Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-10-27
LIFE IN A BIG CITY
Some Things One May Well Criticise
in New York.
VIOLATING FIRE REGULATIONS
A Big EmbezzIer Who Did Not
Act the Part.
REMARKABLE PERSONALITY
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence OF The Evening Star.
NEW YORK, October GA New York
politician, who, although he is what is
called an neutrality-suspicious." has himself
expanded from the captain polite word
for "heeler'O of New York ward, to the
dominating national figure of one of the
great political parties, airily remarked the
other day that he considered New York the
best-governed city In the world.
This politician, however, has lately be-
come addicted to elephantine persifage. so
it is possible that he was only fooling.
If The Star We're willing to devote a solid
page of agate type to a tabulated state
ment of the reasons why New York is not
only not 1.-The best-governed city in the
world" but, on the contrary, one of the very
worst governed, it would be an easy thing
enough to prepare such tabulated state
ment and to prove the same and make it
balance. But the Job wouldn't. Of course.
be worth while. Washington, which is GER
tainly the best-governed city in this country,
knows pretty well how New York stands
as to it's government under the present
regime. AS a simple matter of fact, New
York knows how it stands itself, but New
York is not mute and benumbed. The pure
audacity of it's rulers has stunned New
that element of the towns population that
still retains some of the fragments of
municipal conscience) has almost been re-
duced to that condition where 1t doesn't
care any more The Augean stables look
too uncleansable. Even the movement
against the most fragrant of the dives in
augurated by Bishop Potter appears to have
collapsed, and it is VIGOROUSLY whispered
about in police circles that the good man
concluded, upon the very threshold of his
investigations. that life was too short for
even the beginning of any such task as
that which he set for himself. Bishop Pot
ter has always been known as very de-
termined man and minister, and if it be
really true that the unforeseen dimensions
of his job stampeded him before he had
well begun it, the foolish futility Of the
efforts of lesser men to carry it forward to
even an estmable success ought to be OBJ
vious even to themselves.
Disregard of Fire Regulations.
To direct the pointer at one feature of
msgovernment on the sulied board that is
not often touched upon. namely the rank
disregard of New York's fire regulations:
There is scarcely a theater in New York
from which good-sized audience can emp
ty itself within less than quarter of an
hour, even when all of the safety exits
are thrown wide open. 1t would be inter
eSting to study the countenance of Chief
Paris of the Washington fire department
could he be caught standing in front OF
when the audience thereof began to dribble
out. Dribble is about the word. The chief
would probably summon his hook and lad
der outfits, even were there no evidences
whatever of a fire, just for the sake of be-
ing on the safe side A big audience is gen.
orally clea1 of Washington theater with
in four minutes at the outside, even when
the safety exits are not thrown open. No
dead march of sufficiently snail-like tempo
has ever been composed that would not
seem like a sallop to the audience emery
ing from the average New YORK playhouse
Nervous men and women sit them down
and write plaintive letters to the newspa-
pers about this matter. The newspapers
print the letters, with equally plaintive COM
ments that virtually say, I'VE know that
what you write is true-but what is going
to be done about it? Haven't we. harped
on that topic until the very tNes are
aweary?"
How They Manage 1t.
And yet the fire regulations of the mu-
nicipality of Greater New York are simply
Ideal as to the rigdity Of their framing.
They are intensely severe. They even
thunder in the index and bawl in the pro-
lcgue Were they lived up to it would al
most seem impossible for unfortunate
disposed to suicide to saturate himself with
coal oil and touch a match to himself. But
they are only lived up to in
about one respect out of forty. The
fire regulations respecting theaterS, for in
stance, require the builder and proprietor of
a theater to do thus and so. The builder
and proprietor knows all about what the
fire regulations require him to do. He
doesn't do them, however. but calmly and
confidently waits for a delegated authority
Of the fire department to get after him.
The theater man and fire man have little
conversation germane to the matter In hand,
and-well, nothing is changed around that
particular theater that makes itself visible
to the naked eye, with respect to more
safe conditions for audience in case of
fire. Not a.year passes that the New York
fire ordinances are not made more rigid.
few days after more rigid ordinance Is
put on the municipal books the Violators
of the law and the representatives of the
fire outfit get together for a little chat on
a variety of topics. in the course of which
perhaps quite a few 'bo'rs of Wine are
Opened" and when the violatorS of the fire
regulations depart from these cheerful lit
tie seances they wear pervasive grins and
an unseemly air of confidence that Is really
quite bewidering.
What Will Happen.
Included in that already long list of in
eyitable occurrences is this: On one of
these nights a measurable percentage of
one of these New York theater audiences
is going to be cremated and stamped to
DEATH The newspapers will loudly call at
tention to their repeated assertions that the
fire regulations were being fagrantly vio-
lated as to the incinerated theater, the fire
authorities will come out with a long