New-York tribune., 1907-12-08
GOSSIP OF THE BOROUGH
Firemen Want Megaphone -
IGNORANCE of Aliens.

Every big fire in this borough emphasizes
two needs of the fire fghters-good nose anu
megaphones The other evening while the men
were at work in the Franklin Building, putIlhs
ont g fire on the seventh floor. eight lines OF
hose were reported to have burst Next 10
the sight OF the fountains playing above ne
rurtured tubes. the sorriest spectacle was pIe-
scented by the firemen on the seventh fleor Is
ing to make those in the street comprehefd
their wishes. In the noise OF the street thelF
words were unintelligible "Oh Tor mega
phone," said one Of the hremen
Anyone who has dropped into Special Term
on days when aliens being examined Tor
naturalization can appreciate the words OF the
Rev. Dr. ]. Wesley Hill when he spoke before
the Society of Old Brooklynites the other even
ing After explaining how ignorant foreigners
are led to come to America TO fail the prey OF
the unscrupulous, he said:
conditions OF naturalization should be MADE
more exact. The educational requirements
sT,o,ld he Increased and no man should receive
the franchise who has not read the Declaration
of Independence and the Constitution o1 the
United States When foreigner lands here
he becomes the tool of practical POLITICIANS ana
is easily welded election day
The other afternoon five applicants were eN-
amined before Justice Carr. Two We're IRISH
men, two were Italians and one was a RUSSIAN
Jew OF the five only one had read the con-
stitution He was of the nishmen- Al
though he had been in America nineteen years
he could not tell what were the three bFanches
s,f the government-legislatlve, Executive ana
dent-vas for and thought that the Governor
was the whole government in New York state
But as he and his countryTnan were lhlei'i2en'
and respectable workingmen they were idOt-
ted without opposition The Italians could not
speak English. and neither was able TO r"ad
or write One said that Roosevelt the king
of this land and that he called President.
and the other declared that the government
here was Republican and Democratic One was
admitted and it not announced what would
he done with the other The Jew had some edu-
cation and could speak English somewhat, 3ut
his notion as 10 the American form OF govern
fnent seemed 20 be confined 10 the Idea ot I'D
erty and free speech. His hardest problem was
in determining whether he would submit to
laws which he considered bad, bat he finally
passed the triurnphantiy.
Two tablets were unveiled at Seney Hospital
in the last week. One was in memory of George
Ingraharn Seney who founded the hospital
twenty-five years ago. placing at its disposal
$4,000. The other was put up in memory OF
Mr.. and Mrs William Halls, jr, who gave
$4,000 so that the buildings might be finished.
According to Dwight /. Elmendorf, who
lectured before the Brooklyn Institute of Arts
and Sciences on the Grand Canyon" Thursday
evening, the United States has q small and prac-
ticalIy independent republic within her borders.
1t is the Taus Republic, in New Mexico The
Pacific Coast-from San Diego to Portland" at
the same time that the City OF Mexico was
founded When the Spanish they gave
the town a grant which the people hold under
the suzerainty of the United States to this day
They have built a barrier around il and allow
no Indians of other races to treSpass. These
Indians have a method Of choosing their chief
that excludes the possibility of wirepulling. The
city is divided by a river. On election day the
people each side of the stream send their
man TO compete for the office. This is carried
out by foot race-the fastest man winning
The job. This method Of selecting officials, Mr..
ElmendoTf said. IS the best illustration he has
found Of the old phrase running for Of
flee" MIR. Elrnendorf announced that he will not
speak tonight at Carnegie Hall The interdict
placed by the Supreme Court Sunday per-
forrnances was construed to place the ban on his
lectures, well upon the moving picture
shows. He uses lantern slides TO illustrate his
talks
Mr.. Elmendorf viii give his lecture on 1.-The
Pacific Coast-fro1n San Diego TO Portland 4" at
Association Hall next Thursday afternoon and
evening. The last of his series of five will be
Yellowstone Park-the Wonder of the World"
This will come the following Thursday The
series Will be the last at Association Hall. When
he returns TO America after a trip to the East
next autumn the new Academy of Music will
he open and he will speak there T. Hopkinson
Smith viii give reading of his own works at
Association Hall next Saturday evening On Sat-
urday afternoon the New York Symphony Or
chestra. under the direction of Walter Dam
rosch- VIII give concert at the Baptist Tenn
PIE. Nine. Teresa Carreno will be the soloist