The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-06
NEW YORK LETTER
BY JOHN MARTHoL

New York. December Cit is gratifying to record the fact that Mrs. Harrison' wife of Congressman Francis Burton Harrison. has endowed a bed for the ben- eft of letter carriers in this city, at the Presbyterian hospital. It cost five thou sand dollars. l also understand that this same benevolent lady maintains a free bed at the New York Orthopaedie hos pital, of which her husband is trustee.
 
 If it were not for the myriads of people who come here every week from nearly all parts of the country. half the thea ters in the city would have to close their doors this season As it is. business is bad. the worst in many years but with out the patronage of the strangers with in our gates, it would be very nearly at the vanishing point so far as the'- pay ment of expenses goes. It is not mat New Workers do not love the play or that they are nggardly in taking ther anusenents but simply for the reason that they will not allow themselves to be victimized all the time by avaracious managers. The trouble is this: Tn scarcely a first-slass house is 1t posslDie to buy a desirable seat without paving an extra half dollar or dollar to the spec ulators on the sidewalk or to the agents in the hotels At the box office the appli- cant is invariably told that all the places are sold, but out on the sidewalk almost any seat can be purchased at stiff ad- vance on the regular charges. New York CTS will not submit to this imposition un- less they are entertaining friends, but the strangers are all taken in and done for. The managers are. of course in partner- ship with the spectators in this business, for otherwise it would not be carried on. It is about time that the country cousin got onto the game. The withdrawal or their patronage for a little while would settle matters.
 There are lawyers enough in Greater New York to make good-szed town, or even city-eighteen thousand of them-and the colleges and law schools are adding to the census al the rate of thousand a year. The great majority of these young and old disciples of Blackstone never had a case in court and never expect to. They are simply clerks in the big legal firms, poorly paid, hopeless of advancement, the worst kind of drudges and slaves. The old saw" about room at the top, has undoubtedly been the ruin of thousands of them In these strenuous days the room at the top in the professions is exceedingly scant. and becoming more and more so as the years glide along. In business pursuits the situation is diff ferent, but even there the race is not always to the swift. But, however all this may be, the opinion is becoming strong among many thinking men that measures should be taken to limit the legal output. It is proposed, for instance. that the age of admission to the bar should be advanced from twenty-one to thirty years of age and that the oduca- tional standard should be raised to de- gree that would be nearly prohibitiVe except in the case of unusually able as well as rich young men. This is the Eng fish system Few harrsters there sec their first retainer before they have ar- rived at the two score point in life.
 The Ritualistic Epscopaians opened for divine service about week ago a chuleh just off Fifth avenue. the inter- ior of which can scarcely be distinguishes from a Roman Catholic one. The dedi- catory devotions consisted in the ceebra. ton of solemn high mass" at which bishop of Fond due Lac was celebrant assisted by the Rev Edward Wallace Neil and "other priests. That is q Ro- man phraseology to the letter. But that
 
 St Edward the Martyr, the patron saint of the church. adorns the wall noar the choir while on the sanctuary arch is the significant text: Except We eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood ye have no life in ye." Surmount- ing this arch. at it's apex, is a versica. enclosing a chalice and the Host A bishops throne. with seats for his as sistants. is another feature of the ec- clesiastica furniture, Ebridge T. Gerry descendant of that one of the same name who as a representative of Massa- chusetts so many years ago. was a sign CT of the Declaration of Independence and afterwards Vice President of the united States. is a rich benefactor of the church of St. Edward the Martyr He it is who has presented to it most of these embems of religious devotion.
 
 Comptroller Grout gives evidence that he intends to live up, under Tammany to the reform record which he has made under the rule of fusionism. Having learned that the clerks in ais office con templated the purchase of a two thousand dollar portrait of him, he promptly sat down on their benevolent Intentions to- ward himself and served notice that he will not tolerate anything of the kind so far as others are concerned This is what is worrying the reformers just now. They fear that Tammany means to be good. and all signs point that way. If 1t shall be the Empire State is pretty certain to be in the democratic column next year.
 
 l am glad to see Mrs. Robert Goelet once more out in society. She is very handsome woman and she has been eceu- pying her opera box straight along. Rob- ert w. Goelet was with her on Monday. and on Friday they were at the opera again The Wilson's are all in mouring, and think 1t is such good taste on their part while poor lady Herbert is with them not to go out It is not so very charac- teristic of fashionable people, who do not stay long in mourning, notwithstanding the most dreadful tragedies, l suppose