The Savannah morning news., 1904-12-25
AT WAR FOR UNDER
GROUND NEW YORK
BELMONT AND MCDONALD
FIGHTING FOR CONTROL OF
RIGHTS FOR MORE sUBWAYs.

Novel Proposition which, If Carried
Out, VIII Give the City Four Sys-
TENS of subway, One Below the
Other-August Belmont, the Most
Talked of Man in New York just
NOw-Why n Rapid Transit Man in
New York is Necessarily a. Public
Character.
New York, Dec. 24.-It is pretty safe
to say that, since he mixed up in New
York's rapid transit affairs, no man
has been more steadily in the public
eye than August Belmont, who, by rea-
son of his election, a few days ago, as
president of the National Civic Fed
GRAFTON, to succeed the late Senator
Hanna, has been brought prominently
to the country's attention for the Sec
ond time this year. The first time, as
everybody knows, was when he nom
mated Judge Parker in st. Louis last
summer, and later had a great deal
to do with the conduct of the DEM
ocratic side of the campaign.
Up to the time that he decided to
back financially John B. Mcdonald,
who had taken the contract for the
Subway without exactly knowing
where he was to secure the millions
necessary to dig it, Mr.. Belmont was
chiefly known to New Workers as the
successor to the elder Augustus bank
ing and horse-racing interests. Finan-
cial New York knew that he was the
controlling power in the Louisville and
Nashville Railroad system; the rest
of New York knew him as the leading
supporter of horse-racing on the vari-
Gus tracks about the city. Therefore,
however, much Wall street respected
Mr.. Belmont's financial ability, to the
tens of thousands of New Workers who
earn their living outside of stocks, he
was "Augy Belmont, the racing man"
and when the racing season ended his
name appeared only at long intervals
in the newspapers, and the public
seemed to know him no more. In fact,
up to the time that he backed Mr.. Nc
Donald, each of his brothers-O. II.
p. and Perry-was continually more in
the limelight than August.
New Workers. Great Problem.
But Augustus entrance into the rapid
transit field changed the former status
of things completely and instantly
There is no other problem In which
New Workers are so vitality interested
as that of getting to and fro from
office and home 1t is their pet enlg
ma. They discuss 1t day in and day
out. at the office, in the home, on the
streets, in civic gatherings, at social
gatherings, on outings-wherever and
whenever two or more New Workers
get together. The craze over the Pig
in Clover puzzle some years ago was
nothing compared to the ever-present
craze of New Workers to get the cor
rect solution of the Fifteen Minutes
to Harlem" puzzle So, when August
Belmont came to the fore as Mr.
McDonalds good financial fairy, he
at once took the center of the stage
and has just about kept 1t ever since.
Probably he had to sidestep a little
when Mrs. Chadwick came to the
fore-many a banker I'm Ohio and
Pittsburg is now wishing he had side
stepped, literally, when she came
around-but not for long. New Workers.
soon tire of Mrs. Chadwick, soon for
get about fights over United States
senatorships, forget the favorite of
this day or that, but they cannot now
and probably never VIII be able to
forget the rapid transit problem. They
have always had 1t with them; they
have It with them now in a more acute
stage than ever before, and here is
found the reason why August Bel
mont has been uninterruptedly before
the city since the ushering in Of the
century.
A recapitulation Of a few events in