Evening star., 1901-12-20
GOSSIP FROM GOTHAM
Tammany officials Clean Up Prepar-
ing to Quit Office,
WOMEh'S DOG SHLW 4 SUCCESS
Thomas A. Edison is Working
Himself to Death.
CASH RISTMA GIFTS
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.

ments are devotfng this week to gathering
up their private papers and arranging their
| accounts so as to give their successors
| fair start on January 1.
| President Hoiahan of the board Of puL.ic
| improvements, whose department has been
| abolished by the amended charter, has re-
moved all of his private papers and will be
| ready in few days to wind up the busi-
| ness of his branch of the city government.
| There will be only two more meetings Of
| the board, and within twenty-four hours
after the last meeting the secretary will
| have AL the business in shape for trans
mission to the borough presidents and the
| board of estimate.
I James B. Reynolds who will be Mayor
Lows secretary, is expected at the city
hall some day this week to be broken in.
Controller Coer has several works Of art
| on the walls of his office in the department
| Of finance. President Guggenheimer of the
| council will finish his auctioneers' trials this
| week and will make effort to clear up
| the calendar. Corporation Counsel Whalen
| and President Feitner of the department of
| taxes and assessments say that they will
not begin to clean house until next week.
Dog Show at Madison, Square Garden.
| 1t was as if pandemonium mad broken
| loose when the doors of Madison Square
| Garden were opened for the first annual
show of the Ladies Kennel Association of
| America. Dogs of nearly every kind under
the sun were assembled within the bud
| ing. and each and all seemed to have but
| one object in view. and that to make as
| much nose as possible. They were entire
| ly successful in their efforts.
The Ladies' Kennel Association is but
recently organized affair, but they have
| gone at their work like veterans. Every
thing was in apple pie order when the
| doors were opened at 10 o'c.ock and nearly
every dog was in it's place. Nearly every
| species of dogs under the sun is represent
| ed, from the gigantic st. Bernard to toy
terrier. SIDE by side are funny, curly, black
| poodles, with the curious punches of ha.r
| disposed over the shaven bodies; "beauti-
| fully" ugly bulldogs, which, oddly enough,
appear to be the favorite dog with the fair
Sex; old English sheep dogs, shaggy, curry,
| jolly animals, alert bull terriers with their
trimmed ears, cute little King Charles SPAN
| iels, MASSIVE Great Danes English blood
| hounds, mastiffs and others too numerous
| to mention.
Many of the cages for the dogs are works
of art, and it is evident that the fair own
ers of the animals think nothing too good
| for their pets. The toy dogs are especially
| favored many of them resting on silken
! cushions, staring languidly, but with we'll
/ bred propriety, as becomes anma.s of such
blue blood, at the curious spectator.
More than $4,000 in prizes will be given
| by the association, and almost as much
| more for special prizes.
| Thomas A. Edison OverwOrked.
/
are afraid that unless he does not immedi-
atey follow the advice of his physicians
and take long rest he will break down
| completely under the long strain which ne
| has been attempting to withstand The in
| ventor, however, is at work on several in
| tricate electrical problems and refuses TO
| stop or to rest while they are unsolved.
Edison usually reaches his laboratory in
| West Orange, N. j., at o'clock in the
| morning. His hour of leaving for home de-
| pends upon how absorbed he becomes in
| the attempt to find a solution for some new
| puzzle. Sometimes 1t Is midnight before he
| goes home, and on number Of occasions
| he has been known to stay through the
| night for the last few hours alone. During
| periods like these he eats only one meal a
| day, breakfast, and as result his stom-
! ach is out Of order. His physicians have
| told him that it will require months Of cor
| rect living to re-establish his health, but
he is at work on an improved storage bat
| terry and works on and on.
Government After Land.
For the past ten years the purchase by
the government of a tract Of land border
| ing on the navy yard has been agitated 1t
now appears that lately the entire tract
J was surveyed, maps were made and est
| mates procured as to the value Of the prop
| erty In this locality. The matter has been
| kept a secret to prevent spectators from
| purchasing any Of the land. Most of this
| land Is now owned by the city, having been
| purchased from the government almost for
| ty years ago, but since then the city has
! sold few plots to individual buyers. The
| city purchased this from the government
for sloGo,o0o, and it is said that $2,ooo90o
| will be necessary for it's repurchase. The
| different heads of departments at the yard
| have often complained to Admiral Barker
| that they did not have the necessary room
| in which to carry on the work assigned
| them.
Potatoes From Belgium.
! For the first time in seven years New
| Workers. are eating imported potatoes. The
| Red Star Line steamship Southwark, which
| arrived last week with a consignment Of
| 10000 bushels of Belgium potatoes, will be
followed this week by Rotterdam ship
| and Glasgow ship, both potato-laden The
| explanation Of the Importation is simply
| that potatoes have reached a price at which
! it Is more profitable to import them than
| to purchase them from home growers Time
was when this farinaceous vegetable could
| be bought at 60 cents barrel. Today they
| command from 81. 80 to $40 a barrel When
| this price is reached the purchasing agent
| of the American importer buys potatoes in
Belgium, France or Scotland at 10 cents a
| barrel. The duty on potatoes being 25 cents
| per bushel Of sixty pounds, the importer Is
taxed another IS cents for his barrel. An
other % cents for freight brings the cost
| Of potatoes up to $1.75. barrel on the pier
| at New York. The fact that the grower in
| Michigan, Maine and New York demands
more than this on the ground is inducement
enough for the importer to run the double
| risk of slump in the market or Of his po-
| tatoes spelling on the way. The total es-
| timated quantity Of imported potatoes this
year is fixed at 100000 bushels. a~mere drop
| in the bucket when it is remembered that
Gothamites consume $4,000 bushels of this
| fruit per day.
| Christmas GIFTS of Cash.
The giving of Christmas gifts has begun
in Wall street. Demands have been made
by the subtreasury on the United States
! treasury for bills and also on the United
States mint at Philadelphia for new coins
for a sum aggregating $7.0O00O0 In addi-
ton the street will also receive $32, ,O00. 900
in December dividends. making a total of
nearly $4O,0O0,00O for Wall streets Christ
mas stocking. While this is not as large
as last years bundle" 1t is big enough
to cause fiutter among the thousands who
are to benefit by its distribution. The ten
Thousand employees of the American Express
Company in the United States were notified
that each would get new $40 bill as q