Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1898-07-09
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE.


Unless all surface signs fail, the Platt
and Croker machines have come to-
gether again by the appointment OF
Henry r. Abel TO be Police Commits
sioner. representing the borough Of
I Brooklyn. in place Of William r.. Philips,
removed. John =. Windolph. another
organization man, was appointed auue-
duct commissioner in place of Louis f..
Payn's friend, Charles II. Murray
There has been no more consistent or
servile Plat man in New York state
than Henry r.. Abell He might. of
course have been appointed in defiance
Of the Plat organization but this AS
sumption hardly holds good. because of
the fact that Mr.. Aboll, without the in
fiuence Of the machine, would be nom
entity in politics. Al present MIR. Abel.
by the grace OF Senator Platt and Lieu
tenant Governor " woodruff is the proxy
in the state committee for Stewart Il.
Woodford, who comes from Lieutenant
Governor Woodruif's home district.
Abel is Il resident of the same assem-
by district with Lieutenant Governor
Woodruff, and has represented II twice
in the assembly. His record as Platt
machinist in the legislature was SO bad
that in the tidal wave of 1895, when the
republican ticket carried the district by
several thousand votes, Abell was beat
en- by Charles II. Ebbetts, now manager
of the Brooklyn baseball team. Last
year Abel was again nominated and
was defeated by the present democratic
representatives AsSembyman Schoen-
eek. The independent citizens and the
labor people named candidates against
him, and declared him to be the most
dangerous representative or the Platt
machine nominated for office in Greater
New York. He was beaten last year by
more than IA thousand votes Abel has
had a varied career in politics. He ran
for assembly in his native county,
Schoharie, and was defeated. Then he
ran in Albany county, and was again
defeated. Finally he became candi-
date in Broukly in 1894 and was elected
to succeed james Taylor, republican,
who was nominated for senator. In
the periods that intervened between
his races for the legislature Abel held
several political offices. He was in the
ClSlbIl louSe ID years aSo. anu III viz
last term of General Grant as president
was deputy surveyor of the port of New
York Then he became private secre-
tary to Governor Cors-.ll, and later be-
came q clerk in the assembly. He was
journal clerk in 1898, and in 1894 was
clerk of the committee that revised the
Legislative bills. 1t was in the autumn
of that year that he was first named for
assembly. Abel as member of as
sembly earned notoriety by passing the
bill which created Senator Platt's FL
deity and Guaranty company of Mary
land and he was later appointed it's
representative in Brooklyn to secure
the excise bonds of liquor dealers under
the Raines law. Senator Platt also
caused his appointment as treasurer Of
the Long Island State hospital, with a
salary of $500, and his son was also ap-
pointed in the office. Mr.. Abel was
Senator Platts candidate for the sena-
torial nomination in the Sixth district in
1895, but was defeated. He is considered
the most stalwart of stalwarts. He is
about 60 years old, and it Is improba BILE
that he could have been selected with
l,ut consultation with the machine. This
view seems correct, because of VIM
dOlph' appointment as aqueduct COM
missioner. The latter is a straight out
Platt man and leader of the republicans
in the Eleventh assembly district. He
won his spurs with the organization Is
Ia member of the assembly in 1884 and
1885. He was an out-and-Out machine
man. He made money as the proprietor
of the Utah house. in Eighth avenue,
and Is we'll known about town. He was
member of the board of aldermen dur
ling the administration of Mayor Strong,
and was vice president of that body.
Mr.. Windolph won social fame by or
iganizing the Growers. He was elected
chief Growler. and extended the or
ganiZation through New York city and
Long Island. Windolph wanted Muir
rays place as aqueduct commissioner
when the latter was appointed, but Su-
perintendent Payn. through Croker,
had WindOlph turned down for Murray.
Now the Platt end of the machine wins
In Windolph's appointment
The substitution of underground cleo
trio traction for decrepit horse power on
Sixth avenue and on the Boulevard is
promised before the snow flies. These
two reforms have been anxiOusly await
ed. The Metropolitan company has un-
til now been prevented by litigation
from installing the modern power on the
most important Of its longitudinal lines,
but ali questions in dispute have been |
finally decided, and the work is to be
pushed rapidly forward. The Third
avenue company. controlling the Boule-
ward line, has at last become sensible Of
the falling off of it's revenues on the
Boulevard by maintaining an obsolete
service. and promises to take prompt
steps to compete with it's rival, whose
better facilities are now almost monopo-
lizing West Side surface travel The
patient horse is rapidly being retired
from the street car business, and both
man and beast are to be congratulated.
"TO the glory of God and in loving |
memory Of Edwin Booth, this window |
has been placed here by The Players,
1898" This is the simple inscription on |
the Booth memorial window in the Lit
tie Church Around the Corner. On the
upper half of the window is the life.siza