The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-02-14

velvet. embroidered with armorial de-
signs. The fireplace Is also worthy of
note, and on either side of 1t is an I'M
mense antique candlestick which former
ly adorned some church. To complete the
color effect of this room poreclans are
very sparingly used while another fif-
tenth century cassone presents a rich
contrast by its glowing color to the dark
tones of the oak. Even the bindings of
the books were selected with a view to
harmonious effect. OF all his pictures Mr..
Whitney liked best Mil1et's 1.-The Sow
ers," but undoubtedly the finest paintings
in his collection is a Van Dyck. the por-
trait of William de villiers, Vicomte
Grandson This painting is thought by
some critics to be the artists master
piece, and certainly he never excelled 1t.
The price which Mr.. Whitney paid for 1t
is not definitely known, but 1t was report
ed that it was $4,000. A well known art
dealer said 1t was the highest priced
painting ever brought to this country.
sss
To the surprise of many people and the
disgust of not few. Tammany is keep
ing the lid down tighter than 1t has
ever been in the history of the city. With
ths gambling classes there is nothing do
ing. The excise laws are pretty thorough
ly enforced. The police force is attending
strictly to business. There Is no graft
and no higher up to receive 1t. The
Low administration is doing infinitely
better. One effect of 1t all has been to
put the professional reformers out of
business. The ground has been cut from
under them Tammany is not only good.
but superlatively so. At the present time
New York is one of the very best govern
ed cities in the country.
A new phflanthropic enterprise has been
started here by an organization of wom-
en-. The object of it is to provide enter
tainment for the blind. Among its mem
bership Is Mrs. Seth Low and other ladies
of the same social position. Their idea
is to induce managers of theatres, who
know that their houses will not be sold
out. to send them tickets of admission
to their establishments for distribution
among the afflicted classes they have taxi
en- under their protection The idea is a
foreign one. Societies with the same OBJ
ject in view have been many years In ex-
istence in Europe.
London has always been held up as the
city of the most crowded streets. But 1t
cannot begin to compare with New York
That Is the testimony of everybody who Is
familiar with the two places. The long.
narrow island of Manhattan bears far
larger volume of traffic than any other
area of equal size in the world. There
is a greater congestion of. vehicles In New
York's streets than in the streets of any
other city. The congestion of London
traffic. about which American tourists
have so much to say when they return
to this country. Is confined to about half
a dozen comparatively short thorough
fares. such as Fleet street, part of the
Strand. and Ludgate HILL There is In
London no long thoroughfares so con-
stantly packed with traffic as Broadway
from Bowling Green to Herald Square
The available figures give but poor
idea of the number of vehicles plying
to and from New York streets According
to the bureau of licenses. % 800 vehicles
are licensed. They are subdivided In
round figures. into 10000 public trucks,
1000 carts carrying ashes and other re-
fuse. 100 express wagons. 100 peddling
wagons, 5000 pushcarts, fifty Fifth avenue
stages. 800 junk carts. and 5000 coaches
and cabs. But the figures represent only
that portion OF New York vehicles which
operate for public hire Only those vehf-
ces require licenses. Trolley cars trades
mems wagons and carts. private Carriages
and vehicles owned by the street cleaning
department and other city departments
all these require no licenses On con-
servatfve estimate made by man who
has for, years studied the traffic .condi-
lions obtaining in the metropolis, they are
at least five times as numerous as the
public conveyances. This would give a
grand total of more than $4,000 vehicles
rolling perpetually over the streets of
Manhattan. 1t Is possible that there are
two or three times as many. II process
sion Of them were formed allowing thirty