Evening star., 1901-03-19
THE SITES TO Be FORTHCOMING
Ex-Representative Aldrich's Swift
Wooing Successful.
BIG ST. PATRICK NAIL
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

provided the people of the city or the city
will take steps to provide the sites for
the institutions. It Is Mr.. Carnegie's in
tention to have at least one library for
every 75,O00 or 100000 population On the
Island of Manhattan, at least, it will be
impossible for a person to go more than
quarter of mile without running into a
public library. So great an interest has
been aroused in the matter that eX-Mayor
Hewitt has offered to give sites for two
of the libraries and James J. Coogan,
prominent in Tammany Hall politics, has
offered another site in the heart Of the
old city of New York. Several other sites
have been offered in Brooklyn, some of
which may or may not be available. The
significance of the entire movement is that
if the city complies with the conditions i'm
posed by Mr.. Carnegie and furnishes the
sites, for all popular purposes New York
braries In the world. Even Mayor Van
Wyck, who grumbles when money is APP
propriated for schools and who has al
ways adopted a dog-in-the-manger policy
Whenever money has been suggested for
objects in which he has no especial IN
terest, is enthusiastic over the Carnegie
library proposition, and it is not likely
that any legal technicalities will be al
lowed to prevent the city from accepting
Mr.. Carnegie's offer.
SO"e 10 ne NaOe.
1t should be understood that the accept
ance will involve some three-cornered ar
rangement between the city, the board of Ii
brary commissioners and MIR. Carnegie.
Just what this arrangement will consist of
it is too early to predict, but city and
state officials are agreed that if any ad-
dtional legislation is needed from the Leg
islature at Albany to enable the city to
accept Mr.. Carnegie's offer it will be Sc
cured at once. probably before the s.d-
journment of the present session. Seldom
has there been more unanimous express
sion of popular interest and favor In re-
gard to any public Improvement or project.
1t should be understood that even though
the gift of Mr.. Carnegie had not arrived
at the exact time to give an impetus TO
movement looking to the upbuilding of
popular system of libraries, New York city
would soon have possessed one of the finest
If not the finest library system in the
world. This was brought about by the
consolidation of the old Astor library,
still one of the landmarks Of the lower
east side, the Lenox library, located in the
9Th avenue Central Park district, and the
Tilden library bequest. This latter sft
was something on the lines proposed by
MIR. Carnegie, and the people of this city
We're deeply disappointed when the Tilden
heirs and the courts succeeded in getting
away with a large share of the beuucst Of
the late Ex-Governor Tilden, enough to
prevent the gifts of the one time demo-
cratic candidate for President of the United
States from doing the good originally in
tended under the will. A large sum was
however, recovered in the final settlement
with the heirs. Then came the question of
the union of the Lenox library, the Astor
library and the embryotic Tilden library
This settled, the question of a site became
prominent one. There were as many diff
ferent opinions as there are assembly dis
tricts in Greater New York. Finally it
was decided to apply to the city for the
abandoned reservoir
at the corner of 42d street This was an
ideal location, and the reservoir was use
less, the water system of the city having
years before appropriated a reservoir in
Central Park. There was some opposi-
ton on the part of Mayor Van Wyck, the
ground being that the board of library
commissioners was a private body, and
the gift might not be run for the best ill
terests of the city in years to come. The
board is really quasi-pubic, not a pri-
vate body, but it is not under the juris-
diction of Tammany Hall, and hence does
not pay tribute or afford patronage. For
this reason Mayor Van Wyck was un-
friendly to the proposition to turn over the
reservoir, but public pressure ultimately
forced him to yield. This question of pa
tronage and the manner of the control of
the sites for the libraries now proposed by
Carnegie is the only stumbling block in the
way. However, Tammany Hall would rot
dare to be put In the attitude of turning
down the gift as a result of patronage
fights, and there Is little danger of any
serious opposition in that direction.
The Old Reservoir.
Visitors to the city will remember the
old reservoir as a fort-like sort of a build
ing on 9th avenue, not far from the Grand
Central station. 1t was an ideal site for
reviewing parades, and the contractors
who secured the material and agreed to re-
move it prior to the laying of the founda-
tions Of the new and great library build
ing received an unexpected windfall of $780,
OU or more from the erection of stands
in that vicinity during the Dewey day
parades. The reservoir walls have long
since disappeared, and in their place can
be seen nothing but high board walls,
which hide from the curious the vision of
the slowly arising walls of the new library
building.
Residents of smaller towns who are In
terested in trying to induce Andrew Car
negie to part with some of his 5000 OOO 900
guaranteed to him as a result of the steel
deal with Morgan VIII be interested in
knowing that there are only two things
that can be obtained from Carnegie, libra
ries and organs The retired steel master
has only two fads-books and music 1t is
waste Of time to attempt to approach
him along other lines, no matter what the
merit. And he will only give the libraries
to the cities, he will not deal with churches
or colleges. Though the retiring multi
millionaire is a blue Scotch Presbyterian
it will be useless for even the representa-
tlVeS OF the presbyterian Church to at
tempt to get a library for one of their col
leges. Mr.. Carnegie's libraries are for the
people of the American towns and cities,
and he has put his foot down fiat on the
ground and decided that in library matters
he will know no church denominations.
And when Mr.. Carnegie puts his foot down
those who know him best generally say
that it has way of staying where it is
put.
An Ex-Congressman's WoOfng.
Announcement has just been made of the
engagement of Miss Matilda Agan, daugh-
ter of DR.. and Mrs. David H. Agan of this
city, to former Congressman j. Frank AL
drich Of Washington. Behind the mere
announcement is a charming story of love
at first sight amid the splendors Of the
late Inauguration ball. dashing courtship
on the part of the gentleman, a trip on
fast express in which Cupid's arrow sped
as quickly as the train and the use of the
telegraph to hasten the happy denouement.
Miss Agan only recently returned from
Europe. where she went to cultivate her
voice. She Is decided brunette of mag
nifcent figure and cultivated to a degree.
Her mother comes Of a Hungarian family
noted for It's wealth, while on the fathers
side the young lady is of E,nQlish 6asoan+