New-York tribune., 1902-06-22
BRIDGES ENGLISH" "
HOW AN ALDERMAN GIVES UNIQUE
TWISTS TO THE vERNACULAR

ough study classic literature fails show that
Mr.. Bridges IS dependent upon such orators as
Demosthenes Cicero for his style is il pos
sbIe any resemblance TO such later states
men as Burke Webster. Indeed, Mr. Bridges
can further boast that he MS gifts a
speaker and philosopher no Conte enlPOrary- Some
critics have sought To compare him with gifted
Mr.. Devery. such efforts have proved futile
Although both Nr Bridges and NJ Devery hava
remarkable facility Of expression, unhampered
by the east iron hfndrances Of grammar, each has
a peculiar field of his For the Devery style
(as the ex-chief police expressed IL himsef)
sis like that of hippopOtamus. what takes a dive.
and then sudden like. comes up and blows the
water all over a feIler-" Mr. Bridges on the
other hand. has style of much higher order and
IL has been Hkened by of his fellow aldermen
TO that OF the emblem OF his party. because he IS
forever kicking and braying
Since the installation of the reform adTninistra-
ton and the organization of the present Board or
Aldermen under President Fornes. there is never
a meeting that Jimmy Bridges does not let loose
his heels something other with
paniment Of rhetorical hg,res peculiarly his own
The school of oratory which this Brooklyn states
has instituted is unique, and wthaI has proved
so popular that few extracts from his speeches
are printed below in the language in which
they spoken.
In hA recent speech before the Committee on
Railroads of the Board Of Aldermen. in pleading
for vestfbued trolley care Mr.. Bridges said:
rs denandin' this urdnince in the name of the
Statuary of Liberty and fer the cause OF humanity
1 has interduced two urdninces fer 10 relieve the
frozing mOtormens before now. and be submitttn'
this here bill instead of them ere two L w3nter
tell yer that them poor motormen over there IN
Brooklyn Is being grinded down under the heels or
their masters. just bad ever the slaves OF
oden time wuz.
Now do yer wanter know why them notormen
there is afraid ter here and speak up
fer their rights? Well. I'll tell yer They dasnt-
that's the reason They're skeert that's why
Why if them felIers comes here an tells yer what
they want down would go their names in a book,
an be teegraphed back ter their masters. An
then they'd be fired, fired OF the stoop. with star
vashun faCin' and their wives and kids.
Now. 1 guess you members OF the committee
knows the reason why they is skeert OF comm
here. An fore it sIips mind. wanter tell yer
why they don't put vestiboOis on them cars
They says the breath get the wnders. an
froze. an then them motormens couldn't look out.
an rheFe'd be terrible oecident. 1 think that
ere argument is all rot Why all the big cities
has vestiboos their an there amt no
more occidents in them places than TO home
This bill has fell inter a hole fore now, an
wanter ask yer gentlemen ter see as ter its not
fan' In that ere hole agin
Mr. Bridges has a great suspicion that the Brook
lyn extension of the subway will be used as a
freight line for the Long Island Railroad In dis
coursing on this subject. he said They're
handin' this ere tunnel over ter the Long Island
Railroad, them commissioners is, an who is these
ere commissioners but the Chamber Of Commerce!
The Mayor an Controller gifts in ter the comoy-
nashun for how Ions?-jist two years, an then
another Mayor an Controller comes eronS a.. gifts.
in again but it amt The Chamber OF CON-
nerce has got the merjority an plays ping pong
wii 'em.
They ought ter be rea, munycipple ownership
They can't fool this chicken They wants ter make
a freight line out Of the rapid transit system. an
fix it Long Island Railroad kin get its ITelIc
cars into New-York- That's what's inter H. Iney
amt putin the tunnel there fer the people
..-rese BeImouts an NOrgans. they're Goia all
this business. them what's inter II w-d tie
Long Island an the Pensy Railroad And W-.a1
they wants it fer git freight line 70 tho
fur end Of Long Island, where they're going ter %
a big harbor some o these ere days They cant
fool me-
Al the first meeting of the Board Of Aldermen
the Tamnanv members tried 10 create confusion
bv a resolution requesting Mayor Low 70 explain
his statement that he understood an attempt had
been made bribe certain fusloEists to vote Win
the Tammauy contingent
Mr. Bridges introduced his speech with the shout.
Fusion Is a fake This remark created such ex-
c,tanlent that II was time before he had an
opportunity 10 continue. Then he said:
..t-rsfon is a big aSglOmeraJion of nGthin'. An
If yer ter ask me what meant, Ia explain exp I'm
gether and fer two months they kept a tnrowin
Hall but instead Of that they threw mud at The
people. an the people got diSgSreT VIC i IN IN % 9
the time an they thought tn only way ter stop u
on1, az a. these here fusiousts wuzn't 1t. wid big
|. the people were t s<eer5 Tt they'd Keep a-thr0"iA
An now they're the whole thing. what 10 they
do tSeR MRys saPf aPfy the o cry FRY gon that the aldermen
what amt fusionsts are tryin 10 3rloe tnose Wii.S
the bum. What do yer think OF that Ter a Dd dIrIy
trick? They amt content TO have US poor DeLiIc-
Gratis down. but they wanter to pound US an give
us a mud bath ter boot ,,. - +,,i.,
II is unfortunate the future historians or TINS
city that this notable speech was az thiS P0ln' Gas
compelled to take his seat -. 90 a,5e-,,a- o,
March IS resolution was adopted naming the fne f
bridges the East River no oi Brnoivn
statesman considered it necessary TO get the hOor
ionE H no use Of givn' such new tangled names
to them bridges as what's In TINS ll resoI9'Ioni ON
always has oeTTf b sane wav thev Ought ter cali
q bridge When born me father said ter me:
o.another little bridge. eh. Well. as long as you
his 20 be carried round you'll be suspension
bridge. Then when yer get grown up. an 90 OUT
wild the boys, an spend yer tin, you'll be a Brook
Iyn Bridge For every once in while, yer know.
the Brooklyn Bridge gets broke ,s
''An' me name is Bridges. and amt ashaneG nee
ter be called Bridges neither. They gave me my
fust name James. becuz wuz so good when wuz
Wuz m so good but when they found out Moses wuz
Old Testament cataraeter and oaGE ai nT0eT' I
becuz he mixed up wild the KING James
e@oiSTuH @ S he s now fer amin' the bridges 0Ianhat-
tan Williamsburg, BIackweirs Island. etc Mhat
FER Ier: VIZ t a teller would know what yer meant
by those names. an that's al what's a name Ter;
,,ar 40 that You'll do a blame sight more as what
most of people do Most people thlnkS they
noyVs soTnethin' but when they after tryin' TO
tell the other feller they finds out that they don't
knows nOthin'-' .-,
.-aase the SALARY of the vice-president of the
BOARD Of Aldermen from 81 900 to s2500 Mr.. Bridges
rambled off from one philosophicaI subject TO an
Now the vice-presdent McInnes. is a good
ought ter have s2.5oO Fornes up there gifts 5000
an / guess he can spend nd II all right Now. IL
cit haIf the bunch II Fornes gifts sick is laid
up wild the Group an theSe amt nobody to run