The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-23

M Nh'l AhA''
But pretty soon they heard him, an he wuz sob
hin out:
THE Governors chairll git me
FL
Don't
Watch
Out"
Ballads Of Brooklyn ForouGh.
Bird s.. Coler has been snoopin' around
for several days wearing a worried look
quite foreign to his customary urbane and
c~ontented expression. He has been so
depressed that a number OF his intimate
friends and several of mis- official associates
in the Borough Presidents Office nave
noticed il. Even the joys OF yachting n
motoring, to both Of which sports Mr..
Coler is partial, nave been insufficient to
lift the cloud that has settled upon him.
Yesterday the secret came out. 1t was
divulged by a man who says he Is in a posi-
ton TO know. Mr.. Coler has been warned
that he will be nominated for Governor.
He has made a brave effort to laugh 1t of,
but so far without avail.
Some days ago Mr.. Coler received a letter
written in an assumed hand. AS he glanced
it over, the Borough President was seen
to sink back in his chair, breathing deeply.
Then h passed his hand over his eyes
twice. The letter was turned over to the
police and Mr.. Coler tried to think no more
about it.
A Jealous investigation, conducted in
the s~trictest secrecy, has developed the
fact that a certain Italian who described
himself as Antonio zinetti attempted
about a month ago to get a permit to run a
bootblack stand on the sidewalk in front OF
the Brooklyn Borough Hall. This permit
was refused and Zinetti, who is said to be
known in the dubious walks of the under
world as Night Stick Tony, because he
has a clubfoot, was heard by two newsboys
and one park sparrow to declare that he
would be revenged. Also he shook his fist
at that corner of the Borough Hall from
which Mr.. Coler's window looks out.
The letter already is described as bearing
evidences of Italian authorship. The ex-
preston "Corpo di Baccho!' is reported
to have occurred in it at least once, while
there was a at rong smell Of garlic about
the flap Of tn e envelope. 1t was in this
letter, it is stated, that the threat was made
that Mr.. Coler would be nominated for
Governor next autumn on the Democratic
ticket.
1t is supposed by the police Who have
been investigating the case that Night
stick Tony is not acting alone, but is really
only the agent Of a branch OF the Black
Hand.
Mr.. Coler himself, probably to throw
the perpetrators of the outrage off their
guard, explains it otherwise. He said
yesterday that the continued efort to force
the nomination upon him came from certain
men who were trying to stir up trouble
in the ranks of the Democratic party in
this State. They would be only too de-
lighted, he said, to make trouble between
him and the forces behind Mr.. Hearst, But
he wal too smart for them. He, could not
be drawn into any fractional row. AS a
further cover to the investigation going
on into the work of the Black Hand letter
writer's, Mr.. Coler gave out this statement,
carefully typewriter:
Il regret the continued Use Of my name
as a candidate for Governor, and 1 regret
particularly the manner in which it has
been used. | have given no encoura ge-
ment whatever to an idea that | was either
an active. or a receptive candidate for the
nomination.
"To say, Of course, that / would not take
any such nomination would be too priggish
and l tried to avoid that attitude, but that
is as far as / have gone. L believe that
these reports as to my candidacy are kept
in circulation mostly with the object OF
causing trouble and jealousies in the Demo-
cratic and radical ranks. l was elected by
the people to the Office Of Borough Presi-
dent, and | have said repeatedly that it ia
my intention to stay in this Office INT do the
best / can here until the end of the term
for which | was elected.
Il have taken 10 part and l intend to take
no part in any factional controversy, either
in the regular Democratic or the radical
movement. Personally / would like to see
the Democratic party united upon the
platform on which the independent ticket
won last fall, think it would be extremely
unwise II conditions we're so created as to
force the nomination of a third ticket, and
/ think it would be just as unwise for the