The aegis & intelligencer., 1899-03-03

Oar New York letter.
Nav YoRK. Feb 27.- Even l:iuss New orsl-
ers WHO pay little attention to the munu.u, cr5
of Wall st. and take q lungud part in political
situations, are deeply interested in the fight
now OH between the CITY Govcrnment and the
Manhattan Elevated 4. X. Co. Some days uro
GeuIge j. Gould, l-rcSidcut oil the Il. IT, Co. re-
ceircd Il notice from President Clausen, of th.-
PARK Hoard, to tenIuvc the entire structure OF
the IL" road from Battery Park This Park
is Mt the extreme southern end Of the CITY, ana
part of it is occupied by the terminal stations
of the 9th and 9th Elevated Roads which leads
directly to numerous ferries. The Cstensfble
reason for notice o. removal was that great
damage was being done tile Park by the pas
sage OF trains over it, and 1t was based on an
agreement entered into in 1876 by the N. Y
Elevated K. X. Co.. of which the Manh ttan is
the successor. According to this the "L's''
franchise in Battery Park is revUcable upon
sufficient evidence that the Park is being
seriously injured. This President Clausen pro-
fesses to be able to demonstrate conclusivc!y
Disinterested people, however, dcnuunce the
whole thing as merely Il political wire pulling
George Could, Russell Sage. Rietari CroaRer
and the various attorneys all preserve discreet
silence. and public curiosity and interest .ouseG
to their utmost, still fail of any satisfacti ,r
Mr.. Croker allowed himself to as.elt that his
share i'll the matter whs prompted purely hy :.
desire to secure justice for tn people" Wall
street, however, which is somewhat cynical
both by disposition and training, is inclined to
disbelieve this, and ;scribe the present attack
on the IL Road to IL desire to discrc lit the
Co.'S stock. so far, however, these tactics hav :,
not been successful, Manhattan stock clos NJ
Saturday at 1135s. net gain OF 25s for the da,
There hus been u singular and s!l idau hostility
lately manifested toward this road, from num-
erous points of influence. The Health Board
has long had grievances against it, because of
the unsanitary condition of ITS stairs and
stations, the unnecessary amount of amt + @ and
cinders showered on the pedestrian pop L!utiOn
as Tell us the hopless mortais W hO live in upper
stores on line with the trains, tue absence OF
drip-pans, on account of which travellers below
were from time to time treated to involuntary
baptisns, and score of minor complaints be-
sides. But President Gould's late decision to
substitute electricity for steam as motive
power, place elevators ut the principal stations,
ETC., quite paciiied Il patient pabc, and things
seemed to be running smoothly. Consequent
ly this late injunction (Which insists upon the
vacation of Battery Park within six months
from dute) was as startling to the average
citizen us TO the company Involved, and as the
stopping of the IL" trains is threatened to
follow disregard of the order. this particular
phase OF the habi5ual wire pulling may possibly
prove really seri' us affair to those whose in
tcrestS do not lie be;:d the &C eneS. The city ia
considerably wrought up" over the affair, and
Conjecturcs as 10 the ultimate outcome are
numerous.
Though the Legislative session at Albany i;
supposed to be half over, more new bills
were introdu ed the past week than usually
make their appearance at any single session.
Noticeable among these were Senator Ford's,
providing for an eight hour day for all classes
of employees throughout the Stats, except
those engaged in farming and domestic SER
service; Assemb lyman Sanders amending Art.
S of the Constitution so as to provide home
rule in the State after the plan in vogue in
Switzerland known as Initiative and referen-
dum," and Assemblyman Phillips Measure to
compel the street railways 10 erect comfortable
shelters at all transfer stations throughout Il.
Y. City. Interest III these three bills is particu-
larly strong in the city, and their pros and cons
sr, vehemently discussed on ev ry street
corner.
There have been an unusual number of in
teresting dinners yiven in the city lately.
Following the reception rendered Lord Charles
Beresford by the Chambers OF Commerce, WAS
the dinnerin his honor by the American Asi tic
Association. ltwas uncertain unt la few day
aVo just when Lord Beresforl would be able to
visit thu city, so final arrangements for th"
banquent were necessarily s )mewhat hastencG.
Nevertheless it WAS representative and in
fuential company who greeted the diStn2 uisE-
ed visitor in the red room at bclmrnico's.
Lord Bercsiord, it will lie remembered. went
to Chinl as Enssary of the Association of
Chambers OF Commerce of EngIard and as the
American AsiaIic Associ ition was formed cx-
pressly to foster and safe guard the CONNER
cial interests of the United States in the Orient,
deep interest in the Emissary's visit is natural
ly felt by the entire nein bcrship of the ASSo-
ciation, which is large and influential. Among
many other dinners may be mentioned the an
nual gathering of the New York Literary Club
at the Hotel st. Dennis The membership OF
this Club is composed of librarians, library
trustees, etc, more than half of whom are
women. Mrs. KiIe Douglass Virgins Riggs
was expected to speak, but WAS prevented by
illness. The four. .eenth annual dinner of the
Architectural League WAS lately given at the
organizations headquarters, on West 5Tth ST.
Bruce Price, president of the League. was toast
master. and the banquet of over two hundred
covers WIS really notwithstanding and enjoy
able affair. Mr. Price is Il Bal:imorean, bu5
has made so wide aud desirable II name for
himself and h s work since his residence i'll Il is
city that New Workers now virtually cla m
him. Between two and three hundred mt M
beIs of the American Newspaper Publishers
Association made merry lately ut the Waldorf
Astoria, and the 22d convention of tac Ameri-
can Pulp and Paper Association closed last
week with an equally sumptuous rep st in the
same banquet hall on the nj hit following. An
unique feature of this latter was the decora-
ton of the rooms and tables. This was clabor-
ate and all of paper, some of the artificial
flowers being SO cleverlY done that the guests
were actually beguiled into believing them
natural.
The annual bench show of the Westminster
Kennel Club opened last week at the Madison
Square Garden. There were 500 entries, III
cluding many dogs whose valuation ran up into
the thousands, and number which had been
imported especially for the exhibition. The
Dog Show has never had quite the attraction
for society, which the Horse Show possessed,
but this one has proved both financially and
socially q distinct success. 1t continued only
four days, as the breeders say longer period
of noise, excitement and promiscuous banding
would actually drive many of the blue-blooded
dogs into Il state of nervous prostration. The
strain is especially trying on the puppies, and
for this reason they were not on exhibition ex-
cept the first two days. The Don't Handle"
rule was entirely dead issue, and every body
went about rafting and petting everything
that did not look actually savage. Despite the
was kept up tie whole time, the average of
good temper was rem lrkably high snd no
swapping or biting was recorded.
Golf is going to see ONE radical changes this
year if the measures adopted at the annual
meeting of the U. s. Association, at Sherry's
few days ago, are carried out. The keynote
of the meeting was struck when K. II. Robert
to delegate to the Executive Committee the
power to select the links upon which the various
championships shall be held. Delegates were
present from forty-fNe different Clubs, and
keen interest was showl in all questions undo +
discussion. The general tendency of the meet
ing, which is said to be one of the Iuietcst en-
record, seemed to be toward the rnlargeln, Mt
tions. A number of new golf links have been
opened in the vicinity of this city lately, and
veteran remarked not long since that hereafter
when one wished a simile for infinitude the
sands of the seashore" would not be nearly SO