The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-12-01
NEW YORK TOPICS.
DRIFTS AND UNDERGRADUATES OF
THE METROPOLIS.

THE METROPOLIS.
Home Rule in New York on the Ex-
else Observation-Disclosures Knicker-
booker and Sunday Beer-Contnna-
mating Influence on Bank EN-
pIoyes of Fipanciai Operations.
The X-Ray iR Surgery Not Always
TrustwOrthy--New York Society
Refuses to Receive n British Earl
Whose Name Is Tarnished by
ScandaI-VieVys of the Street.
New York, Nov. 29-When you hear
a New Yorker say Home Rule" you
may know that he is talking about the
ecxise question. No matter what other
subjects may distract his attention
from time to time Father Knicker-
booker always comes back to his old
grievance, that he isn't permitted to
say for himself when ne may take
drink and when he may not. just at
present he is raising a wall of appeal
for local option. There is no doubt
that local option in New York city
would mean the Sunday opening of sa-
looms under certain restrictions. The
chances in the Legislature do not seem
very bright. Those estimable lawmak-
ers from the country districts, whom
the New Yorker groups under the head
OF "Hayseed," don't approve of Sun
day liquor, either in their midst or in
anybody else's midst Give me my
beer on Sunday" says Father Knick-
erbocler. mo" replies Farmer Hay
seed, you must be good" But don't
want to be good by your standards"
complains the easy-going, Old gentle
man in the knee breeches. You have
got to-" retorts the stern agricultural
ist. Wen make you good by legisla-
tive enactment" Thereupon the bang
ing-to of saloon front doors is heard in
the land every Sunday. Simultane-
ously there is an opening of side DOORS
and the "Raines Law Hotel" perhaps
the worst potent agency for immoral
ity that this generation has known, is
in full swing. Any law that will wipe
out these furnished ROOM areas of
contamination Will eradicate more evil
than an extra days opening of the sa-
looms will ever produce.
In the preparations for the coming
campaign for local option, political, So
cial and religious lines are curiously
split up. The local Democrats, and
most of the local Republicans are for
more liberal excise law. But the up
state Republicans stand by the Raines
law, or, rather by what the Raines
law was intended to achieve Senator
Platt who is by breeding and training
~ 10 fC IF.r I'D
with rather severe notions regarding
excise, while Gov. Odell is a liberal.
So the two great parties are pretty
we'll mixed up. One would suppose that
the Prohibitionists would be unani
mously against any change that would
give a chance of Sunday opening. Most
of them are thus minded; there are a
shrewd few who will join with the lib
erals in the fight to have the question
referred to the people. They hope to
get a vote by districts, each district
has its saloons now, the best as we'll
as the worst. If each decides for it
self, while many will decide for Sun
day openings, others will vote mo
license" and the number of saloons
will be greatly decreased.
Socially, also, there is a curious
amalgamation of interests. The silk
stocking districts and the tenement
classes are all for Sunday beer. 1.-The
rich man gets it in his club they say.
''Our clubs is the saloon. Give us the
same chance he has" And the club
man, for the most part, agrees with
this view. Perhaps the most surprising
division of opinion is found in religious
circles. Fifteen years ago it would
hardly have been possible to find a
clergyman who would not think it his
70 ch md h
to combat with all his strength any
law looking toward Sunday opening.
Now many of the Roman Catholic
clergy and number of the most influ-
entail Professionals, particularly those
who come into personal contact with
the laboring classes, are frankly in
favor of restricted Sunday opening.
Bank officials go to some trouble to
impress upon the investing public the
belief that a well-run bank is thief
proof, alike from within and without.
II is not strange that they should de-
sire the establishment of this conf
dence. The strange thing is that peo-
pie should believe them when they
say that, besides the system of checks
on dishonesty and carelessness opera
tive in every bank, they have methods
of espionage over their employees who
Il
impossible for one of their men to be
spending more than his salary with
out their knowing it. The latest blow
TO this theory is i'm the case of the
Williamsburg Savings Bank, two Of
whose trusted employees helped them
selves to 100000 in the course of
couple of years, apparently without
arousing any suspicious. One of them
died. and, the operations becoming too
complicated for the survivor to carry
on alone, he confessed. OF course he
had been specializing with the money.
they all do. 1t wasn't very long ago
that a paying in an up town
bank on a salary of a few thousands
year, lived at the rate of $4,000 per
annum on the banks money and played
the market, for a total cost TO the
bank of 100000, before the institution
awoke to the situation. The bank en-
pioye who to-day does not do more or
less stock gambling is a rare excep-
tion, particularly among the younger
men. They breathe an atmosphere of
financial operations, and it is hardly
10 be expected that they should escape
me ,contagion. There are even
numoer who frequent the gam
ohng houses, where they play
roulette or faro. not with the
banks money, perhaps, but
occasionally at the banks risk know
OF case where the proprietor of one
fhCpa pla