The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-01-17

thus lne ndVleSI or the uay s business is ended before tn official exchanges are made. The six banks are protected by an agreement which defines liabilities and conditions under which exchanges are made. The system, which it is said was devised by J. s. Alexander, an Assistant Cashier of the National Bank of Com merce, has relieved congestion and will probably become a feature in banking in this city
 As the time for opening the rapid transit subway approaches and the public is informed that the tunnel Is all exca- vated, the question of epuipping the road for operation becomes interesting to those who are to be it's daily patrons. The details of this equipment, including provisions for the safety of passengers, are now the chief subject of study for large corps of engineers employed by the city and lnterborough Street Railway Co. Although some matters are still nn- decided, most of the machinery for equip ment Is in process of construction at steel factories, and as much as Is nec- essary for operating the main line from City Hall to Broadway and One Hundred and Fourth street will be installed in time to run trains in March.
 There appears to have come into ex- istence an entirely new Kind of theatri- cal trust, against which there has so far been no protest Indeed nopody seems inclined to find fault with the particular stage monopoly. If the present genera tion of the Drew family were a little less gifted and attractive than it is, how ever, some objection to this state of affairs might have been heard. Last week there was a formidable gathering of this thatrical clan. Ethel Barrymore. who has acquired more fame than any or her cousins, was at Daly's; her two brothers. Lionel and Jack, were at other city theaters: Louise daughter of the senior John, was at the Garrick and George Mendham, niece of this same John, was acting with the Junior John at the Savoy. 1t has rarely hap pened that so many of one family were on the stage in one citv and it Is cer- tainly true that there was never another brood so gifted with talent and beauty as this
 Walter Damrosh makes a plea for the singing of operas in this country in Eng fish. He declares that in ms opinion much of the dramatic effect of operas is lost on opeara-goers here by their inabl- ity to understand the words. No singer can appear at the Paris Opera House, he says Unless he can sing in French. and l hope the time will come when We can compel our Terninas, our Fame ses, our Calves and our Gadslxis to sing here in English and in good English. We must overcome the lack of pride in do- mestic art which compels our painters and singers to go abroad and secure A foreign reputation before they are appre- ciated at their true value in their own country"
 If Mark Hanna should desire to have a Manhattan boom started for him it would be easy of accomplishment l mean. of course, outside the regular political ma chine of his party, which is more or less for the President At a dinner of one of the big industrial exchanges, the other evening, passing reference by one of the speakers to the Ohio senator brought forth an explosion of enthusiasm which was really remarkable.
 The statement has been freuuently made, and is sustained by statistics that more families are annually .dispossessed" of their tenements on Manhattan Island than there are in all Ireland. which is popularly believed to hold the eviction record. Metropolitan landlords. many of them Irish. or of Irish descent are not one whit less heartless than are their driStocTdtlc pFetnren OH the Otner SlQe. This fact was strilSingly in evidence dur ing the recent Arctic weather which the application for warrants to turn poor creatures into the streets were swollen to such proportions in one of the courts that one of the humane magistrates who pre- sides In it. threw the mantle of judicial mercy over the unfortunates by declar- ing that he would try no cases of that character until the temperature had mod erated. It was a splendid exercise of power in the right direction.
 Mayor Mcclellan has put himself on record against increase in salaries in the city departments. This brand of re- form is not likely to be very popular with the people affected by it. but the taxpay- CTS will commend it. The officials of New York City are the best paid in the world Many secretaries to commissions and commissioners get as large q compensation as do members of congress. twice as much as do the governors of more than half the states in the union. nearly as much members of the P ederal Cabinet Five thousand dollars year Is the average fig ure- It is gross abuse an imposition upon the public. Many of these men coi,ld not earn one-third of the amount in life and considering the duties they perform that figure would be ample remuneration for them. I should like to SC the new mayor attack this abuse
 Fx- Navo~ Low would like to get some ing office from Mir Roosevelt. a seat in the cabinet, a foreign mission or something