Omaha daily bee., 1903-05-14
RouNn Apour Nnw YonrS.
RIpples on the Current Of Life in the
Metropolis.

TO set up n roar concerning the recent rul-
ing Of the Postofhce department about torn
postage stamps smacks OF the p~ioayunish
spirit. A business man who did not believe
that the Postohice department had made
such ruling took two torn stamps from his
drawer and sent them to washington with
a question as to their redemption. II he
could not use them on letters. he wanted to
see II there was any chance Of getting his
money back.
He received a prompt answer from the
third assistant postmaster general. No
such stamps could be redeemed, nor could
they be used upon letters. Uncle Sam was
ahead 4 cents on the deal, and all the bust
ness man could do was to throw the torn
stamps into the waste basket. The answer
stirred his wrath 4 cents worth. Securing
a hammer he Joined the grand army OF
cheap knockers.
II stood for a moment at the entrance to
Brooklyn bridge today writes Joe Howard
in the Boston Globe. After watching the
columns which came from the north. the
south and the west, easily 1000 people.
swarming to and overwhelming the meager
car outht. 1 wondered what will be New
York's fate i've years from today. The ex-
tension Of car lines. stupidity managed in
Brooklyn. has built up Long Island to ar
extent amazing a. It lie profitable. People
who earn their living in New York City
are between the devil and the deep blue
sea 30 far as comfortable transportation Is
concerned. The population Of this great
city grows rapidly and flows in its sur
plusage across the bridge to the east and
by the ferries to the west. so that already
Long Island and the Jerseys are comfort
less. and New York is we'll nigh uninhabit-
able. With no degree Of comfort can we
get uptown or downtown, and the same
IL true with the bridge and ferry travel to
Brooklyn and the Jerseys. New York seems
to be the universal Mecca. In addition to
the boys and girls of the entire nation, who
act on he belief that here alone fortune
awaits them, we have not less than 100000
immigrants a year add their incommodings
to our existing embarrassment. II 1t is
bad today, what will II be FIVE years from
today. There is but one certainty, and that
il the multi-millionairistic of the men who
own the transportation companies. A ma
jority OF these fortunate men twenty-five
years ago had nothing but cheek and ia
miliarity with lobby influence. Today they
break the laws with impunity, control thou
sands OF votes, disregard the wishes of the
community and naunt their millions in the
races OF a pdIlenI pubic, WHO IhTcly COh-
plain and never resist. Immensely valuable
as the surface and IL" car service mas
been to the city. its present exactions are
u~nbearable to such al extent that they well
deserve the o~verhauling which recently
placed them before their fellow citizens in
no enviable light. So far as expert observa-
ton goes, however, 1 really know of no ex-
ception, except this of transportation
which warrants any of US In breaking my
suggested rule of Don't grunt.'"
THE bottom of a ship amt absolutely
necessary. anyway" said a man on the
dock. The eyer which had wandered
decorously to the ceiling after the other
man finished dropped suddenly upon the
gentleman who made this startling declara-
tion. He was greatly pleased at having
| thus reconcentrated attention. 1T is pos
sible that none of you men has read the
account Of the boat that came into New
York harbor a month ago without a bot
tom3 Well, it's a fact, anyway. She was
| one of, those old lumber scows plying be-
tween this harbor and the Maine coast.
She met Furnishing weather about ten hours
out and began to sink. The men worked
day and night at the pumps and finally
she was safely locked. Then 1t was dis
/ CONGIC0 llaN lCA NAAOAC 0CNNCAA Ao0 ~
out and her lumber cargo had saved her.
Instead Of thanking Providence for their
good luck the sailors fell to GUESSING for
having tried to pump the whole Atlantic
through the ship" The discussion then
fell into personal gossip. and four Of the
six men in the group said they were going
abroad for the summer.
The people OF the state of New York will
vote at the next November election upon
the adv1sability OF expanding $lOl. 0OO,0O
upon the Improvement of the Erie, the
Oswego and the Champlain canals. This
is the most stupendous scheme of internal
Improvement which has ever been pro-
posed 70 a commonwealth in this country.
and has few parallels in the history of the
world. The object Of this proposed great
undertaking is to insure to the port OF
New York the continuance of the COM
mercial supremacy which 1t has enjoyed
since the foundation Of the government
The business of the port Of New York
still largely exceeds that of any port in
the United States, but 1t has been conclu-
siveiy shown that it is falling of year by
year, and that its loss has been the gain
OF Boston. Philadelphia, Baltimore and
Newport News. The loss In tonnage of re-
cent wears has been so alarming as to
threaten in the no far distant future the
ports supremacy.
OIt is proposed to enlarge the Erie and
Oswego canals so that they will have a
minimum bottom width OF rs feet and a
minimum depth OF II feet. They will ac-
o~ommodate boats 10 feet long, % feet in
width and lO-foot draught. These boats
will have a cargo capacity of 1000 tons,
which will mean 1898 bushels Of wheat
The Champlain canal will be able under
the proposed improvement to accommodate
boats having a carrying capacity OF %'
tons.
The original cost OF the Erie canal
proper was S7,14s. 7Ss, or over 100000 more
han the original m Its enlarge
ment in 1862 cost s44. 49,. 4lA OF the $780,
600 appropriated for canal improvement In
1895. 1888, 800 was spent upon the Erie. W
10 and including the appropriation made IT
1895 the total cost OF constr leting and i'm
nrovtnR the Erie, Oswego and Champlair
canals. as the friends OF the canal figure
has been about $lls.OO0,OOo. The revenues
nm TO 1882, when the tolls on the canals
we're abolished, amounted TO S1Sl, 9O7.6
A dispatch from New York says; Al
hone has been given up for the eyesight o
Ira ID. sankey, the well known evangelis
and composer OF religious songs II was be
ueved for a while that he would recove
A. stsbt NJ at least one eye, but his son