Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-09

congress. but. hidden away I'm their hooks
and crannies, and safeguarded by battalions
of lookouts. the pool rooms went right on
doing business all the same. and In SPITE
of Mr.. Jerome and his muscular staff OF ax.
men. 1t is significant. however. that
democratic judge. man OF probity AMI
nigh In the graces of Tammany's present
boss. said in court the other day. In pass
ing Judgment upon convicted pool room
proprietor, that he regarded II as mani.
testify unfair and inequitable that gam
Diing should be permitted on one side OF q
fence and condemned by the law when
practiced on the other side OF the fence"
IRIS was what Is known as a 'wallop' at
the race tracks, and the remark, coming
from the source IL did, has already caught
the attention Of the racing authorities. Ii
Is well known that Leader Murphy Is dead
set against all kinds OF betting on tie
horses. He traces. in private conversation.
the ruin OF many of the brightest young
men in New York to the horse g amb.ing
habit, and nobody has ever been able to get
MIN interested IN the racing business Even
the persuasive TIN" Sullivan, a horseman
and plunger from away back, and as i'm
Iammany, has never succeeded in his ef-
ioris TO drag Boss Murphy out to a rae
track on a big day when important turf
hxtures were to be decided
MIR. Murphy's sole diversion In the wav
OF outdoor sport is base ball He was In
his youth, famous ball player himself. a
member OF team OF champions, and he
attends all OF the New York games that ha
can get to. smoking large black cigars but
never betting so much as a quarter on the
result OF an inning. He IL. I'm short. op-
posed to gambling. and the pool room peo-
pie are not anticipating any vide-open
swing whatever while he remains at the
head OF Tammany.
Veto Placed ON Doubtful Shows.
The veto has already been placed upon
the propositions Of the exploiters of doubt
full public shows. An oily individual APP
peared at the city hall a few days ago
with request for a permit to give a
young ladies p" basket ball game at one
OF the big uptown halls. He winked a
regular joey Bagstock when he was asked
Tor details Among the details he sub
mitted, with another deyilish sly wink.
the fact that the young ladies" partici-
pating in the basket ball game were to
wear skin-tight fieshlings. He was famed
INTO the outer air with a rapidity that
dazed him. and he stood In City Hall Park
Tor fully ten minutes. shaking his fist at
the municipal building, and yowing ven
geance aEin the outfit that he'd helped TO
root in"
Another chap confidently asked for a per-
init TO give an exhibition of posings by
'well-known artists models of New York
and other cities" Asked as to the nature
of the drapery which would be worn by the
well-known artists models" he poked the
permit man in the midrin with a fat
Jovial finger. He. too. was adroitly led to
the cool outer air. and of course he has
joined the tribe of vengeance swearers.
The town. too. is looking with good deal
of confidence toward the management OF
the police department by its new head the
competent and Industrious Mr.. McAdoo q
man who has perhaps more strong friends
among eminent men of opposite belief in
politics than any other In the country. His
selection for the police department was
really ten-strike for Tammany, and even
the most violent opponents OF Tammany
and all OF Its works are not looking for
any police scandals while Mr. McAdoo 10
at the head of the department.
All in ALL Tammany has not made a bad
beginning. Good beginnings. however. are
not infrequent in the made-up records of
Tammany regimes The horse-racing
maxim. It's the finish that counts" is
not inapplicable to political regimes In New
York and elsewhere.
The Dangerous Brooklyn Bridge.
Not alone alarmfsts. but cool-headed en-
gineers. are shaking their heads over the
condition of the Brooklyn bridge. Some
of them are predicting that the most dread
full calamity Of the epoch Is perfectly liable
to happen at any time II something is not
Immediately done to relieve the strain upon
the structure. The bridge has been Off
cially condemned, and all sorts OF plans
have been drawn up for the remedying of
the dangerous conditions under which Ii is
used, but nothing has been actually ac-
compiished to render IT more safe. Elgi-
neers Of eminence who have carefully eX-
amined the bridge. state that 1t is absolute
ly in danger of breaking in two at any
stantly subjected. The bridge was never
constructed for the sort of traffic for which
1t is now used and for which it has been
used for many years past When the troll
ley cars began to pass over the bridge in
close order the margin of safety was OBJ
liberated. and the constant procession OF
the trolley cars has SO weakened the bridge
that 1T is now said to be in an
appallingly dangerous condition. No sort
of effort seems to be made to enforce the
ordinance providing that the trolley cars
shall maintain at all times a distance OF
200 feet from each other. During the rush
hours NOR ming and evening. the trolley cars
cling SO closely together that they almost
appear to be one train to an observer from
a point in the river. and the engineers state
that during these hours the suspension says.
not inches. but feet. When 1t is considered
that, during the rush hours. there are often
as many as 10000 persons on the bridge
at one time. the fearful nature of the ca
tastrophe that is freely predicted by cool
headed men will be appreciated The new
East River bridge has not caiculabIy reliev-
ed the strain. The engineers say that tho
Brooklyn bridge is too far gone now to be
saved by any other process than complete
The safety of the famous bridge
is one of the problems which the new adj
ministration win have to tackle al a very
early date. In case the bridge Is finally
and completely condemned and put out OF
persons who live in Brooklyn and work in
New York could get to and from their
places of business.
Even with the overworking of the big
bridge, 1t is difficult enough to give any
sort of service that is not wholly barbarous
and dangerous to the tremendous crowds OF
Brooklynites who earn their bread on this
side of the East river. With the bridge
out of commission there would be no solu-
ton for the problem except for the Brook
lynites to permanently remove their house
hold goods to this side of the stream.
Commissioner Woodbury's Great Feat.
If sheer fitness and merit are going to
count. the hoid-over street cleaning COM
missioner, Mr.. Woodbury., should certain
~ have put good rivet I'm his billet by the
way he handled the heavy snowfall of last
week. He cleaned the town up from the
Battery to the Bronx in two days. an UNI
precedented feat. considering that the snow
fall amounted to nearly foot The town
Is loud in its praise of the main street
cleaners accomplishment. The energetic
Mr.. Woodbury. didn't take or his clothes