfect
ly content that it would remain intact. no
| matter how many warships tried to run
! the channel.
Considering the fact that Col. Robert
| is president of the Board of United States
| Engineers. and that it is he who plans
| the details for mining the harbors with
| torpedoes and fortifying the posts with
| high pressure guns. mortar batteries and
! all other engines of destruction and pro-
| lection this statement is reaSSurinS in
| deed One of the questions that great
! many people in the metropolis are ask
| ing themselves is. Did Secretary Long
| know that his statement that the ele-
| ment OF Spanish responsibility had been
! eliminated from the incident of the disas-
| ter to the Maine would be worth SD
| eco 900 to some people before he made 1t :?
! 1t is alleged here that the above state
meut of the Secretary was in the hands
| of Washington agents for Il Wall Street
| brokerage firm. who are presumed to have
| operated for the notorious senatorial
! clique" with the result that the stock
! market of TUESDAY yielded IL net proht
| of $2e coo. 900 TO those who knew in advance
/ that our Secretary of the Navy, coming
/ directly from a Cabinet meeting. without
any official information. was TO make
| public such surprising news. The people
| will watch with interest second only TO
| that taken in the Maine affair an inVesti-
| CATION of the Secretary and will be dis
appointed if ne is not summoned 10 ap-
| pear before II House committee.
Your correspondent realized more
forcibly than ever before the other
| night the truth in the assertion
| that "men like water, seek their
| level" The occasion was mass meet
ing in Cooper Union. called by the I'M
| migration Protective League to protest
| against the passage of Senator Lodge 5
bill which orders the exclusion from this
country of all immigrants who cannot
satisfactorily pass an educational exam
| ination. The speaker of the evening was
the once honored w Bourke Cochran
now a shattered idol. The hall was
adorned with American flags. and the
band played patriotic airs. but they fell
I
audience. elicitinS not Il sound of aDpre-
ciation This i'll striking contrast with
other audiences throughout New York,
and large ones. too which have been go-
ing wild for the past three or four weeks
over national tunes Cochran. who is
president OF the Immigration Protection
League. spoke in part follows:
THE Lodge bill abandons hospitality
and freedom for distrust and exclusion
! The States which elected William Nc
kinley President are the States where
dwelt the greatest number of foreign
born citizens. said the speaker.
Groans and Kisses sounded all over tbs
hall
The foreign vote was loyal in the las
Presidentian election, cried Mr.. Cock
ran. SUCH doctrines as are comprehend
ed in this infamous bill are worthy to b'
uttered only by the man whom William
Mckinley defeated.
The orator was missed again. and vio
lently, too-a new experience for Mr.
| Cochran.
II speak only as a historian he said
half apologetically. and. Notwithstanding
the signs of disapproyal. he continued [,
dwell on the last Presidential election.
The truth is that Cochran has lone
since become minor quantity in affairs
political. and everybody knows this but
himself even the handful of foreigner:
1, ~ I'll, ,Frrrr rr-rN
ably in their interest. / predicted Cock
rams downfall as long ago as 1892. wheI
he was at his zenith in public favor The
occasion was at q Fourth OF July cele
bration in Tammany Hall, when ne un
necessarily insulted all the invited speak
> ers and guests with the opening remark
of his speech OH that occasion. Follow
ing the invited eXponentS of Democracy
he began his Grafton by saying tha
: / ''Tammany Hall needed no emissaries L
l tell her her duty TO Democracy AmOn
the speakers present was the then Con
l.gressmau William j. Bryan of Nebraska
: The above remarks served to show tn
i true nature of the then Tammany chief
: tain-that he was a man possessed of
y selfish envious. jealous nature. an
would not long play an important par
in the affairs of a broad-gauge people
His very name is now hissed among tn
: rank and file Ion the sidewalks of Ne1
= York
Cutting down the salaries of ninety
e seven employees whom he had to keep
his department as legacies from his preC
ecessor because of the civil service regI
lations is Commissioner of the Depart
ment of Public Buildings Brady's way
getting square. One day during the pa:
week he made total reduction of SIS
: $50 year the reductions ranging frol
t 800 to 5000 in individual cases.
&" The conscience fund OF the ci;
}, treasury was swelled % cents the otht
a day. when Comptroller Coler receive
l. the following letter. signed ''Brooklyr
: ite." and evidently written by woman
while member of Grammar Schoo
No. % a number of years ago | purIoine
two or three writing books. Accept tn
inclosed amount to pay for the same -
u There were three silver quarters il
II closed.