Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-06-15


in this town, anyhow!
Don't Like Moving Stairwnys.
The people of New York are so cock-sure
in their statements as to their own adapt
ability and catch-on-ativeness that the per-
formances they go through daily at the
moving stairway leading up to the uptown
L station at 23d street are worth studying.
This moving stairway was put at the bust
est shopping corner in New York about
six months ago for the convenience of the
tired shopping women, and the idea of the
Il company was to have a moving stair
way at every station, both up and down
town. in the course of time, If the one at
I'D street proved popular. 1t hasn't proved
popular, and it isn't likely that there will
be moving stairways leading up to New
York's l. station for a good many years to
come
The moving stairway is as safe as the
treasury and as steady as stove. 1t
would be almost impossible for clumsy in
FAINT to damage himself any in making the
ascent to the platform on the moving stair
way. All the clumsy infant would have to
do would be to step on the first stair ana
permit himself to be smoothly carried up
to the platform, when the business of step
ping off onto the fixed part of the station
is vastly easier than rolling off a log.
And They're So Up-to-Date.
Yet the strictly up-to-date and adaptable
New Workers, men as well as women, SIM
ply assemble in wondering groups around
the bottom of the moving stairway at 23d
street and just cape at it. 1t seems to be
a marvel of marvels to them. They gaze
at it might Nero gaze upon an automat-
ically performing banjo. could he break
away from the shades long enough to do so.
Once in while some exceedingly venture
some New Yorker comes along and actually
mounts to the platform the moving
W Ia ct a RI
him from the bottom almost burst into
cheers over his extraordinary nerve. At the
bottom of the moving stairway there has
been stationed for six months uniformed
employee of the Il company, whose business
has been to invite the folks desiring to take
the uptown L trains to avail themselves of
the appliance.
Go ahead, ladies and gentlemen" almost
pleads this perspiring official "Aii you've
got to do is to step on. You can't get hurt.
This is no put-up job. The company is not
hunting for a chance to pay you damages
for broken limbs. Please, oh, please, Just
step on and go up
And the up-to-date New Workers just
stare at him and at the~moving stairway,
and then stink across the street to the reg
ular fixed stairway, where they have to
climb up.
A Washington Chicago or San
Francisco woman wouldn't make any more
of face over an invitation to ascend three
miles in free balloon than the New York
Woman-who is universally regarded as
knowing it all, if not more-makes over the
invitation to rest herself by permitting a
perfectly innocuous moving stairway to pick
her up and deposit her on an elevated sta
ton platform
The Committee of Fifteen.
The signs multiply that the famed COM
mittee of fifteen is just about on the brink
of giving up the ship. The murmurs of
dissension in the outfit have increased in
NJ
members of the committee who have been
furnishing the money for the gathering of
evidence by the fifteen's sleuths as to the
existence of gambling houses and pool
rooms In New York have had large, capa-
BILE buttons affixed to their trousers pock-
cts, and they have virtually announced
that they are aweary of expanding their
good substance with the results so mani
testify small.
And, of a verify. the results have been
small indeed, in spite of the noise that has
been made over young Justice Jerome.s
ax-slinging expeditions. True. young JUS
tlce Jerome has swung his ak against the
doors of quite number of f1ourishing pool
rooms but In each and every case, al
though he has collared the proprietors and
employees Of these places red-handed en-
gagged In doing a horse-betting business
with their customers, the evidence has
been deemed insufficient" for convictions
when the cases have come up Some of the
few of them no sooner done" their little
ten days than they resumed business. if
not at the old stands, then at stands easily
discoverabe by the talent" their patrons
MIR. jerome is pretty able and hustling
all-around citizen. but the opinion is unani
nous. even among men who have the civic
integrity at heart. that in putting himself
at the head of this committee of fifteen,
and in endeavoring to eradicate gambling
Of all sorts in this town, he bit off good
deal more than he any other single In
dividual Is capable of chewing.
Gambling Goes Merrily On.
1t is actually becoming a question now
whether gambling ever will or can be total
ly put down in New York, under any sort
of a regime. There can be no manner of
doubt that the public sentiment of the best
class of citizens of New York is against it.
The trouble is that the sentiment Of the
best class of public citizens in New York
doesn't cut much ice in this or any other
respect. This is only another way of put
ting that incontrovertible fact that the best
class of public citizens In New York make
up such small minority of the whole pop
ulation that they are really not worth
while taking into account at the polls. The
committee of fifteen has in reality put up
an admirable fight against gambling in
New York and yet there has never been
an hour since the organization of the COM
mittee Of fifteen when the seeker for haz-
ardous chances could not get down his fool
ish money on any old game In the list from
craps and policy to horse-race plungtng and
noIlimit faro bank. Perhaps there has
been more of tightening up than has re-
suited from any previous crusade Of the
sort-but the game has gone on, just the
same. And the same old games have been
going on for decades, for generations in
fact in New York.
1t is idle to say that gambling wasn't go
ing on. and lots of it, when Mr. Roosevelt
was welding a stiff rod as virtual boss of
the police over here-there was really more
gambling in the Roosevelt day than there
has been at certain times during the espi-
onage Of the committee Of fifteen.
Can't Put a Stop to 1t.
And in view Of all of this there are SURELY
many high-grade men of New York, honor
able men who would give anything to see
New York take the place 1t ought to take
for municipal morality. who are beginning
to doubt If vice so universal so thorough
ly implanted, depending as it does on the
depravty of so many men, and SO admira-
bly, organized and maintained by its operat-
ing syndicate. as the gambling vice is to-
day can ever be really uprooted under any
circumstances.
But if the committee OF fifteen passes I'm
the fight and diSha pdS II is