Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-11

We're kow-towing not looked upon by the
world in general as a peculiarly Chinese
form of obeisance. The fashion this magis-
trate has of shrieking at most of the strug-
Cling practitioners who appear in the in
terest of prisoners before him, and of de-
handing that they not only leave the court
but the building in which the court is sit
uated, Is surely caution The populace
over here seem to take the daily gyrations
of these three police court magistrates all
as a matter of course, and when one Of
them exhibits Subdued tendencies for as
much as a week at a stretch. the newspa-
perS comment upon the fact and complain,
in effect, that the temporarily quiescent
magistrate isn't giving the town it's moneys
worth.
All Forgotten Now.
When a couple of weeks ago one of the
garish. tinselish roof gardens OF New York,
the main decorative feature of which was
and is some thousands of rolls of tissue
paper cut into imitation of the blossoms of
a certain fruit, took fire when the place
was crowded, and through the special in
tervention of Providence all of the people
contrlVed to get out without any loss of
life, there was the usual renewal in the
New Y ork papers of the cry for more ade-
quate means of escape from the hotels and
places of amusement on this island in case
of fire. That cry has now, as usual. died
away into the merest echo. 1t is always
thus over here. The writer well recalls
the terrific fanfar0nade that was set up
by the press of New York when the Hotel
Royal, at 10th street and 9Th avenue. took
atire one winters night about eight years
ago and deprived fifty or sixty persons of
their lives. The New York newspapers
were frenziedly organizing leagues at that
time for the purpose of forcing the city
officials to that all public resorts should
be better provided with fire escapes. 1t
was not long, however, before the shouting
and the tumult died. although a few of
the more conscientious papers kept up a
SSirnliSh
for number of years. which finally ceased
for lack of support. Then. after Inc Wind
sor Hotel fire. nothing short of impeach-
ment of the New York fire commissioners
was going to satisfy certain of the New
York papers that were most ferocious in
their demand that the hotels afford the
public better protection from the fire flend.
The fire commissioners, on their part. went
at the hotels with extraordinary energy,
and it looked for time as If a large num-
Der of New York's most important hostel
ries would have to spend vast amounts of
money at the behest of the municipal gov
eminent to rig their plants out with bet
ter fire escape facilities. or go right out of
business. This excitement, too. in its turn,
passed away. and when it had PASSED 1t
was observed that about 50 per centum of
the New York hotels were no better off in
the matter of fire escapes than hey had
been before the Windsor horror ad re-
newed the agitation
Then came the great fire on the Hoboken
docks and the explosion of the Standard
Oll tanks at BdyOfne not long ago, ana lie
more rancorous of the New York papers
came out and demanded that the wooden
docks and piers in and around New York
be replaced by steel piers and docks, pat
termed after those in the Mersey.
Awe-inspirng cuts were published, showing
how burning oil precipitated upon the wa
tiers by explosions over the way in New
Jersey towns could make its way over to
New York. after the manner of Greek fire.
and make one large blaze of the town. The
Hoboken and Bayonne CONGREGATIONS are
now barely remembered.
The possibility Of burning oil making its
way over here from Jersey and licking New
York off the coast-line map. and all such
other fantastic possibilities may. Of course,
be scarcely worthy serious mention, but
the fact remains that the best hotels of
New York. not to speak of the most largely
patronized theaters, are criminally deficient
in means Of getting out people trapped In
them in the event Of fires. Proprietors of
great hostelres over here never appear to
have given thought to the admirable sys-
tenn of hotel fire drills that is employed in
all Of the leading hotels of Chicago, where
every employe of a big caravansary, from
the bediamonded chief clerk down to the
humblest scullion boy, knows his station
and his duties in case of fire as thoroughly