The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-12-22

- WHY ~ ~ ANNA Nv
sullivan Are safe 60 Annex Anything
I in the Way OF Glory W Onder That He
WIN Work 80 Hard for ~! 900 a Year.
r. you don't happen to believe that Col
Michael e.. Padden. military secretary to
Mister Big Tim Sullivan and commander
OF the irregular t-oOTs of the BOwery ana
adjacent neiRhbc rhoods. is, a. Mayor
Mcclellan has Celei him. the best Water
Register this city has ever had take abit
Of advice and refrain from arguing with
the Water Register about il. Disputation
10 Col. Psdden's long suit. He will under
take to grove anything excert that the
Sullivans are not what they should he.
And he will undertake 10 Irove anybody.
who asperses the Sullivans guilty of any
thing from impolit enesys TO infantici9e
Col. Mikes friends declare that no -
getting the city more money for it's water
service than " ever received before to
say nothing of what the city plumbers are
getting-s and that he has cornered q lot Of
grafters that have for years heen gettirg
water for nothing and has made them
give up. In short. they declare that Col.
Mike. though nobody d~cspises a reformey
IN more than he. ~ eudeavoTing success
fully to show that a Sullivan man can run
an important city Office IN a manner that any
Fsformer might envy.
Col. Mike is obviously enjoying himself
In wading through work. It's likely
that he hasn't had SO much fun in Office.
and he has held several offices since the
time Mayor Grant appointed him City
Librarian. = place for which Padden ere
pared himself nv = prolonged course Of
study in The we'll known educational in
situations of Cherry Hill. Col. Padden
himself has been Interested in water for
gome time. Early in his life, as an FAST
Side boy he shared the notion prevalent in
that quarter that water was made to wash
wagons with. But his ideas EXPANDED and
along in the late 'aos they had reached slch
q pitch Of development that he had IN
onyx bafhtub added 70 his apartments in
che Occidental Hotel, a. Bronre street and
che Bowery.
The money for this extraordinary affair
came from a 500 bet that Little Tim Sulli-
van made with Psiden. tho latter wagering
that Mayor Van Wyck wouldn't turn the first
shovelful Of Garth for The subway con-
struction. From the hathtub TO the office
Of Water Register was obviously the next
logical step. And since the Water Register
has now gos a boat Of his own for the pur-
pose Of sharing tuRbOat captains who steal
water from the city. II wouldn't he sur
prieinH IL his military title were soon abRn-
doned in favor of y naval one.
Col. Mike has an idea that he is a sort Of
newspaper man. a notion that has firmly
persisted with him ever since the laws when
as a boy he used TO pull ont in a roUboat to
incoming ships and take of marine de-
apatches Of sorts for James Gordon Ben
nett. In fact. It's likely that The only thing
that has prevented him from becoming =
real litterateur ia the unpleasant shock he
got one day while ne was CITY Librarian and
was ordered ont OF his own Office in the
labfarv by one of his assistants who diln't
recognize him.
But Padden's old friends have always
had the utmost coNh dence in bis future.
Only tina other day an elderly Irish woman
who had some kick TO make about her hill
for ejty water wandered into the Office OF
h Water Register and in time got for-
warded cp to the private Office of the Regis
ter himself. As she looked 81 the Colonel
her eyes almost started out Of her head.
When she was able 90 speak she ciacJI-
lated:
sFor tho love Of sweet Heaven. Mickey
Padden, what are youss doin' here"
I'm the main guy hcre nov, all right,
Mrs. Casey" answered the Colonel, recog-
nizing an old neiahbor Of boyhood days.
well" said his caller AZ soon as she
could get her breath. Il always tough
youse would amount 10 sonnet ing if yousc
kept out o. jail"
Col. Mikes Office ia a busy place these
dayp and the Water Register sees a Cood
many people in the course Of one days
business. The other day while he wa
listening to he complaint Of a man who
had been ordered to move his meter and
didn't want to do it two nuns came in "a
I'll - r. al -1 - -
pocket and produced a five dollar bill and
q two dollar bill:
-Sister." said he, its Friday the tir-
teent' an I'm unlucky enough to get nailed
with a two spot instead Of a one. Sol
guess it's yours
God bless you. Mr.. Padden." said the
sister ~ she departed.
--Same 70 you. sister," replied Col. Mike.
softly. AN now about that meter" he
won't on. turning TO the man with the
Kick: lis up TO you & make that change
an you know it. Seven days you have
e do il. Good day"
It. In evident that discipline Of no mean
order prevails in the Water Registers
any man with a military title. The other
day the Colonel came in much exercised
over some complaint that the head of some
other city department had made regarding
delay In the Water Registers Office.
10 appeared that the complaining Official
nates had admitted that the fault was his.
Col. Mike went after that subordinate
rough shod. n he wound up by despatch
Ing him to the complaining official TO de-
monstrats hat the fault was not in the office
Of tho Water Register.
Now, git alongl Hike outl" he snOrted,
eMetchr something on this ONCE, will thew?
Why, they couldnt ketch Teas on this oflcel"
Col. Mikes naval work he is particularly
proud OF. Within a few lays after he
took ofice he made inspection trips along
the waterfronts that demonstrated to him
that all inspectors employed by the CITY
10 prevent the tugboat captains from